Shancheng Lameizi

After visiting so many hot pot restaurants, I still prefer this place. They have renovated it again, giving it a unique charm. The service is friendly, the environment is clean, and the quality of the dishes is excellent. I have been here many times. Today is my daughter's birthday, and she asked for hot pot. I brought her here, and she also loves it.

Great hot pot spot. All sauce essentials are there, including the mushroom sauce. I liked the shrimp paste in fungus (bamboo fungus), the sweet potato noodles and the fried tofu skin was a bit thicker than usual. The med spicy wasn’t too spicy for us. Was really good! Definitely try the desserts. Sesame balls and dessert soups were yummy.

Excellent experience! The food was great and the price was very reasonable. There was a variety of snacks to choose from and they were all very delicious. The price was cheaper than HDL hotpot.

The Food Have not had hot pot for a while, and a friend recommended Shan Cheng La Mei Zi so we decided to give it a try. They mentioned they quite enjoyed their side dish that they offer. We ordered their split soup base with spicy and mushroom. We also had their Beef Combo and Vegetable Combo, along with some a la carte items. The quality of the ingredients was pretty good and presented nicely. But I can see why my friend was hyping about the side dishes. They have a variety of snacks and side with their sauce bar to go alone with the meal. There are items such as hawthorns, shrimp chips, jellies, etc.. It was a nice snack and appetizer to go along with the meal. It was an enjoyable experience and I would recommend trying at least once. The Miscellaneous Shan Cheng La Mei Zi is inside a large plaza, so there is a good amount of parking. The restaurant itself had some nice interior design aesthetics. Their menu has a good selection of items. But I was more impressed with their selection of snacks and side dishes. It was a nice addition to the meal. Their service was also good, no complaints there. This was an interesting hot pot experience, and I would like to return to try out their other selections.

A good variety of appetizer dishes and sauces at the sauce bar! Pumpkin sesame balls and coconut jelly were both really good! Fatty beef slices were VERY fat so only order it if you are okay with that. Medium spicy broth was not very spicy and the taste was just okay. Service and atmosphere were both excellent!

Nice spacious room with oriented old-school interiors. Food is overall tasty, well presented and authentic. Especially amazed by the counter next to the sauce bar where sweet treats are served free! Enjoyed the meal as party of two but it would also be ideal for a larger party to try out much more variety of the food. Come in early/prior to the peak mealtime if you’d like to avoid the wait. 鴛鴦鍋/牛肉雙拼/竹箏蝦滑/大腐皮/茼蒿/功夫魚片

This is definitely a place for Chinese people, very authentic, and very hard for non Chinese speakers to get used to. I wouldn’t recommend if you don’t speak Chinese or aren’t used to people speaking loudly. They’ve got a decent set of appetizers and deserts. Loved the sauce station too!

Bland tasting soup base. Do not recommend the hotpot. Come for the food, but have to stay for the environment.

What first caught my attention about this place was their menu.. they actually offer pig brain as an option!! ! Seeing it on the menu really set the tone for how authentic and bold this spot is. I was curious but definitely was not feeling bold enough to try it... When we arrived, I was immediately fascinated by the entrance. It's completely blocked off and private, giving the place an exclusive, almost hidden feel. Once inside, the first thing that stood out was the sauce bar and wow, it's hands down the biggest one I've ever seen at any hot pot restaurant. They had every sauce and condiment you could think of, plus little extras like individually wrapped snacks and even DIY desserts. I'll be honest, I wasn't a fan of most of the pre-mixed items, but the custom sauce I put together for dipping my meats turned out great. For our soup base, we went with the half spicy broth and half mushroom broth. The spicy side delivered that signature Sichuan kick, but the mushroom broth was the real winner for me. It was absolutely delicious, easily the best mushroom broth I've had anywhere. Rich, earthy, and flavorful from start to finish, it held its depth all the way through the meal, never fading into something bland or watered down. Overall, Shancheng Lameizi delivered a unique hot pot experience. Between the adventurous menu (still thinking about that pig brain!), the impressive sauce bar, and the unbeatable mushroom broth, it's a spot I'd recommend to anyone who wants an alternative version to Haidilao.

The Food Have not had hot pot for a while, and a friend recommended Shan Cheng La Mei Zi so we decided to give it a try. They mentioned they quite enjoyed their side dish that they offer. We ordered their split soup base with spicy and mushroom. We also had their Beef Combo and Vegetable Combo, along with some a la carte items. The quality of the ingredients was pretty good and presented nicely. But I can see why my friend was hyping about the side dishes. They have a variety of snacks and side with their sauce bar to go alone with the meal. There are items such as hawthorns, shrimp chips, jellies, etc.. It was a nice snack and appetizer to go along with the meal. It was an enjoyable experience and I would recommend trying at least once. The Miscellaneous Shan Cheng La Mei Zi is inside a large plaza, so there is a good amount of parking. The restaurant itself had some nice interior design aesthetics. Their menu has a good selection of items. But I was more impressed with their selection of snacks and side dishes. It was a nice addition to the meal. Their service was also good, no complaints there. This was an interesting hot pot experience, and I would like to return to try out their other selections.

Good vegetables and half broth options. Price was fair. I thought quality of meat could be betters the beef tongue was very lean and chewy. The beef and lamb were good. My wife likes tripe and intestines so hot pot with these options are typically a hit for her. Inside the restaurant is very big and there's several rooms. It was quite busy on a Friday night.

