rev:text
| - Given the facts that Montréal's Chinatown eateries are mostly disappointing and that this place was recommended to me by my Chinese friends (like, people who were actually born and raised in China, unlike me), there's not much I can do to complain about this place. Yeah, it's definitely not as good as gourmet hotpot chain restaurants in China like HaiDiLao or those that give you your own personal pots that are super cute, but for an AYCE place, the quality is actually somewhat there. My friends and I come here pretty often when we want to stuff our stomachs until we can't walk, and every time has been pretty consistent.
We always get a half spicy/half non-spicy broth combination. The spicy broth isn't actually spicy at all for my taste, which is slightly disappointing (especially since I grew up with hotpot using only extremely spicy broth), but then again I've found that to be a recurring problem in most Montréal Chinese restaurants anyway (which will be discussed in later reviews). Then, we stock up on a bunch of meat selections - lots of lamb (my favorite!) and beef slices, beef meatballs, fish balls and fish tofu, and garlic beef are only some of them! We also get different varieties of vegetables and soy-based products, such as regular mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, winter melon, leafy greens, and fresh tofu. Of course, rice cakes and fresh handmade noodles are also in order and really soak up all of the broth really nicely. The only other thing foodwise that I have to mention is that the snack bar can be pretty inconsistent regarding freshness - the cream puffs and palmiers can get pretty soggy or stale, but normally the matuan (sesame balls stuffed with lotus paste) and spring rolls are hot and chewy/crispy! In addition, the sauce selection is actually quite good, and you can make your own combinations into which you can dip your cooked food.
Since my friend group and I are basically regulars at Little Sheep, we will be back again. It's definitely one of the better restaurants in a mostly mediocre Chinatown.
|