Eva M.
Yelp
They are probably more 3.5 Stars, but there isn't something else to make me want to bump them up to 4 Stars. So, 3 stars is the rating I'll settle on.
Swish Swish Hot Pot is in the outdoor portion of Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood. The place is moderately sized. On a Sunday, they were moderately filled, not that busy. The latest all-you-can-eat price is $35.99. There's an upscale price of $42.99 (I think) that includes wagyu, short ribs, and a few other higher end meats. I was ok with the $36 price - that is until I learned it does not include other sauces. There are two boring sauces at the table. That is it. The last two hotpot places I've been to have a sauce bar. I want a sauce bar!! ARGH! So, they nickel and dime you with $1 for hot sauce, $1 for sesame oil. Can I have an option where I help myself to whatever sauce I want please?? It made the meal much more boring.
For the broth, I picked rich chicken, and hubby picked Chinese onion. The rich chicken broth tastes pretty good, reasonably close to the old school Chinese chicken broth.
We ordered the raw meats and seafood from the kitchen. We helped ourselves to the veggies, tofu, and fish/meat balls from the refrigerated case. Self-service from this case works well. The thing that we both liked the most are quail eggs, which is pretty strange since they just come in a can. They work well in the broth. We also ordered the fried gyoza from the kitchen. Gyoza and popcorn chicken are the most popular. The raw meats and seafood are all good-looking quality.
Two things that are annoying. One - they clearly want you to fill up from the refrigerator case, so the raw meats and seafood take a shockingly long time to come out from the kitchen. A VERY LONG TIME. I think that's just not cool. Second - I have a major pet peeve against shrimps that are not deveined. I like the attached heads; I just don't like the grainy black vein. So gross. So much work to remove.
The place is clean and looks newer. The staff wipes the refrigerator case regularly. Thank you. The tables and induction cook tops are kept clean and functional.
For the two of us, we were lucky to be seated at a larger four person table, so we can spread out with all our plates - raw foods plates, shrimp shell plate, plate we're eating from, sauce plates, etc. But the two person tables are quite small and very close to each other. I don't think I would sit down if they try to seat me there.