Paul C.
Yelp
Panda King is well known for it's tradition dim sum, but tonight I experienced what's behind door number two. Literally, next to the dim sum restaurant is a separate entrance to a completely different world. It's a large dining room that is setup with two options. On the right is a gigantic buffet and on the left is a dining area dedicated to a unique hot pot dining experience. This review is about my hot pot experience.
The hot pot concept is not new to me, but Panda King's implementation is exciting and unique. I've never seen anything like this.The tables are custom built so that each diner has their own built-in burner. There is a simple control that is used to control the heat to your burner. This allows each person to choose their own soup base and to build their own hot pot.
The protocol is simple, but can be intimidating for the first time. Luckily, our waitress and the staff were very very helpful. There are four steps. Order your soup base, order from a list of raw proteins (that you will share), select add-ins that are pushed around the restaurant (dim sum cart style), and use sauces and seasonings from a dip station. So, let me break this down.
First, you choose your soup base from one of six different broths. The most popular are the Spicy Thai Tom Yum and the Beef broth. As the meal progresses the waitress will add more hot broth. I chose the Thai Tom Yum. It was good, not too spicy or too sour.
Our table of six ordered four proteins to share. The brisket, pork belly, short ribs, and scallops. The meats are thinly sliced and presented in perfectly stacked rolls. It was an impressive presentation, and an effective way to get individual pieces of meat. The thin cuts cook very quickly in your boiling stock. But, we agreed that our meat selections tasted the same after being cooked. The scallops were giant, and the were good. Four orders were plenty for our party.
The highlight to me was the push carts that came to your table with add-ins. The carts contain an endless variety of different items. Some examples were: mushrooms, noodles, dumplings, green vegetables, and seafoods. Add-ins are served on plates that contain enough to share. As I mentioned the cart order technique is very much like at dim sum. As you order, the wait staff marks a tally on your order sheet.
The last item to describe is the dip station. You visit this before your meal begins. The stations contains at least a dozen different seasonings and dipping sauces. As an example, I got some freshly chopped garlic, mix of minced peppers, and a hot chilli paste.
Our experience was fabulous. It is an interactive, social event that everyone enjoyed. We ordered an insane amount of food because everything looked so good. And, I was surprised by how affordable our dinner was. With tip, our bill was approximately $100. I strongly recommend, and I hope you enjoy as much as we did.