Alice H.
Yelp
Not sure if my taste has changed or if there are just so many other hot pot places around town now, but this place is only average to me. I went back today for the first time in many years and was unimpressed. I guess for the price it's still pretty good. The large pot is $18-21, so the regular pot is around ~$17 for lunch. With it, you still get a drink plus your choice of braised pork rice, vermicelli, or regular white rice.
There was only one person servicing about 5 tables, and he did a really good job of keeping up. 5/5
I ordered the Porcini Pot (large) with the braised pork rice. The braised pork was good - sweet and savory Taiwanese style - but it was just a thin layer on top. The pot started off ok, but after taking a couple bites, the soup became very salty and the meal was less enjoyable after that point. I started fishing stuff out to drain it. As far as mushrooms, I could only find a couple strands of enoki, maybe 2 shiitake mushrooms, and some maitake? Lots of fish balls, which were nice, and more meat than the usual (maybe 8-10 pieces in the large pot?). Each table comes with 3 sauces - the usual red pepper spicy one, the sha-cha, and a garlic soy sauce. Given how salty this was, I didn't really make use of the condiments.
I do generally like their drinks though. If you don't like super sweet, you should definitely get 50% or lower sweetness level (consider even 30%). I tried the white peach with coconut jelly. I give it a 4/5 and it was pretty refreshing on a hot day (and after the salty broth). I'm not sure which sweetness level I got - I assume he gave me 50% because I thought it could have been less sweet. It's a pretty tall drink, unlike most tea houses that give you a little bitty cup.
Not sure I'd come back to be honest. Post-COVID, I'm not really a fan of small places with tables that are elbow to elbow.