The dessert/snack bar alone is worth 5 stars. They have a very diverse selection of meats that are difficult to find in similar restaurants. The interior design is very well thought out, place is clean and well kept, and the service is attentive. The only downside is that it is pretty pricey compared to other hot pot places, but I think this is a case of you get what you pay for.

This is notably one of my favorite hotpot chain restaurants. While there isn't an AYCE option, I really love the large and unique variety of à la cart menu items to select from. It can get expensive if you go to town and not track what you're ordering. They also have really flavorful broths. Spicy is really spicy, so proceed with caution! If you're adventurous and want to try something exotic, this is the place! Challenge your friend (or yourself) to some pig brains! They have all kinds of funky stuff, you'll have to check it out for yourself. Make sure you order some "fortune bags." You'll have to trust me on this one. They also have a condiments/snacks/dessert bar. Definitely save room for the desserts! The restaurant was very nicely decorated and clean. They have hair ties and glass wiping cloths at the entrance. In the restroom there are complimentary toiletries for freshening up after your meal. Service was quick and friendly.

I think this is a great hotpot spot with lots of options. You can get up to 9 soup bases with the nine boxes square pot, but we only got two soup bases. We got the tomato soup and the mild spicy soup. I think the tomato soup is not as good as HDL's and I would like to try the bone soup next time. I can't handle spices really well but the mild soup was still fairly spicy. They have a huge side bar and lots of free snacks and sauces. Please do note you have to pay $3 for the sauce bar. My favorite item from the menu is the fungus with fresh shrimp curd. The fungus soaks up the soup and paired so well with the shrimp. The meat we got were fresh. The booths were huge and the lights created a nice ambiance. The staffs were helpful and extremely quick. I would recommend this place to my friends!

been thinking about this place so often and finally had the opportunity to stop by again and it did not disappoint! for myself and two other friends what we've ordered this time around was just the perfect amount and we were able to share a lot of various dishes which I love and appreciate the variety. we had ordered the fatty beef belly , the angus ribeye, and short rib for meats. for the rice cakes, spinach (cook it in a non-spicy soups if you have the option because sometimes the oil might soak up through the leafs and it could be quite difficult to eat), enoki mushrooms, seaweed (came in slices not knots - which is actually pretty difficult to cook), lotus roots, tofu skin rolls, and potatoes. 10/10 still recommend this spot (already wanting to go back as im writing this review). The ambience is very relaxing and pretty intimate and great for small parties. and the service was pretty attentive and I appreciate how quick everything came out!

I cannot believe I never came here before. It basically can compare to the hotpot in China. Finally someone can do a decent broth and sesame dipping sauce. They have a help yourself style condiment & snack station and charged by person. As to dishes, it's not buffet, you pay what you order. They have a selection of of hotpot items that are hardly to be found elsewhere, I love the kidney and the black tribe. The decoration is nice and the seating also provide certain privacy. And surprisingly the price is reasonable. Will definitely come back more often .

The place is beautiful, it reminds of ancient China days. I love it!! The service is spot on, they are super attentive, friendly, and easy going. We ordered more, but we started eating I forgot to take more photos. We also got Kobe, prawns, and combination mushrooms. I like Seapot too. It's definitely different, this is not all you can eat. Seapot is modern looking. You don't get some of the exotic stuff that you would find at Seapot. For examples brain, pork blood, I believe I saw pigs ears, and chicken feet too. I don't eat those particular parts of animals. If you're someone that enjoys that, this spot is for you. This is our second time there. I will definitely come back, that's how much I enjoyed it. The food was fresh and impeccable.

the place is very spacious and lots of seats with great ambiance. staffs are very attentive and nice and service is great!!! love the hotpot here and you can mix your own sauces and they give lots of desserts that you can take your own and seriously, top notch for the taste!!! very recommended place and for sure that i will be back again...

First time here and want to say that their soup base is amazing. You give me a good soup base and that's enough for me to give you 3-4 stars. The rest of the experience was also good which contributes to the 5 stars. I'm a sucker for a good spicy soup with a balance of the bone broth. We got the mild spicy one and that was hella spicy tbh. Ingredients and meat were fresh. We got the mushroom combo, fish fillet, shrimp paste, lamb and beef combo, fatty beef, quail eggs and fried rice cake. The fried rice cake is a little greasy but has a sweet interior and good texture when first eaten. My only complaint is that the price was a bit high. We ended up spending $150 amongst 3 people before tip and although it was good, I was not expecting it to be as pricey as it was. Would still come back though lol I did wish I got the soup to go. The sauces were good and had snacks like sesame balls and coconut desert and some soups. The space was large. Servers speak mandarin but understand English. They do not really check up on you as much which is why I can understand all the negative reviews but if you waive them down, they will come (common in many authentic Chinese restaurants).

Surprised to see this place is only 3 stars on Yelp as we really like this place (both for takeout to do at home as well as dine-in). This is a popular chain in China with a few locations in the Bay Area. We went on Christmas day 2024 and the staff was friendly and attentive. Food-wise the quality of the beef was great. On our recent visit the lamb shoulder was very very "game-y", much more than usual and had some signs of oxidation. We've ordered it before and it wasn't that way, but worth mentioning. The DIY sauce bar has everything you'd want there from a standard hot pot place. No comments on ambiance really, maybe it's a little too dark inside? But overall it's clean so no complaints.

