Chinese Hot Pot Restaurant Sanku Maots’ai Is Opening in NYC | Eater NY

"Making its American debut in the East Village at 167 First Avenue (between East Ninth and Tenth streets) with an anticipated mid-June opening, this China-based fast-casual chain focuses on the Sichuan dish maocai — spicy individual hot pots filled with broths, meat, tofu, seafood, vegetables, rice, and noodles. Customers select ingredients from a buffet table into baskets, choose a broth style ranging from tomato to mushroom to spicy Sichuan, then hand everything to a staffer to have the hot-pot bowl assembled and cooked in the kitchen; payment is by total weight of ingredients beforehand at $3.99 for every 100 grams. Dishes will be available for dine-in, takeout, and delivery. The New York location is run by Chinese American restaurateur Sky Bai (who also runs a Flushing restaurant) and will take over the former Tatsu Ramen space (which closed in 2021). The company started in Chengdu in 2008, has grown to over 300 locations in China, has expanded internationally to Germany (Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt) and recently New Zealand, plans 20–30 openings across Europe, and aims to expand to Chicago and Seattle next; this will be the brand’s first time in North America." - Nadia Chaudhury