The Dolar Shop Hot Pot — Restaurant in Burnaby

Hotpot is just an in thing nowadays especially to the young generations, even in a hot summer days, hotpot places where never empty of crowds queuing and makes you wonder. For someone who's not a fan of hotpot soup, I let myself agree to try it after being voted out by my teens😬. What was so surprising was a discovery that not all hotpot were the same. I know they were just a composition of a base soup and meat/veggies but there is something about their dipping sauce that make it very special. That' s the case with The Dolar Shop, from the get go, the staff ask right away if we're a returning customer or a newbie✅ She explained thoroughly everything we need to know from the W/C to the buffet corner of unlimited appetizers/sweets/dipping sauces. Down to the menu specials to how to operate the individual hotpot cooking in front of us. Pretty much I give 5 stars for the staffs who were super attentive. The food I chose was their spring set special and that's a lot of food. They were a tier of assorted veggies, your selected meat and base soul . I ordered the wagyu beef in a chef's Creamy broth and was never disappointed. The dipping sauce as mentioned earlier was the star. The lady staff who welcomed us after knowing that it was our first time, made the house sauce in our table mixing according to our likings (level of spice and allergies). My daugher chose their combi soup of pork spicy /pork broth with flat iron beef. While my son who's not so adventurous chose a pork broth and flat iron beef. All three of us got the assorted platter and noodles for the starch selection. And boy that was so much food! We ended up having the leftovers to go. Billing out, not surprised that it was pricey but what was so frowned about here was the paying option of credit card, there was an additional 2%fee of the total bill or opt for cash /debit to avoid extra fees. Not so happy about it and this was quite a damper on our experience. So be prepared! Will we comeback, it's a yes! We enjoyed the food though the price point seemed to be on a higher price level for a casual dining. Each person cost range around $40-$45 for set meals. They offer a la...

Oh G, where do I start?

We were seated quickly soon as we got there, which was nice. My partner and I dined with 3 elderly women who have never had hotpot before. Server was quick to greet us and started going over the menu. She was talking fast, and it was a little bit hard to understand her due to her accent. It was our first time dining at Dolar Shop, but have dined at numerous hotpot places before, so we knew how hotpot works. After the server went through the menu, she immediately said “you guys look confused”. My partner told her that we will look at the menu ourselves and place the order when we’re ready. We ordered the set menus which were $38-40ish per person. Each plate set came with your choice of meat, broth, veggies, 1 tofu slice, noodles, and a few pieces of quail eggs and shrimp balls. For drinks, we ordered 4 snow top coffees and 1 coke.

Broth: a little bland, but it was alright because you can easily solve that with build-your-own sauces

Meat/veggies: decent portion, no complaints

Snow top coffees: disappointing! Tasted like watered down Nescafé coffee with lots of milk, and ice cream on top. Minus 1 star.

My mom was putting meat in her broth, then added veggies. Server came back, and said “slow down, slow down”. At first, I didn't mind it but a few seconds later, she added “take your time, you need to slow down” directing at my mom. At that point, I was livid. You’re not talking to a child, mind your manners. Minus 2 stars.

While eating, I noticed that the family next to us were wearing bibs. I looked around and other customers had them too, and we weren’t provided any. Minus 1 star.

Overall, our experience at this restaurant is below average. We paid over $200 for 5 people, which is pretty decent when dining in Vancouver. I’ve had way better hotpot experiences for a much affordable price without compromising quality and quantity of the food. The server did disappoint us with unnecessary remarks.

Would we come back again?...

My friend had mentioned this place to me many times, but I always dismissed it, thinking Haidilao was the best hot pot restaurant. Plus, from the photos I saw on Instagram, their ingredients didn’t seem particularly special. Today, however, my friend insisted on taking me here, so I thought, why not give it a try? At the entrance, I noticed two beautiful drinks and a bucket of mint water on a small table—it gave off a very refreshing vibe. At the reception desk, the staff carefully explained the dining area and facilities, which immediately left a good impression. Once seated, I saw a bottle of mint water and a ceramic hot pot stand already prepared on the table. The setup looked more refined compared to Haidilao. We each ordered a lunch set, and I headed to the sauce and desert bar. In addition to a wide variety of sauces, the dessert station stood out to me—it was beautifully arranged and offered a lot of options, giving it an edge over Haidilao. Our hot pot ingredients arrived quickly. I ordered chicken with a half-and-half tomato and spicy soup base. The chicken was incredibly fresh and tender, and the tomato broth had a pleasant flavor. However, the spicy broth was a bit too intense for my taste. Throughout the meal, the staff provided attentive service, frequently refilling the broth and clearing empty plates. Initially, we wanted to order more dishes, but we were too full to continue. I also found out that their menu didn’t seem as creative or extensive as Haidilao’s. Before we settled the bill, they even offered free ice cream with corn, which was a pleasant little surprise. One thing worth mentioning, though, was the restroom—it was immaculately clean and tastefully decorated. Overall, this dining experience completely changed my perspective. I do wonder if they can maintain the same level of service during busy evening hours. If so, I’d say this place is highly...