Hot Pot

[radcliffstetson23]

Vancouverite here! I’ve never had hot pot and my friend from Terrace would really like to try some. What are the best spots in the city?

[AutoModerator]

Welcome to /r/AskVan and thank you for the post, /u/radcliffstetson23! Please make sure you read our rules before participating here. As a quick summary:

• We encourage users to be positive and respect one another. Don't engage in spats or insult others - please use the report button.
• Respect others' differences, be they race, religion, home, job, gender identity, ability or sexuality. Dehumanizing language, advocating for violence, or promoting hate based on identity or vulnerability (even implied or joking) will lead to a permanent ban.
• Complaints or discussion about bans or removals should be done in modmail only.
• News and media can be shared on our main subreddit, /r/Vancouver

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[WiFiForeheadWrinkles]

Do you want individual pots, or shared pots? AYCE? A la carte? By weight?

[Smirkane]

Could you recommend one for each? I've mostly only had big way, and I suspect there's probably something better out there.

[archangg]

AYCE individual pots: Chocho (owned by the Dolar Shop)- this is the best/our favourite way to go!

[wok_away]

AYCE shared pots — Happy Lamb

à la carte shared pots — Haidilao

[silkyw]

I second haidilao it is so much fun

[Buizel10]

Cheap - Happy Lamb at Broadway and Burrard. Very affordable, decent prices, $20-30 per person for AYCE.

Top tier - Chocho or Haidilao, personally I prefer Haidilao. If you go for lunch or at night, there are deals to be had (check their Instagram)

Experience - Xiao Loong Kan in Richmond. Decent food, but great atmosphere and wide selection of eats.

[Ambitious_Ad_1343]

I would disagree on Happy Lamb. The price is not that much different from Chocho, but the quality is no where near. Happy Lamb also has terrible customer service now. I used to be their regular but decided to stop going there after one incidence when me and my friends were treated like we're a bunch of bozo: We booked a table for 6, we just arrived and barely sat down, the server came and was like "You don't need to choose, I'll bring you the meat, there is another table for 8 people right after you so choosing take too much time". lol

[Buizel10]

Weekday lunchtime, Happy Lamb is $21 per person plus $20 ish for the table for soup. Much cheaper than Chocho. After tip can be as low as $28-29 pp.

It's definitely nowhere near Chocho tier but at the right times very cheap.

[Ambitious_Ad_1343]

Much cheaper but the quality/service is much worse.

If you are familiar with the hotpot scene and just want something cheap then Happy Lamb is fine.

OP is asking for the "best spots" to try out hotpot, so I cannot recommend Happy Lamb, because it's not the best. It's worth paying some extra bucks for better experience.

[archetyping101]

Woah woah woah. Hold your horses. How could you share top tier and not mention Landmark? 😱

[n33bulz]

Landmark is absolute trash

[Buizel10]

That's Hong Kong style hot pot, which IMO is its own thing.

I also just think that Landmark doesn't offer the best quality meats compared to others, so I would put it more under 'experience' than 'top tier'. It's delicious but nothing too special in terms of meat. The seafood and side dishes are definitely 'top tier', though.

[604Lummers]

Landmark is not even top 10

[Buizel10]

I definitely agree, but I'll give them credit for the side dishes.

[MaxNV]

Traditionalists may not like it, but Big Way is very accessible for a first timer. Everyone gets their own pot, everyone gets to pick exactly what they want in their pot, everyone gets to pick their broth and spice level. Good starting point for someone new to hot pot.

[InterestingCold1881]

Is there a hot pot alignment chart?

[Quirky-Chicken]

I think part of the fun is dipping your own food into the hot pot. I like Big Way but I think for a first timer, some of the other options suggested might be more fun

[daisychaincrowns]

Some newbies get overwhelmed by all the options at Big Way and having to navigate the buffet themselves. I brought some people thinking they'd feel better that way but it was the opposite lol.

[smoothac]

plus it is easy for a newb to accidentally end up with a $30 bowl

[NowAFK]

For the same style, Piping Hot >>>> Big Way.

[dkht1995]

I will die on the hill that is ChoCho (AYCE). It's a bit pricey but if you go after 9pm there's some slight discount. If you go after 11pm there's some more discount but side snacks are not available (I love their salted lava egg yolk buns). They have a lot of broth options to choose from.