Second time been there. Authentic food as usual. Always love the free choice of condiments and snacks.

I have tried various hot pot places including chinese hot pot. I'd prefer going to Haidailao over this place...sauce bar felt badly placed and a bit claustrophobic. The soup bases were "whatever". Got the house spicy (mild / medium) and the mild was too spicy for my liking. Service was nonexistent. The theming of the place was cool though, but I'd probably choose another hot pot place over this one...

Shancheng Lameizi is a hot pot chain that has a very popular spot in Socal. Even though the line is much shorter here, the quality here doesn't suffer much at all. I have been to both locations and I really enjoyed the food from both. The meat slices were tender and the broth was deeply flavorful. They are known for their mala spicy broth so I highly recommend it if you can take the heat! This paired amazing with some beer and great company. The ambiance here is what takes it over the top. Fast service and enough space for a group. Really clean and polished feel inside. This is the perfect place to hang out with friends while you eat and drink. Another thing to judge hotpot places by is their side dish bar. From the jello to the fried sesame balls and range of sauces, they really got everything. You can get really full just eating the snacks from the bar! I give this place 5 stars because I love the food and vibe here. The only thing I would say is skip the "fresh beef" dish. I expected thinly sliced beef and got thick chunks with an egg on top.

Food was decent, but decent food is everywhere. Came out relatively quick, plating and organization of food is okay. Got pork, beef, and lamb, and it tasted okay. Service is terrible. Honestly felt like the waiters don't care if you live or die or if the restaurant caught on fire (at least try to pretend you care lol). There's no easy way to flag down a server and they don't really come around until you're ready to pay the check. Maybe a bad day for the person we had, who knows.

I loveeeee this hot pot place! I'm a sucker for spicy hot pot and this place never disappoints. All the soup broths are super flavorful and the spicy one is so fragrant an delicious. All the ingredients are super fresh and high quality. You can pay around $3 per person for unlimited sauce bar and snacks. There's sesame balls, crunchy chips, etc. We came around 7pm on a Saturday and there was no wait! You check what you want on the menu and hand it to the server. At times it can be hard to flag down a server but it was no problem. I highly recommend trying this place out! I took my friend and he loved it!

Wow the reviews on this place are so polarizing. I can understand why, because I had some highs and lows during my meal as well. Starting off with the "good" -- the menu is huge and has everything from duck blood to wagyu to goose intestine. -- all the ingredients were really fresh! -- the interior is spacious and the tables are large -- the sauce bar is beautiful with lots of options, including dessert and snacks! -- this place makes fresh sesame balls which are amazing!! I ate like 5 balls during my meal haha They make three types of sesame balls but the filled one is my favorite. Now the "bad" -- Service is not good. Our rice came to our table hard and dry, so we asked for another rice and the server seemed to imply that the reason it was dry was because we let the rice sit at our table for too long and the air conditioning did that? Weird excuse but they did give us another bowl. -- The servers are hard to get ahold of and only speak Chinese. I speak the language but it might be difficult for a diner who does not.

Overpriced, portions are on the smaller side... Both food and service are acceptable. Soup base pricey.

Never been to China but I can totally feel the authentic Chinese vibe here just by the decor. There is a sauce station, snack and dessert station at the back. The sign on cart said it's free but it's totally not as in the menu it says $2.25 per person, which is worth it as there's tons of variety to choose. We got the hot sauce: mild and spicy. The mild in my standard is still very spicy. The spicy one is a little oily. Food here is great. Must try the shrimp paste. Price is reasonable. They are a little low on staff. But the food came fast and hot. The staff was quick to assist even though she is not really friendly, no smile. But that's probably because she's always busy. I would totally go back again.

Now that I've been here twice I feel pretty confident in saying this is at least as good if not better than any other hot pot place in the Bay Area. The selection of items is fantastic, with many kinds of premium meats, meatballs, mushrooms, noodles, and all kinds of tofu. There are also vegetables but vegetables in hot pot are weird so don't bother ordering them. The broth is very flavorful with a decent amount of heat. Could it be spicier? Yes. Should they offer a spicier version? Also yes. But this is what we get in the US, and at least it tastes really good. Next time I would like to try asking for an off-menu level of spiciness, but for most people it's probably fine. Inside the restaurant has kind of an odd layout, with several separated rooms with multiple tables in each. I'm not sure why they did that vs one larger space, but it's fine. Decor-wise it's kind of a mix between modern and traditional Chinese. The sauce bar here is also fantastic, with a large selection of sauces and some instructions on how to make some traditional mixes. Or you can do what I do and just mix random things. Don't forget the MSG! There are obviously a lot of hot pot restaurants in the Bay Area, so it can be hard to sift through the merely decent ones and find the really good ones. This place, thankfully, is one of the best. They only take one credit card per table though, so be warned. Also parking is easy since they are in a large mall, but there are a lot of warnings about break ins so don't leave your valuables inside.

