Mike H.
Yelp
The first things I noticed were the buffet style layout for the Hot Pot items (everything except meat) and the easy to reach controls for the burner. In addition to the buffet, there were a couple of things I'd never seen at a Hot Pot or Korean BBQ place, the pots sit recessed in the table, a welcome change from pots on stands over sterno, and the grill plate for BBQ sits flush with the table top, no reaching blindly into a bit of fire. The staff wasn't attentive, pleasant and helpful and it was always easy to catch their eye in a reasonable amount to time. The restaurant wasn't busy, only a few tables were occupied, it was later afternoon and there were only two servers.
I was very disappointed Honey Pig doesn't have a soda fountain and charges $2.50 for a can of soda that wholesales for 50¢. The water is tepid, they don't adhere to American's obsession with ice, and is served in a decent sized water flask with cute graphics. We decided to have BBQ and Hot Pot (only $5.00/person more) and I'm not sure I would recommend it as it's a lot. We had the Brisket and Bulgogi for BBQ and were happy with both, it's so much easier to manage the grill when you can so easily see it. Most of the cooking was done by the staff though, they were more attentive to the grill than we are used to at other restaurants.
There are only three broths for Hot Pot and I had hoped from a tomato option. We both had the House (?) Broth and I can take it or leave it, we'll try the Pork Broth next time. Things were good carrots, green beans, green onions, scallops, meat dumplings, melons, pork belly. Disappointments vegetable dumplings, didn't like the taste at all and they disintegrate in the pot. The button mushrooms were fantastic, can't remember that last time we had mushrooms with that amount of flavor. The fish cake was also a surprise, while the taste wasn't too different from others I've had, the texture was truly unique, they had a very pleasant firmness. Lastly the orange jello, perfectly firm and with an unexpected fullness to its orange flavor.
The men's bathroom had a trough sink, the floor looked like exposed concrete and still have forced air hand dryers. It was reasonably clean and a family bathroom is available, but I expect more for $35/$40 a person.