I came here the other night with my brother. We were up late on a week night and happy to find some place that wasn't fast food or Denny's. Seriously, what is up with the lack of delicious late night eats in the East Valley?
Anyway, we had a great time and the food was very good. We were seated right away and the staff was very friendly. They walked us through the whole process because we had never done hot pot before. They made sure we always had plenty of water and came by to top off our broth a few times.
The water was especially important because we got the Yin/Yang broth and the spicy one was ridiculously spicy. Very flavorful but crazy spicy.
The mild broth however was too mild. We found that mixing the two made a great broth. We tried some enki mushrooms, bok choy, the regular beef and they had a special of scallops. Unfortunately, they were the small scallops so they kind of got lost in the broth. If they had been the larger kind it would have worked out better.
We had a lot of fun making our soups and just generally playing with our food. We left completely stuffed and with leftovers for later in the evening. We were kind of conservative because it was our first time but, I think next time we will go a little more wild in our selections.
The tea at the end was delicious.
I understand why people complain about making the food yourselves. If you're one of those people you probably won't like a fondue restaurant either. It's about the experience and if you have fun interacting with your food you will enjoy this kind of restaurant.
I also think this is more of a small group restaurant 2-4 people tops. Stick with two if you have picky eaters or dietary restrictions. I say this because all the tables seem to only have one burner per table. Perhaps they could use a split pot for broth other than the Yin Yang? I don't know. Just something to think about.