Essentially, we just believed too much on the four stars reviews. Which was biased. Before we visited here, I checked and read manually the one, twos and three reviews why they despised this place so much. Then, the four star reviews outweighed my decision to go and try out this place. Verdict: 1. The mala sauce was too oily for us. We ordered; premium beef, glass noodle, four different types of veggies, shrimp paste, tilapia fillet. For the broth, we ordered half bone broth, and half mala sauce. Bone broth was delicious and comforting, however, we felt really bloated after we ate here. 2. The quality of the beef was disappointing. The cut was too thick, it was quite different with the beef cut with the other shabu shabu place. We were expecting to roll the beef with our chopstick after we dipped it into the broth, but it was quite impossible after the beef was so rigid and almost like a steak texture. It was disappointing indeed. 3. They charge dipping sauce per person. It was $3 per person. Not a hefty charge, however, I tried the snacks and it was stale for most of it. The worthy snacks to get was only the mini sesame balls. The rests were just too awful. Fortunately I'm not a dipping sauce kind of person, so I don't need to get dipping sauce when I eat my hot pot meal. 4. The bloated feeling afterwards was just too unbearable. I had to take medicine to get rid the awful feeling. My husband even had to take number two twice in a row since our stomach was feeling "hot" and "uncomfortable" They gave us $20 coupon off to come back, but we decided not to ever come back again.

I had a sudden craving for Chongqing style mala hotpot, and this place truly delivered above and beyond my expectations. + Excellent food, dishes well presented and good portion sizes + Snack bar with delicious desserts + Friendly staff + Nice eating area, and the making-of videos on the TVs are interesting + I went on Sunday at around 1PM and it wasn't crowded, so we got seated fast + Lots of support for Chinese on the menus and from the staff. Unfortunately, I can't read Chinese so I wasn't easily able to identify the vegetables I wanted to order, but they do offer a picture menu. Get it if you're illiterate like me. + They aren't messing around with the spicy broth. We got medium and it still had my party reeling. Just what I wanted!!

One of my favorite hotpot spots! This place does not have AYCE and is a la carte. This is Chongqing specialized hotpot and can be very spicy depending on the level you choose. Most of the waitstaff mainly speak Chinese so there may be some difficulty ordering. They have a huge sauce/snack bar that does come with an extra charge. I much prefer this to Haidilao if I were to go for a non AYCE hotpot place.

there was no line once ordered, and the service was super fast. meats where high quality and reasonably priced. sauce bar was great.

I've been here twice so far and each time the service was horrible. The first time I came here, it was during the weekend and the place was busy. However, the second time it was during a weekday for dinner and the place was a lot emptier. There were only two other parties present. I was understanding the first time on waiters being preoccupied as I can see the place is packed, but the second time had me thinking this is not unintentional. For both occasions, my table had to flag down a waiter in order to be heard. This is understandable when the place is filled, but not when it is empty. I also noticed that each time eating here, the waiters would hang around the other parties tables but quickly walk past mine. It made me feel unwelcomed here. There was also a language barrier with a waiter, but that does not excuse ignoring our table. I noticed that waiters treated other tables that had no language barrier more attentively. While for my table, waiters intentionally ignored us and gave us a funny look for asking for water. Waiters would also refill the other tables water immediately without them asking. Yet when we asked for a refill, a waiter responded with "What for?" Some may argue that this response was because of a language barrier, but his body language said otherwise. Either way, all tables should be treated with the same attentiveness. I don't want to eat at an establishment where I feel unwanted. It also took us around thirty minutes to an hour to be seated and even then, the table was not fully cleaned. We still had to wipe it down ourselves with a napkin. The food is decent. It's not bad, but it also isn't anything note worthy. Nothing about it stood out to me from other hot pots. You're not missing out on an experience if you skip out on dining here. There is also a huge variety of hot pot choices around here. Although, the interior is lovely. I was hoping for higher quality food since the interior was so well decorated.