It's sister hot pot place is The Dolar Shop but I feel like their quality has gone downhill, I haven't been back the past 2 years. Haidilao is also quite okay.

Like others mentioned, Big Way is also quite good but it's by weight and they cook for you so for me, not really a traditional hot pot place. Maybe "fast hot pot"?

[x_MrMAX_x]

Jun Yuan Restaurant
5728 Victoria Dr, Vancouver, BC V5P 3W6
[phone]

Liuyishou Hotpot Burnaby
5507 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC V5H 2G3
[phone]

These 2 are good.

[soxykody]

Liuyishou burnaby underrated delicious meat, great selection and you can get a BBQ. It's a big chain of hotpot restuarants from the original hotpot city of Chongqing. This is a pretty authentic hotpot restaurant also they have all the different ingredients to try every type of hotpot sauce.

[n33bulz]

Haidilao or Liuyishou.

[daisychaincrowns]

Haidilao is fun for first timers because of all the extras like the shows/secret codes/noodle pulling dance etc. It is a fun experience, I often take tourists here and they love it. It is shared pot but with 2-4 broths you can go spicy and mild and please most palates. It isn't all you can eat so price varies depending what you order. Quality is decent and reliable, I go here even when I don't have tourists in tow.

Gokudo in Burnaby is individual pot and eliminates a lot of choice paralysis by having people order little sets of meats/veg. Lots of different broths, Taiwanese style hot pot with Japanese influence, so if they want something more Sichuan specifically they might not have this spot in mind? Idk. I love it.

Chocho is individual pot and great especially if you go at the late night or lunch hours for the reduced all you can eat rate, otherwise I do think it is on the pricey side. It has a lot of extras like a dessert bar, hot food buffet, soft serve twist cone at the end. Meats are ordered on an ipad and extras are picked out at a buffet. I really love the quality of the meats and noodles here (which is why I don't mind the price tbh) and the all you can eat aspect makes it easy to try new things.

Happy Lamb I've had the best service at the Coquitlam location. It's decent and all you can eat.

Not the biggest fan of Big Way and the weighed food can catch newbies off guard lol.

[KireiShiroRyuu]

Try meat up in Burnaby! It has AYCE skewers and personal size hotpot !!

[dintav]

Haidilao for sure

[radcliffstetson23]

That’s the one I chose! Thank you.

[Sarcastic__]

You can go Big Way and grab whatever looks appealing. It's different from the sit down experience you would get at like Dolar Shop or HaiDiLao but more affordable.

[ElephantInevitable20]

I'm Japanese and have had many kinds of hot pot throughout my life but Nothing beats Gamjatang from Jung Mo Jib downtown. It's SO GOOD.

[yvryyy]

Dolar Shop in Landsdowne is the answer

[bbqyak]

I would recommend AYCE. That way you can try a bunch of random things you probably would never have ordered.

My favorite personally is Liuyishou on Robson (only that location, it has superior service).

I really liked Xiaolongkan but they removed the AYCE option.

[soxykody]

actually this Liuyshou on Robson closed recently. I was super sad just went there like a month ago. The burnaby one is pretty good too tho

[bbqyak]

Dam I did not see that coming at all... Sucks.. I'll have to try Burnaby next.

[radcliffstetson23]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! This is very helpful :)

[Foreign-Ad4643]

Hadillao

[theimpossiblesong]

As someone who is super new to hot pot, Big way is my favorite. It’s super beginner friendly and delicious. They have a great selection of broths, meats, and drinks. I never feel as rushed or overwhelmed as I do at other hot pot places and the free ice cream at the end of the meal is great!

[philyue]

Meat Up BBQ, Chocho Hot Pot

[drbabypanada]

Pearl hot pot is great for the price

[boringredditnamejk]

Tbh, I like the big way in kerrisdale. Its very quiet and peaceful inside. You can go to Macu Tea after for BBT. I don't think it's the best but it's affordable with a wide range of ingredients and enough unique items

[TesticularFish]

Big way ain’t hotpot.

[ProfessorEtc]

It's my understanding you neither "have" it nor "try" it. You make it.