Gerald S.
Yelp
The snow was falling when we 5 arrived at KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot in the Philadelphia Mills huge shopping center. We were celebrating my son's birthday and he chose the restaurant, apparently from past experience.
We sat at a booth in back, with hot plate for BBQ built into the table, and smaller placements for individual hot pots. We opted for the combo AYCE and had all the heat sources turned on high as we jumped into boiling up the hot pot base and the center grill. It was obvious that the young man and his brother were gung ho, as they ordered plate after plate of beef, lamb and salmon for the barbee and thin sliced meats, veggies and large shrimp for the hotpot. Oh! I forgot to mention several plates of blue crab also were delivered to our table.
I guess I should admit that I have issues with the AYCE business model. The one price invites gluttony and waste, and a general departure of modesty and appreciation that given the state of the world, we shouldn't flaunt our excesses. But, that's just me. The rest of the fam went to town like they hadn't eaten in weeks. They loved it, while I ate what I wanted and stopped when full. They continued on for another hour.
This is not to say that the food on our table wasn't good. From what I consumed, I was pleased with the quality of the meat and seafood. The DIY Sauce Bar was clever and offered large variety. Watching birthday boy work the grill with aplomb was a joy. He knew what he was doing. The Szechuan base for my hotpot was spicy enough to chase all chills away and start my nose running. That is part of the full experience, after all.
Service was excellent all the way. It seemed my kid knew our server, as they kept calling each other, "Bro." When he found out it was son's birthday, we discovered that KPOT would take 50% off his order. Nice touch!
The last memorable image I have of that evening was the sight of spouse and sons tearing apart the boiled crab to suck out tiny morsels of crabmeat. They were fine young cannibals.
For me, this would suffice as a once in a lifetime moment. Knowing how much enjoyment the others had, I expect that it won't be.
When all was said and done, we had run up a bill of a few hundred bucks, our fingers and lips were greasy, and everyone needed a nap.