Shancheng Lameizi Hot Pot is located in the 99 Ranch plaza in Milpitas, off of 237. They are located on the right hand side corner of the complex, if you're facing the 99 Ranch supermarket. I haven't done much indoor dining since the pandemic, and recently made an exception for Shancheng since they don't have outdoor dining options. Luckily, they are a newer and modern hot pot restaurant, and have really good ventilation as well as decent spacing between most booths/tables. With 80+ items/combos to order from, there should be something for everyone! Vegetable items range from $4.98 to $7.98, and the majority of seafood items and other proteins range from $6.98 to $14.98. There were some outliers of pricier proteins, such as: goose intestine ($30.98), wagyu beef ($30.98), and kobe beef ribeye ($49.98). For more adventurous eaters, they have beef aorta ($11.98), pork kidney ($12.98), pig brain ($9.98), and pork intestine ($10.98). It was just starting to get busy at 6pm on a Saturday, and I'd highly recommend coming early on the weekends to avoid a wait. There was still a small crowd of people waiting for tables when we left around 8pm. I tried: [https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=dNphufnlCE1HNw57-ud8-w&userid=76vIFZcC7owykCBjMfGVXg, https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=8CmYInKAmXw41kVpcIRgkQ&userid=76vIFZcC7owykCBjMfGVXg] -Half & Half Pot (w/Bone Soup Pot & Mild Spicy Pot, $13.98): The bone soup pot was savory and had subtle umami, and was perfect when combined with the mild spicy pot. Although I love spicy food, I actually wouldn't go spicier than the mild spicy, since they added a good amount of Sichuan numbing peppers as well as chili oil. -Homemade Shrimp Paste ($12.98): Yum- this was one of our favorites. We used the shrimp paste to form our own shrimp balls in the soup, and they were airy, bouncy, and flavorful- recommended! -Lamb Shoulder ($11.98): Great lamb shoulder, and it had a good ratio of lean to fat. I loved that they sliced their proteins super thin, and they cooked really quickly in the hot pot. -Fatty Beef Belly ($10.98): Yum- super fatty and delicious; however, the fat disintegrated into the soup broth. Although I enjoyed the beef belly, we ended up ordering more of the short rib since there was more meat to it. -Certified Angus Beef Short Rib ($13.98): Yum- one of our favorite cuts of beef we tried, and it had a good amount of marbling. Recommended! -Certified Angus Beef Ribeye ($16.98): Super fresh and sliced really thinly, but a little too lean for my preference. -Beef Tendon Ball ($7.98): Great version of beef tendon balls, and surprisingly flavorful. They score one of the sides for you so that it cooks more quickly and evenly- recommended. -Boneless Duck Feet ($9.98): Just ok for me since I like my duck feet more gelatinous, and with a sauce- skip! -Fish Tofu ($7.98): Good version of fish tofu, but I liked other items that we ordered more. -Bean Curd Stick ($5.98): This was a huge portion of bean curd stick for the price, and it was good when eaten with other items. -Enoki Mushroom ($7.98): I love enoki mushrooms, but this was a little pricey for the portion. -Wood Ear Mushroom ($6.98): I also love wood ear mushrooms, but it was also a little pricey for the portion. -Fried Tofu Skin Rolls ($6.98): Yum- I really liked the fried tofu skin rolls! These cook super quickly, and they only need a few seconds in the broth. -Hot Pot Noodle ($3.89): The noodles seemed really fresh, but they didn't have much flavor and it was a small portion- skip! -Chongqing Tapioca Pasta ($5.98): The tapioca pasta was crazy chewy. I was on the fence about it, but it's worth trying once if you enjoy super chewy noodles. Service was hit or miss, and we'd have to flag down a server to add to our order, but other times they would stop by proactively to add to water/broth to our hot pot. I loved their sauce bar where you could make your own dipping sauce for the hot pot. There was also a variety of different appetizers (even a few packaged items) and desserts (ranging from dessert soups to different types of fried sesame balls). I would skip all the appetizers (I didn't particularly like any that I tried), and stick to the larger sesame balls since they're filled with red bean! The smaller sesame ball was good, but had no filling. The flat sesame wheat cake was a little too savory for my preference. I would come back to give their other broths a try, and/or if coming with a group of people since the booths can hold 8-10 comfortably. Parking in this complex can get busy/crowded, but there were a good amount of spots to choose from.

Little quaint spot off McCarthy in Milpitas. Down the street from Koi Palace. Just the two of us having hot pot. You've got their signature spicy and non spicy. Chose the milk spicy and bone broth. First timers and their bar is super duper huge with many selections from sauce, snacks to desserts. The sauce bar they charge per person and it isn't your standard ponzu and works, they've got pickled radish, spices and others. Lots of options and creations. Bae just watched and threw it all together. Coming back for snacks and desserts later. Always bring your empty stomach, rest, digest and start again. Lol Had some lamb shoulder, beef, veggies, marinated fillet, fresh tofu, chicken gizzard, tripe and their fresh noodles. So much food. The spicy mild broth was actually very spicy. Had those numbing spices too. Could only eat so much. It was worth it. Classy ancient inside feel of the restaurant. Just pure cozy! Sesame ball at the end is all I could stomach. Don't miss out!

One of my favorite hot pot places in the bay area, inside a big shopping center surrounded by many places to try. It would be 5 stars if I didn't experience The X Pot in Las Vegas. Plus the bonus of having Ume right next door for after dinner boba fix. Easy parking, safe and normally always busy. Special items worthy to order on your visit. The goose intestines, duck blood, fresh beef and "Fungus w/ Fresh Shrimp Curd" Things you probably don't want to order. The "Nine Boxes Square Pot" because...what's the point of having 9 boxes if all the soup is still being shared. I guess if you are lazy and don't want to look for certain items you cook. But I prefer to get 2 different types of broth. The Pork Kidney wasn't fresh when we ordered it, left a really bad aftertaste. I would have to say the same thing with the chili spicy beef. I'll attach a photo of it, it's the one where there's so much chili on it you don't see the meat. The aftertaste is really really bitter. Great selection of vegetables, the 8 second potato was very thin so it soaked up a lot of the flavors, and the tapioca noodles were like eating long strands of boba pearls. Highly recommend with the spicy broth.

Very high quality and authentic hot pot place! The snack bar has lots of snacks and desserts, but I do wish they offered fruits.

