| rev:text
| - First time in, on a Saturday night, with a party of ten people.
I was excited to try this place. We were looking for some good hotpot, and this place lived up to even my unrealistic expectations.
Pretty straightforward. It is NOT "all you can eat" so you pay per item. This is fine though, because it seems that the quality of meat is usually better when it's not AYCE. With larger parties, they said they only had the option of individual hotpots, which worked out just fine. They also recommended that we get different meat and veggie combo platters to share with the table. This also turned out to be a great option for sharing so everyone could try something different.
Since I don't eat pork, I always tend to go for the vegetarian soup base option at places like this. Most of their soup bases are made from a beef & pork mixed broth, including their House and Hellishly Spicy. So I couldn't try those. But they did have an Oxtail base, which was all beef, and two vegetarian options (Mushroom and Tomato). I tried the mushroom pot and it was about as tasty as you could expect. I got great feedback from the table that all the different bases were spiced well and added good flavor. The Hellishly Spicy pot came in level 6, 12, and 18 (essentially mild, medium, and hot). To put it in perspective, my fiance is Vietnamese and can handle really spicy stuff (more than me), but the level 12 (medium) was a little much for her.
We shared the beef combo, which consisted of brisket, ribeye, and Japanese wagyu. This was a great option for two slightly hungry people to share, if you plan to add veggies. If you're both pretty hungry, you may need a little more. We got the large udon noodles that were supposedly good for two people, but we found ourselves ordering a second one. Some of the table added lamb, shrimp, the veggie combo and mushroom basket.
The sauce station was good, though they regularly ran out of the small bowls, and we had to ask for them a few times. I mixed the ponzu with some chili paste and fresh green onions, and this was a delicious addition to the dish.
For everyone, the bill was about $350 after tax and tip. About $35 per person, which is comparable to AYCE anyway. Not bad.
Service was decent. It was a very busy night, so I can't fault them completely, but it did seem like they were a little irritated when we asked questions or needed things.
As expected in most of the Chinatown plazas on a Friday or Saturday, parking was a nightmare. I would recommend getting here at least 10-15 minutes early to make your reservation.
Overall four stars. It was definitely above average.
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