Hot & Spicy Pot — Restaurant in Albert-Eden

Ma La Xiang Guo (麻辣香锅)✨is the signature Sichuan dish, ma means numbing, la means spicy and xiang means aromatic. You customise your combination of ingredients from an array of choices — think fresh seafood, sliced meats, green vegetables, mushrooms and tofu etc. It is a stair-fry dry dish and fragrant spices such as star anise, Sichuan peppercorns and generous lashings of garlic, ginger, onion and celery stalks and dried red chili peppers are added in. A good Ma La Xiang Guo has spices forming part of the flavor, but you should also be able to taste the integrity of the ingredients❣️

We visited this Dominion Rd hotspot in a group of 3️⃣ on a Sunday for lunch and found the process of picking our selections in the metal bowls just as exciting as eating itself😝. We chose Queen Clam (贵妃蚌) from the aquarium as our star ingredient - some sliced lamb meat, a handful of sliced lotus root and broccoli - along with lots of other things we have thrown in that I can’t now remember, we also made sure we had instant noodles & ham sausages (双汇火腿肠, how could you miss the sausages - those childhood memories🤓…).

Our bowl was weighed at the counter (about $80 for three, not bad…), we bravely set our heart on medium spiciness🔥(中辣) & waited to let the magic happen in the kitchen. The wait time was not long at all and we couldn’t be happier with the final product – a bowl of goodness & it was super fragrant and tasty 😍 ‼️

Have your Ma La Xiang Guo with plenty of steamed rice 🍚 to balance the spiciness, or even a cold drink from Hulu Cat next door❗️Love this place - it won’t be long until you see me...

Good place for a quick lunch and dinner as it's a buffet style place where you can select the amount and kinds of raw proteins, veges and carbs, all charged by weight and then they send to the kitchen to prepare the way you like.

I opted for the Spicy Dry Pot to which you can adjust the level of spice. I chose the low level of spice and it was very fragrant and had a small amount of heat to it and some sweetness to the flavour. Once they cook your items, they also add some celery, onions, and dried peppers to it for some volume to make the bowl look fuller.

They also have a condiments station with many options including crushed garlic, chopped red chilies and some sauces for you to make your own mixture to add to your bowl or to dip your proteins and veges in.

In terms of food options, there was a lot to choose from however most of the options were those processed seafoods (e.g. fish balls, fish cakes) and canned foods (e.g. baby corns, mushrooms). The vegetables sadly didn't look fresh nor washed very well and there are some fresh shellfish that are not included in the weigh ins and are charged per unit.

Overall, staff service was good and food came out fast and was tasty. Environment wasn't too clean especially the toilets.

In addition, on the day we went, the cashier gave us a 20% drinks voucher to use at Hulu Cat next door to them as our bill came...

Having visited several self-serve hotpot places across Auckland, Hot & Spicy Pot is a solid choice. It's comparable in terms of value ($50 per kg) and quality. They offer a range of expected ingredients, including meats, seafood, vegetables, and noodles. Additionally, you can choose whether you'd like your dish dry or with soup. I opted for the soup version, and while the spice level was good, the broth lacked the kick I tend to prefer. That said, it might be ideal if you prefer a milder flavor in your soup. The wait time was minimal (10 minutes).

It would be helpful if the ingredients were better labeled, though being familiar with them made this less of an issue for me. However, I can see it being problematic if you're unfamiliar with the types of ingredients commonly served in hotpot restaurants. If you're unsure or find it challenging, it's probably worth asking the staff for assistance.

The venue is a little crammed, probably not the easiest to navigate if you have accessibility issues.

As expected in self-service establishments, the service is minimal, but the staff at the counter were quick and efficient. No complaints there. Overall, a...