Delicious spicy pot, on par or even better than some of the bigger busy hotpot places. Service was fast and efficient, and the place had a really nice layout with lots of space to sit and a nice ambiance. Sauce bar was the best. Definitely recommend if you want authentic chinese hotpot :)

A more premium a la carte (spicy!) hotpot experience going on in this Milpitas joint, as a chain coming from mainland China (much like Huadilao). They don't skimp on the oil to act as a medium for all the spicy/mala flavor, so things are a tad on the greasy side. Flavor seems generally on point and sauce bar had a pretty good selection of items and snacks/desserts, though ultimately it's debatable on value as it feels a bit expensive (especially with fewer people). Either way, I saw no issues with service that others mentioned, so I can happily recommend you try this place out! Being situated right in Milpitas Square means it's reasonably easy to get parking in the massive lot, though admittedly weekday nights are much easier. Decor-wise things definitely felt fancier than your standard hotpot place, and sections of the restaurant are separated into different rooms and plenty of traditionally inspired flair (true to their Chinese roots). Service was pretty swift and waitstaff readily answered questions, though a few staff members were more abrupt in retrieving another staff member without a peep if we spoke in English (presumably because they didn't speak it well) so I can see how misunderstandings might develop. Questions about menu items were politely answered, and one waitstaff even took the time to point out which items were what after it was clear we weren't familiar with everything. I felt fairly well taken care of, especially with broth and water refills. When it comes down to the food, I found the Nine Boxes Spicy Pot (Hot) broth quite strong and flavorful with lots of numbing spiciness galore (and not holding back on that punch too). Just the sheer quantity of the hotpot definitely makes it seem like the pricing and volume is geared more for groups of 4+ (flat price at about $13-15). I'd highly recommend the sauce bar ($3) as they have quite the selection of traditional trimmings as well as dry snacks and desserts, though things aren't that well labeled so you kind of need to know what you're doing already or you might be rather lost (I like my combo of soy/seafood/sesame sauces with garlic, peanuts, and pickled vegetables garnished with green onion and ciltantro). I did quite enjoy the fried goods I saw much in my childhood, and the fried sesame dough balls were definitely a highlight. Save a bit of room at the end for the Chinese dessert soups and you won't regret it (the white fungus is a personal favorite). We ordered 3 meat dishes (fried pork, beef belly, lamb shoulder) and two veggie combos which came out to about right for two guys (in total it came out to about $42 pp). Portion-wise things were definitely light given the price, but dipping misc. fried goods into the hotpot helped make up for it somewhat (we didn't need to order rice or starches at all). Vegetables seemed quite fresh and meats were of tender cuts. Although I forgot to take a picture of the meat, it was thinly sliced and readily cooked, but hard to gauge quality beyond "it was fine" since the broth and my dipping sauce were strongly flavored. The fried pork came out quite nicely when paired with either a dipping sauce or the hotpot broth; it definitely felt like it had a bit of glutinous rice flour in it as it had quite a nice bounce to it. Noteworthy is the fact they had a number of more adventurous and premium items like Wagyu/Kobe, tripe/intestines, Pig brain, congealed blood and the like.

Love the foods, also the environment, no loud music. Good for friend gathering. Staffs were super nice.

The food is delicious and savory. The service is excellent. The waiters are quick, understanding, and gets the food here quickly. This place is so unique because of their snack buffet. Even their bathroom is such high quality! The decorations are so pretty. They have a red, yellow, and blue stained glass windows. This place is huge though! My daughter even says that this is her new favorite place to eat at!

I was in this plaza and saw a hugeeee line for this place so I quickly Yelped and see what kinda food they were serving. I was surprised to see such low ratings & (relatively) little reviews for this place. I read that people mostly complained about service and, more recently, covid precautions. Service - I don't really care about, as long as I get my food and the food tastes good. Covid precautions - I was a bit worried....but we went anyway, at around 8:30pm and on a Saturday. Fortunately, there was no wait at all...and there was a big table open for us. I love it when hotpot places give us a huge table (even tho we only have 2 ppl) because that means we can put a lot of food and sauces on the table. The tables were sectioned off by tents so I felt pretty protected from other customers. They require us to wear gloves (provided at the entrance) when we go in and pick up sauces & desserts. Bf and I ordered the 9-wall broth (very spicy) because...well, we love spicy food. I didn't get rice for myself since it was night time and I was feeling guilty about the amount of food I've been eating these days. We got 3 types of combos + some additional meat and veggies...ended up with 14 items to put into our broth. That...was a mistake. We had way too much leftover & had to take the meat (uncooked) togo. Overall - it was good & spicy. Next time, I'd probably get rice though because the spicy veggies were too much for me to handle (all that spice gets soaked in, making it extra spicy)

This place has such a glorious presence in this plaza so I've always been curious to try it out. We did check out the reviews before deciding to try this place, but we rather base it on our own judgments so we came here for a try! It's a beautiful restaurant and it has such a luxurious feel to it. I can see that they are going for the same vibe as Haidilao by having hair ties and wipes for your glasses. There are a lot of other fun amenities too such as the snacks and desserts by the sauce bar. The price is very hefty for what you're getting tbh. I don't feel like the meat quality was that great and you get very little for the price. The meat quality is okay, it's what you would expect at any hot pot place. Their menu is ala carte style. There are a couple of interesting items but I don't feel like their menu is as vast as I would like it. Interesting items are: Shrimp in fungi, it's literally what it is. There's a fungus and they stick a shrimp in it, LOL. It soaks up the hot pot broth nicely. Fish Dumplings. It's not your standard dumpling that you would imagine. It sort of looks like a rolled rice cake. They take the fish paste and roll into a wrapper. It's pretty good. For the broth, we got bone broth and spicy. We got the split pot. I wouldn't say it's a unique tasting broth and the flavors didn't really stick with me. I feel like I would enjoy a Little Sheep Packet from the supermarket more. Their spicy is really spicy and I could feel the ringing in my ears. I did enjoy the sauce bar. The sauce bar has any sauce you can imagine for hot pot. My favorite combo is sesame sauce, black vinegar, minced garlic, green onions, satay and a bit of seafood sauce with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. For those of you who like to mix in a raw egg with your sauce, that's an extra charge for that egg and it's an extra $2 per person for access to the sauce bar. I did like how there were snacks there. Gluten snacks, fried dough, sweet potato starch balls that have been deep fried, wasabi peas, sesame crackers, etc. LOL lots of these snacks could be purchased at the 99 Ranch nearby. There were also some desserts at the snack bar such as white fungus, jelly, etc. Service here was okay. The servers were nice. There are no outside food or drinks allowed and I thought it was nice of them to offer to keep our drinks in their fridge for us. I think this place has a lot of potential. It's a beautiful restaurant but the high price does not match the quality I'm getting IMO.

