Issan Z.
Yelp
We went there on Valentine's day around 16h PM to avoid the expected crowd that evening. It was quite early, but I think it was a good choice! The service was extremely attentive in the first hour of their opening. As the restaurant became more and more busy, the workers understandably had more on their hands.
The place is quite spatious, with clean tables and lots of light. It was fairly well aerated, although I suspect it can get hot when it is crowded. The self-serve station was well stocked, with plenty of choices, including most essentials. It is actually the best stocked self-serve station I have seen so far in Montreal (although there was no soy sauce). There was plenty of soup bases. We tried two, the seafood laksa and the mushroom soups. Both were tasty, and not too salty. Ordering of the food stuff was communicated directly to a waiter, who then brought all the dishes with the help of the super duper cute BellaBot, whose cat-like features and little quirps became the center of attention wherever it went. The meat was fairly thin and tender. Food was fresh and tasty, and the quality was good. I particularly like the pork blood and beef aorta (althought the portions was very small). Because it was Valentine's Day, we received a free brown sugar and jelly dessert. They also kindly gave a portion of lamb and coriander meatballs as promotion!
Overall, a very satisfying experience. I would definitely set Liuyishou as my go-to hotpot place downtown, and aim to avoid the most busy times.
Note: Don't know what to sauce to settle for? Try this Sichuanese classic:
plenty of sesame oil, generous dollops of garlic, a bit of salt, a bit of sugar, a bit of oyster sauce, plenty of coriander and a bit of green onions. Mix and enjoy as dip!