Ryleigh N.
Yelp
Hot Pot City is located right at the beginning of the plaza containing Viet Hoa International Foods, which is how we found out about it. We were grocery shopping one time and thought, "We should try that place some day!"
Houston's hot pot scene eclectic in the sense that each restaurant has something different or unique about it. I think Hot Pot City's style fits the mold for some customers. For us, it's not as ideal.
One, the concept is not all-you-can-eat ... which is fine if you don't want to feel pressured to stuff yourself so full until you're about to explode. However, our bill for two people ended up being more than if we went to an AYCE place. But what's nice is that it leaves you the option to take food home if you don't finish.
Two, I wasn't too impressed with the taste of meats. I got the Beef Ribeye Steak and my bf opted for the Assorted Meat Platter (a good choice if you want to try a variety). We both thought it was okay -- not terrible, but nothing that blew our minds out of this world. I will say their thin Canadian Egg Noodles were delicious.
As far as broths, our server explained that the Thai Suki and Vietnamese are best if you are big into seafood. The Mongolian is more of a beef-based broth (Very tasty and a good choice, if you're going the non-seafood route). The Japanese Shabu and Healthy Chinese Herbal are on the lighter side.
With sauces, I was hoping there would be a soy sauce or shoyu-based option for our meats. But there wasn't. We did sesame sauce for vegetables and ordered one of each for the rest of the sauces. They're only $0.50 each, so it was worth a try. Thai Chili is sweet, Garlic Sesame Oil is exactly what it sounds like, Sha Cha is pasty, and Sa Te is your chili oil sauce.
Our server, Tran Hong Anh (the name on our receipt) was super helpful in explaining their menu and concept to us. She was very attentive and patient during our first experience here. My only complaint is the staff didn't bring two items that we marked down on our order sheet. But we didn't say anything, because we ended up with enough food anyways to get us full.
Would I come back here? Sure, if a friend wanted to try it. Would I go out of my way to seek it out again? Probably not.