10/22/22 So, I'm just gonna cut to the chase and talk about what most anyone cares about who knows what this place is and is itching to come: Haidilao or here? Both super famous brands in China, both with epic reputations for being among the toppest tier of hot pot awesomeness, in ways that probably cannot be approached in America, LEGALLY......... Which leads to: #1. Both are not the same in America as China. No I never went to the Chinese locations, but from the craziness I heard of what you'll see in China, no... neither do that. ....but they try to give you a taste. #2. The experience, or... "service": Yeah "experience" means something else at their original locations, cause Haidilao is famously over-the-top, but here... Okay so Haidilao will have a free snacks outside for you to just partake in while you wait, but Shancheng doesn't do that. But, what Shancheng does do is give you snacks at the sauce bar. Interesting. Anyway...... "service" is clearly better at Haidilao. This is probably why this place only gets 3 stars, cause honestly it's clearly not cause of the food. If anything it's cause of the service--most waiters/waitresses/bussers can't care less you exist. But any Chinese person who does hot pot in China knows this place is LEGIT AS IT GETS with the food. #3. The food: right, this place is MORE "legit" than Haidilao. There were actually items I never saw before in a restaurant. Check out their house-made potato noodles (the thick wide chewy things... house made! It's different.) Or their house-made tofu skin--also different. After it cooks it becomes a silky pillowy fluffy carpet of soupiness. Mmmmmmmm. So, as for making Chinese awesomeness, here. BUT, Haidilao has higher end meat if you're willing to pay for it. So, I say both are great for their own reasons. So, that 3 star Yelp rating?--it can only have come from people that are not Chinese. #4. The sauces: Oh god, .... yeah this place easily. Again, sauces galore, and many custom in-house creations I've never had. #5. Dessert: Okay, honestly I don't remember Haidilao's, but I can tell you this place does it legit Chinese style. To the point that......... yuck, don't like it, haha. They got that weird fungus dessert. Various slimy things. And all with VERY little sugar, just like your normal Chinese would want. BUT, NOT what this dude born in America would like. But again, think of this as a plus, not a minus. #6. Atmosphere / decor: Yup, this place again. Definitely has that Chinese feel. More compartmentalized. More private-ish. Haidilao, while they definitely use nice woods and decor, does feel more American style in that regard. #7. Soup: Okay Haidilao is the clear winner here, hands down. While this place's red hot soup is not bad, being quite numbing and moderately hot, Haidilao is just on a whole other plain of existence, and will leave you feeling like you ate in a sauna. I did like this place's pork soup though, which was flavorful, though doesn't have the herbalness of the best places. Alright... I think that covers a lot of it. So, let me be clear, their service sucks butt. That's my only explanation for the unusually low score. But their food is definitely top of the top. 5/5 #hotpot #legitchinese #chinesefood #chinesecuisine #chineshotpot

The hot pot was great and service was ok. Love how spicy the soup is!! I like their dessert station, they got about 4 or more different types of desserts and they were all tasty:) They also have various options for sauces.

Long story short: expect at least 1 hour wait time, expect the amount of service as any other chinese restaurant (almost nonexistent), expect ok food quality, expect crazy prices Spent about $200 for 5 adults and left feeling sort of gross and icky. I should have trusted my gut and stayed home to cook hot pot that would have been a million times better than this restaurant. We got the duo hot pot (spicy and not spicy) and the spicy side was 90% oil and 10% broth. That might have been why we left feeling sort of gross. The only cool thing about this restaurant is the self serving dessert and condiments counter.

Lameizi is an authentic Chinese sichuan/chongqing hotpot place. Other than the extraordinary long wait and the short-staffed service, I think this place is excellent (based on mainly food then lol)! If you want to not wait for 2-3 hours, come on weekdays right after they open or late. You have to get all the parties to be present when they call your number, otherwise you have to queue again! You can let one person get the number first but everyone has to be there when they are ready! I like their interior design a lot, which really showcases the taste of Chinese culture and aesthetics. Food is delicious and fairly cheap compared to common hotpot joints. They also have lots of combo plates (meat, vege, tofu...), which is really good for smaller groups like us (two people), so we get to try a variety of items with reasonable portion. Service is not top-notch for sure since they seem to be short-staffed, they even forgot to get us water luckily we brought our own water bottle... Hubby and I ordered the tomato and spicy (slight) soup bases. And we got a bunch of combo plates. We are happy with most of the items, very fresh and are cleaned very well. Not very impressed with the spicy beef though, feel like we are just eating peppers! Also we LOVE the AYCE appetizer section, many authentic snacks, such as chengdu sweet cold jelly noodles (成都冰粉), shrimp chips (虾片), and mini sesame balls (芝麻球). Would come back again soon!

