Food: 3 stars
Ordered: pepper pork bone with mustard green in hot pot, shredded pork and penny hot sauce lo mein ,and deep fried squid with pepper salt.
The pepper pork bone with mustard green in hot pot had a lot of vegetables, a fair number of pork bone pieces but there was basically NO MEAT on any of the bones so you're mainly relying on vegetables to get full. They gave us soy sauce and yes, you do need it because there isn't much taste to anything in the hot pot. Silver lining is that it's probably pretty healthy and MSG free. However, for $18.95, totally not worth it. Go have Korean pork bone soup and actually get some meat for half the price.
That being said, the squid and lo mein were great. The lo mein is my usual go-to item here when I'm feeling indecisive. Consistently good. The squid had a good amount of batter with squid and the squid was firm yet tender enough that I don't have to play tug of war with it.
Ambiance: 3 stars
We sat at a round table but they have both seats too. Brightly lit. Casual setting. Awesome since they open late!
Service: 3 stars
One of the ladies serving us seemed perpetually pissed off but after a while, you'll realize that it's nothing personal. She's probably just tired and means no harm. She warmed up a bit to us after a while. We got everything we asked for and all I can say is It's standard Asian restaurant service. Don't go in expecting much.