Now, that I have to change my friggin diet. I must seek other alternatives to my favorite delicacies of fatty fried chicken, tender prime rib, and lamb chops. The same shopping complex, which houses SF Supermarket, Hue Thai Sandwiches, a Korean fried chicken and beer house, and other great restaurants, also has a Chinese Hot Pot Restaurant. In the last year, I've had the opportunity to try out more of these restaurants, where you place vegetables and meats into a swirling and boiling pot of broth in front of you over an open flame. It is really good stuff, and one very cool evening in Las Vegas, yes Vegas, I was craving to go.
I was joined by my forever favorite dining companion, and now fiancee, and two other friends who also wanted to try something new. When you walk in, it feels like a little market, where you can buy some packaged goods, another area had a small buffet area (which we all need to try the next time because it is great deal), and the dining area. The dining area was very empty, and decorated with faux mahogony Chinese furniture. Above the area was a big screen TV connected to a satellite Chinese channel.
We began to browse the menu and noticed that the combination hot pot specials were for about less than $20. The waitress assisted us by selecting one combination hot pot for the 4 of us, since ordering 4 hot pots each would be too much, You are also handed a sheet to mark off any extras, such as beef, lamb, vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, rice, etc...etc that you would also like to cook for yourself in the big bowl of hot broth. We chose the combination of seafood and lamb hot pot. She gave us a heaping plate of vegatables w/tofu, a plate of raw shrimp, mussels, imitation crab (yuck!), and raw squid, and another plate of thinly sliced frozen lamb that were rolled like mini cigars. They placed a large metal bowl that was divided like the Yin-Yang symbol and filled it with a warm broth. It was brought to a boil with the little gas stove that it was placed on. Once the broth was bubbling, we started throwing in some of the vegetables, seafood, and meat. We dipped it in various sauces that we alone created at the sauce station near the door. My favorite was to mix the bbq sauce, with chili oil, and garlic in garlic juice and some green onions to give it some crunchy zing. It goes sweet, spicy than tangy...It was quite tasty when the lamb or tofu was dipped in because they absorbed the flavors so well. Because it was in the hot pot, anything that you removed from the broth was steaming warm. It was very satisfying for the cool night that it was. You cooked the shrimp till it turned a bright orange, but not too long bc it will become tough. I was a big fan of the enoki mushrooms, I just love the crunch it has when you bite in your mouth, plus the flavors and moistness of the mushroom. The lamb was humming full with flavor. Not bad for being frozen. We did end up ordering more items, such as enoki and lamb. We also decided to venture and try deep fried fermented tofu. These beautiful golden deep fried puffy cubes have this wonderful crisp when you first bite into them, and then finishes off with a very pungent smell that slowly drifts up your nose and down your throat. Wow, talk about strong flavors. I really recommend to not burp around people or accidentally covering your mouth while you burp. ha..ha.. it is definitely worth a try. We were also amazed how busy the restaurant became after we arrived. It seems that 7:30 is a busy time for this place. All in all, I would have to say I'm a fan of this restaurant. I loved the selectons in modifying your bowl of hot broth that came with a total bill that just can't be beat. I walked out of that restaurant with an especially content and warm chubby belly that evening.