most of the low ratings seem to point out to bad service. However, My wife and i went there tonight, we received very friendly and curteous service from beginning to end, from both our greeter and server. this is not AYCE, which means if you want to eat til your full, chances are it's going to get quite expensive (unless you only stuff yourself with their free sesame balls lol). However, the food quality is definitely much better than those at AYCE hot pots. the broth is a lot more rich, the condiments a lot thicker/richer, the hot pot ingredients fresher, and some items i haven't seen in AYCE hot pots before: the pig brain and the duck blood! Both are very good! very clean restroom, and i really enjoy the whole decoration inside the building, make you feel you are actually in ancient China (other than the TVs lol)

Came here last night and waited about half an hour. I was a little disappointed by the broth flavors and the spicy beef. The broth was missing something. The spicy beef was like eating pepper flakes rather than beef. The combo portions come small so it's best if you want to try meats. But I'll settle for ordering the meat entree so you get more of what you like. The snack bar has good goodies for you to eat and I did have my fair share of them. Don't really bother filling out your food sheet because they forgot to bring out some of our items. Around this area I like little sheep hot pot.

the staff were quick to check up on our table and extremely helpful when we needed to adjust the soup temperature or had questions about different menu items. the decor inside and outside is gorgeous and they have so many complimentary items (in the bathroom and by the entrance). i love a good sauce bar and they offer such a wide variety of ingredients, oils, and sautés. so many snack & dessert options as well, will def come back

The quality of the food itself is actually above average for hot pot in the area, but it does come at a slightly higher price as well. Service is quick and soup bases are good, I think there are better value places in the area but this is great if you want a slightly finer atmosphere.

Tried this hotpot last week. Here is my feedback: Service: okay Cleanliness: good Wait time: too long Price: it was on the expensive end, $95 for 2 persons Food quality: good They charge extra for the dipping sauce. This can't be my go-to place for hotpot, there are similar hotpot places in San jose with good taste and bit lower pricing.

Food and service are getting worse. Food portion is getting smaller and waiters only show up when you pay the check. What's even worse is that it's disgusting to see the waiter touched his nose and went straight to the food. Feel sorry for whoever get that plate of meat. Also they allow customers to smoke in the restrooms. Therefore, You can imagine the smell in the restaurant. Wish I could give a zero star. Don't go for your own good.

I love this place. My brother chose to come here for his birthday dinner and I am so glad he brought me here. The decor and the smell of the place remind me of authentic Chinese restaurants. The waitstaff mainly speak mandarin to guests (although they do also speak English of course). Takes me back to summers spent in China. We were seated immediately as it's a Thursday night and the place is not too busy. You pick your two soup bases and order any veggies/meats/carbs off a clipboard. They do warn you if you order the spicy broth that they make their broth extra spicy so the suggestion is to order a level lower than you usually get. The spice is a traditional Sichuan numbing spice. There is also a small snack bar (serving a variety of traditional Chinese snacks) and a small build your own dipping sauce bar. Bar is a $2.99 fee per guest automatically charged. Soup is delicious, service is great, unlimited snack bar, what more could I ask for? I will definitely be back and will be showing my friends this place.

I'd say this is one of my top spots for hotpot in the Bay area! It's not quite at the level of Haidilao in terms of taste and service but it's still pretty good. Their snack bar is my favorite out of any hotpot place (just missing some kind of fresh fruit). They have individually wrapped snacks available which is nice cuz germs. Caveat is, I go with someone who speaks Mandarin, not sure how easy it would be for a party who doesn't.

Bad Cleanliness, Unsafe Food, & Disgusting Attitude. I went to Shancheng Lameizi for lunch with my friends. We ordered a Mung Bean Soup, which turned out to be SOUR after we had tasted it (just like sour milk). Obviously, the soup has gone bad and was inappropriate to serve to their customers. NO official APOLOGY was issued by the restaurant and the waitress seemed INDIFFERENT to the bad product, as she said, "we cannot assure you that all of our products served haven't gone bad. I could not taste all the soup before I serve you." Given this attitude, I filed an FDA report, hoping the restaurant gets what it deserves. And I here wish you NOT VISIT this restaurant if you CONCERN YOUR HEALTH. If you had a similar experience, please report to FDA as well. Other than that, ordinary taste and expensive price. 恶心下作的餐馆。 我和我的朋友在午餐时点了一杯绿豆汁，当我们喝了以后，才发现绿豆汁是馊的。 告诉服务员后，她开始扯什么"她没有办法确保所有的食品都没有坏。这种事儿很难避免。" 如果一个服务员都敢在出了如此严重的卫生事故后和顾客扯淡，你可以想象他们的后厨卫生和食品卫生是怎么样的。所以我果断向 FDA 举报了他们。我也在此呼吁，还没有来就餐的朋友们就别再来浪费你们的时间了，已经来就餐并且有过类似体验的朋友们，请直接举报 FDA。 本身就不怎么好吃，还挺贵，结果竟然还出现了卫生问题。差评！