Big Way Hot Pot (New Westminster) — Restaurant in Downtown

so far do good! tried to avoid BWHP when they opened in Burnaby cz they were always busy so i couldn't even try it.

now i just go for brunch or early dinner to skin the rush hour, which i would suggest everyone to do. else you will have to be in the waitlist for over 100 people. i kid you not. opens 11 but people already wanting to get in early before the rush.

serving of the ingredients are very clean. but you have to remember not to mix them up in their place. doesn’t matter of cross contamination with your tongs bec everything will be boiled and cooked anyway. although if you are allergic then you have to be weary because people use tongs but the tongs is per person not like a serving spoon style. they rotate the ingredients outside as well and not let them sit for 1hr or so, this is just what i noticed. they have 2 ingredient shelves. 1 for the usual meat and 1 for the premium meat, variety of veggies, and noodles.

they have seasoning station, left and right side have the same sauces: soy sauce, celantro, vinigar, peanut, thai chili, garlic, etc. i love sesame peanut sauce when i eat it with the rice balls from my soup. my secret desert LOL!

i have not tried yet any of the drinks cz im drinking soup. but they have sodas and other drinks in a can if you wanted one. they also offer bubble tea, smoothies, juices, etc. it's located in the bar section near where you pay.  the location is very very desirable. it's right in front of the Newwest Skytrain platform. Weirdly enough I never thought of BWHP as it doesn't really show what's inside. it's mostly covered with lines of people inside. No need to do parking anymore for me cz it's so easy to get to. Although if you need parking, it will be paid and it's with the rest of the people. it's not hard to find parking but it's hard to find FREE parking. If you need free then you might need to look farther away like Save-On. But if you park there there are attendants that will flag you when you just use it as a parking area and walk away from the complex.

As for reservation, you will need to do a waitlist via Google Maps. You will need to go to the Gmap and under BWHP, google has an integrated waitlist option button called "Join Waitlist". I LOVE THIS! it's integrated with Google and i dont need to download any app, sign up, go to any website, etc. AND IT'S FREE!!! you can cancel at any time. Just make sure that when you join the waitlist you need to checkin with the front desk to make sure that you have arrived. when you check in they will text you a confirmation message sms to let you know that your table is now ready. after that you can now start to line up to fill your pot.

to start, they will instruct you: there is not much option to put your things down. so plan ahead. if it's busy, you wont be able to "leave" your things on your table because there's already a group ready to be seated way ahead of you. each person gets a golden bowl and a tong fill your bowl and use your tong to get ingredients if possible do not go back and forth cz people do not like being moved / excused just to get to an ingredient. if you dont want to pay more than $15, make sure you dont fill your bowl halfway. yes this is the downside because it's pay-by-weight. if you hold the bowl handle with one arm and feel that it's getting heavy then it's a good indication that you will pay more and more as it gets heavier to carry. pay attention to the cash register's questions because it takes up the line...REALLY. they ask you for which broth (look top right), they ask if you want to add other things, drinks, etc. then they ask if you registered with them. do register and get the points. gets you free meals if you intent to come back or give the points to someone else. pay and they will give you a paper to give to the server so they will seat you...

I first came here during the soft opening and the manager offered me a free drink since I saw it in the advertisement in the front.

It was delicious and I really enjoyed it and appreciated the gesture. Unfortunately I was unable to eat here for the following months after opening due to the crazy lines until this afternoon. I arrived around 2:30pm to an acceptable line and plenty of space to sit.

I usually eat at a competitor and I matched the ingredients and soup base as one to one as possible to do a fair comparison of quality and service. I had the bone broth with an assortment of ingredients shown in the picture. I'll provide a point form summary below.

Drinks are good. In fact their drinks and prices are so good that they could open a bubble tea store as a standalone and it can beat their competitors. Sauce bar is good, they even include msg as an option which is a cute touch. Ingredient quality and selection was a bit worse than the competitor, but acceptable enough parity. Soup base was lacking compared to the competitor. My friend mentioned there are better broths at big way and proposed alternatives, which I will try in the future. The soup also came lukewarm instead of hot, which is not a good sign. The food came when I expected it to, so the soup broth being lukewarm is even more confusing. I got the feeling I was missing at a fish filet or two in my soup, but I am not sure if i'm just being delusional or it was actually missing. Checkout takes longer than needed as only 1.5 of the 3 scales (0.5 because the 2nd one got staffed half way through) were being used even though we had a line of 8~ people. Ice cream was about equal. Service was lacking. I added a large green tea as a complimentary drink and I had to go up to ask for it over 10 minutes after I recieved my food as if the staff forgot about it. I also had to ask for the ice cream which certainly would not have been offered to me if I didn't ask for it. A new customer who doesn't know about it would definitely have left without it. At the competitor, this would be offered to me without me having to take the initiative to request it.

I will be back to try the other soup bases in the future. I'd also planned to wait at least 6 months after opening date for the new location to iron out rough edges in food quality and service - I hope at that point things will be more ironed out to the standard I received when I first came here during the soft opening.

I do look forward to your success, as this location is by far the most convenient for me to eat DIY hotpot and being up to standard I will certainly return regularly and bring many others to...

🌟🌟🌟🌟 (4/5) for BigWay Hotpot – New Westminster

I recently visited BigWay Hotpot in New Westminster with two of my friends, and we had a very enjoyable dining experience.

We selected three broths: Signature Mala Tang, Mushroom, and Schezuan, each served in separate pans — and all were flavorful and well-balanced. Between the three of us, we tried nearly all the available meats, along with a variety of vegetables like mushrooms, potatoes, and broccoli. We also added some egg noodles, which paired wonderfully with the broths.

For those who don’t eat beef or pork, like some of my friends, the chicken options felt a bit limited. It would be great if BigWay could consider adding a few more chicken-based or vegetarian options to make the menu even more inclusive for different dietary preferences.

The taste of everything was excellent — rich, comforting, and satisfying. The portion sizes were generous, and the presentation was appealing. The staff was courteous and attentive, and we were even treated to complimentary ice cream, which was a lovely touch to end the meal.

One point of comparison I’d make is with another hotpot place I frequent — Haidilao Hotpot in Richmond. While both restaurants charge similar prices, Haidilao offers a more interactive hotpot experience where you boil ingredients at your own table. At BigWay, the ingredients are selected and handed over to the staff, who then cook them and bring them back, which can take an additional 5–10 minutes. It’s not a major issue, but it does make a difference in terms of overall experience versus pricing.

Our total individual bills ranged from $25 to $35, which felt slightly on the higher side given the setup. A bit of price adjustment or added value could enhance the dining experience further.

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Pros: • Excellent flavor and broth variety • Good portion sizes and presentation • Friendly service • Complimentary ice cream

Areas to Improve: • More chicken and vegetarian variety for non-beef/pork eaters • Consider interactive boiling experience at the table • Slight price refinement to match the format

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📸 Uploading a picture with our broths and myself in the photo!

Overall, a solid 4-star experience. I’d definitely recommend BigWay Hotpot for anyone looking to enjoy tasty, well-prepared hotpot in a clean, welcoming environment. Looking forward to...