皇家帝國麻辣火鍋 — Restaurant in Wanhua District

I have to change the review from 5 stars to 4 because at the time if you gave the restaurant a 5 star rating you get a special dish the four large shrimps that were posted below, 2 per 5 star review. So don't believe all that the good ratings from the five star reviews might be genuine or not. The food was okay it was mostly a service yourself bar with a variety of seafood and meats. If you don't speak english you might need to use a translator like a google image. The drinks are all you can drink with soda teas and alcohol. I don't believe the desserts were very good considering they were frozen when I got to them. I think ice cream is a better choice. Now to the service. I really have nothing to say about it since we weren't really given any service. Cuz everything is a self service system. They did come by to either clean up or tell us to wrap it up and leave.(2 hrs max at this hot pot) I don't think they did a bad job but it was mediocre. The place was crowded and it was sometimes hard to get out of your seat to get the raw food and very loud. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A RESERVATION. We made a reservation for 9 and had to wait outside for awhile before we were seated, but can't blame them since the table we reserved didn't want to leave. They tried their best to clean as fast as possible. But if you don't have a reservation your chances of being seated are very low, like most of the one star reviews that complained because they didn't make a reservation. Don't forget there is a 10% service/clean up fee that will be added to your bill and children are measured not my age but by height. If you eat by yourself it's an additional $200. And they ONLY ACCEPT CASH! In summary this all you can eat hot pot place with unlimited drink the good looks fresh for frozen, but def let the cakes thaw before eating. Most of the five stars review posted here is not because this restaurant genuinely got 5 stars but because of their promotion. At best I think it's a little expensive but if you want to try hot pot and are either very hungry or thirsty then it's a great place to eat though you might not have a...

The 40,000+ reviews at 4.9 had me duped. The almost perfect review is bcos of a "promo" from the shop where you will get a special item, either a scallop or large prawn per review on Google. The special scallop was good but the prawns was mushy. We are a group of 6, and we waited 1.5hrs on a Monday night without reservation. So remember to reserve!

Atmosphere Once seated, the "war" started (almost literally). Everyone was in a rush so it was really chaotic and noisy.

Food The soup base are nice. The hot pot ingredients are similar to others but they uses higher quality meats, such as US marbled beef (雪花牛). I must say it is pretty marbled and tasty! I enjoyed all the meats except the very gamey lamb. The prawns as part of the buffet wasn't very fresh when we had it. The squid is awesome.

Also, I had a serving of iberico pork slice and when I went back for a refill, I was told they are sold out. This is the same for their custard apple. Makes me wonder what else did I miss out. :p

Verdict Was it a worthwhile wait? I will say no. Will I go back again without the wait?...

This place is pretty overrated. It's true that the food selection is good but everything else about the experience is miserable.

The restaurant is pretty small and packed with tables so it's difficult to move around. That wouldn't be a problem, but you have to get your food yourself and it's in the back of the store. So you have to navigate narrow aisles and tons of other people + employees to get to the food buffet. Once you're there, you have to fight crowds of other people to get the items you want.

And speaking of the employees - they're constantly cutting in front of you and getting in your face to restock the food when you're trying to get it, it's very rude and makes the experience even more frustrating.

For the price that they charge, the service should be better. If you want premium AYCE hot pot then I suggest going somewhere where they bring the food to your table. I would not go back here again and do not...