Grandma Liu Hot Pot — Restaurant in Richmond

A Unique & Flavorful Hot Pot Experience – Just Know the Rules!

Grandma Liu Hot Pot is a fantastic find for those who love a personalized dining adventure! Before you go, here’s the lowdown so there are no surprises:

💰 How It Works:

· Everything from the ingredients counter is $3.99 per 100g. A quick tip: ingredients like frozen tofu or water-soaked veggies will weigh more due to water absorption, so choose mindfully! · The scale is tared to account for your bowl’s weight—nice and fair. · Spices like sesame paste, numbing pepper oil, spicy chili oil, and garlic are included, and you can ask for as much as you want. · Rice is $2 per person with unlimited refills (for now!). · They offer only one soup base, and you can have individual ceramic pots at no extra charge.

🥘 The Experience: You pick your ingredients, choose your preferred spice level, and they cook it all up in that fragrant, simmering broth. We loved customizing our bowls and watching everything come together. The result? A deeply flavorful, comforting stew where every ingredient soaks up the rich, aromatic broth.

The food was delicious, well-cooked, and deeply satisfying. If you enjoy hands-on meals with bold flavors, this is your spot. We’ll...

From my experience, I would provide 5 stars however not everyone will have the same experience since the server (although very friendly and courteous) cannot communicate in English. Mandarin is no problem. Good thing my Mandarin is sufficient so I had a good time. The soup is great as it is rich in taste and savoury and you can choose the level of spiciness and numbness but you will need to communicate it which again will be hard if you do not speak Mandarin. Ingredients are fresh and they keep restocking.

I'll explain a little how it works here. Everything at the ingredients counter is $2.99 per 100g so if you choose items that are hydrated in water or frozen you will be paying for the absorbed water as well. You may have individual bowls or shared. They only have one soup base and they don't extra charge for individual ceramic bowls. The scale starts at negative weight to offset the container weight. The spices (sesame paste, pepper oil (numbing level), chili oil (spicy level) and garlic are included and you can request to have as much as you want. Rice is $1.50 per bowl per person and unlimited refills for now. You may add an egg...

If I could give 0 stars I would, but unfortunately google will not let me post it. My partner and I came for dinner and we waited behind a family, they do not have a waitlist so we waited outside. A big group came after us and asked if we were waiting in mandarin, we told them we were. A lady from that group asked the server if they can pre-order before sitting and the waiter said “yes, but you need to still wait” in mandarin. The girl said “okay”. After the group selected their items, they paid and got seated. We spoke to the waiter and said we were in line before them. And he responded “it is first come first serve” and I told him that we were before the group; that he had seated the group before us. He told my partner in mandarin, “Whoever sits first, gets the spot”. He then turned away and continued to work on the cash register. Out of all my years of dining in Richmond, I have NEVER heard of such a thing nor been disrespected by a restaurant. It was embarrassing. We will never come again and will be letting everyone know about this...