Roadside Spicy Pot — Restaurant in Burnaby

As hotpot fanatics (1-2x every week), my friends and I decided to try a new place for a change. Made a reservation here because the place we actually wanted to try was fully booked. I made reservations for “late night” hotpot at 9pm. We got there at 8:55, and were seated by a lady at 8:57 (to whom I explicitly said our reservation was for 9pm). As we were sitting and looking over the menu, a guy I assume was the manager, made us get up and leave our table because there were still “3 minutes to 9:00pm.” This made no sense as the place was virtually empty, we had been seated by his own staff, and it WAS actually 3 minutes to 9:00pm. Normally I would have walked straight out at this kind of poor customer service and taken my business elsewhere but it was late and I didn’t want the hassle of finding somewhere else to eat.

The soup base was okay, except I found it had far too many coriander seeds and biting into them by accident was unpleasant, not to mention it gave the base an overwhelming coriander taste at times. However, it wasn’t bad. The dipping “sauces” and condiments were extremely limited (chili flakes, sesame oil and crushed peanuts). I was very surprised to not see soy sauce or at least a few of the basic condiments you would expect at a hot pot place.

I understand that the low, small wooden chairs and tiny tables are meant to give it that rustic traditional Chinese diner feel, but man are they uncomfortable! If you have back problems or even just want to be comfortable while having dinner, this will not work for you! I definitely missed the comfort and space of our regular hot pot restaurants. We also asked for tongs to use to put our food into the soup, which our server promised to bring but never did. It made for an awkward dining experience.

The selection of items (the variety available), was good, as was the taste. My favourites were the chicken hearts and chicken gizzards. I liked that some items were already prepared on skewers for easy cooking. There were actually a lot of uncommon items that you wouldn’t find in more mainstream hot pot places, which is nice if you have a craving for chicken feet, beef tongue etc. (not my cup of tea though). The wagyu beef is an extra charge but what we ate was nothing special. Once it was cooked in the broth it tasted identical to all the other beef.

Overall, the food was good, but I was so put off by the horrible customer service we experienced in the beginning that I certainly won’t be going back.

EDITED TO RESPOND TO OWNER: As soon as we walked in, we clearly informed the server that we were “here for late night hot pot” and had made reservations for 9:00pm. She decided to take us to a table and seat us anyways. For someone else to then kick us out was shocking and incredibly rude. If the first server had informed us that we would have to wait until exactly 9:00pm, rather than seating us, we would have understood. This is not about fairness, it’s about the inconsistent application of policies by different staff members that resulted in a very off-putting experience for people who would have otherwise been repeat customers. Unfortunately we only have one chance at first...

My sister and I are still talking about it three days later on how we could’ve possibly missed such a hidden gym in Burnaby 🤯

We came here on a Thursday night because I have seen the advertisement from this restaurant on Instagram, and I wanted to surprise my sister to a brand new place that neither of us have been to before for her birthday.

When I called that afternoon, the process of making a reservation was extremely easy. When we arrived, we immediately pulled out both of our phones because of how amazing the details were for all of the restaurants decor and atmosphere 😂🤣 And then, I’m happy to report that it’s all uphill from there.

For the price point of $29.99 during late night happy hour, i’m honestly shocked that the place was impact to the brim. With a well stocked fridge full of hot pot ingredients and the incredible à la cart menu that you can order from, we honestly left this place feeling so incredibly full and satisfied. I don’t know if the workers or if our neighbors heard us because we honestly kept exclaiming to each other throughout the entire dinner service 😂😂.

Before I ramble on too long though, I do want to point out the biggest highlight throughout our entire experience: the service. I honestly have not received such attentive and kind service in not only and all you can eat, but also a restaurant in Vancouver in general in a very long time. We were literally just talking about how the service industry has gone downhill since Covid yet the tips percentage keep rising on our way to the restaurant. I’m so incredibly glad and proud that Nick the owner/manager and his team have curated such a positive dining experience in environment for us.

OK, I don’t think words can truly capture my positive experience with this restaurant, so I’m going to stop here. 😅😂😬🤪 Order the beef tongue, the brown sugar, dessert, and the skewers. Please please please 🥵

I can’t wait to bring other people back to this hidden gem. It deserves more. Give...

Roadside hot pot is now doing ayce and I have gone there twice this week!

I think this is by far the most affordable ayce in Burnaby.

One thing I want to also mention is that this place is very kid friendly. I think out of all the hot pot places, the amount of kids that come here is significantly more. I think it’s cuz the decor and seating is very suitable for kids and they really enjoy the experience of picking out their own food and to make it.

For $29.99, you get ayce skewers and unlimited dessert and also their crispy pork is bomb!

I personally also love their ice jelly and brown sugar mochi. It really compliments well with the spicy and savoury food.

For soup base, my go to is their tomato and traditional base hot pot.

Both of the hot pot broths were really yummy but because my friends don’t eat spicy, I just get the tomato.

I love the cilantro beef, chicken gizzard and all the variety they have. They are constantly refilling their fridge with fresh food.

Nick is always super exceptional and friendly with his service and Jasmine was also super attentive when I went there.

Sesame oil dipping sauce was SO great as it covers the food with a lining of oil so the spiciness doesn’t get too overwhelming.

Sesame oil sauce has: Cliantro, garlic, oyster sauce, green onions and sesame oil.

You can never go wrong with the artic ocean with is the equivalent of orange crush. They also have alcoholic drinks but they are for extra cost but it really is a must!

How does works:

Order the hot pot base broth Order the skewers, sides, drinks, dipping sauces you want Cook the food with the hot pot base Dip and enjoy Order the ice jelly and brown sugar mochi

I want to point out is the decor is cute but comfortable!

I recommend calling for reso because it was really busy on...