Homey Hot Pot — Restaurant in Bloomington

Food safety concerns! The restaurant gave us a dish of rotten beef. When we asked and the lady said this is definitely very fresh beef, although the color is brown and green and it has a stinky liquid. The lady took this away and told me this is fresh. It looks rotten just because they used too much plastic wrap. I’m not that stupid. Stomachache happened that night. Planning to report this to the FDA since you don’t admit your fault of sordid food.

Followed up regarding your reply, I didnt know how to direct reply your message, and I saw this edit is the only option: Hello, thanks for your reply. First, I’m leaving this comment in the hope that you’ll pay more attention to food safety in the future for my junior classmates. I really did get an upset stomach and felt even more disappointed with your attitude.

I might not have used 100% accurate words to describe the color. The stomachache really reminded me and made me feel emotional. The color should be brown with a little green tint—that’s what I saw. The bad smell was undeniable—that’s what I smelled.

If it weren’t for the peculiar smell, I wouldn’t have asked for the meat and pot to be changed at all, considering I’ve dined in your restaurant at least 30 times over the past four years. Over past four years, friends and I had some good dining experiences over your restaurant, that’s true and that’s fact. And for this time, it caused my stomachache, made me feel bad and ease concerns, these are simply the facts too.

When you changed the pot, the lady kept saying, “That’s not rotten because we used plastic wrap.” She spoke very strongly, saying, “You can’t say that’s rotten. We are doing business. If you say that, we can’t do business.” Throughout the whole process, I didn’t hear a single apology or any acknowledgment of a mistake. Even if you had simply said, “Sorry, we didn’t realize there was so much oxidation,” I would have just said, “That’s alright.” Tho that’s not a single oxidation, you know that, I know that but that’s totally fine, it could just be an accident.

This meat has a peculiar smell, and it still had that peculiar smell after cooking. I don’t want to argue about whether your meat was stale or oxidized because it’s my stomach that hurts, and arguing won’t make me feel better. But what I want to point out is that if the meat were truly fresh, such extensive discoloration and odor shouldn’t have appeared on a customer’s table.

I just graduated, so I won’t have the chance to dine here again. However, I hope this was just an isolated incident and that Bloomington’s restaurant scene continues to improve. By the way, if you think this situation is normal and my request for a discount was unreasonable, feel free to add the $3 discount...

I honestly went into the restaurant with high hopes that I have found a decent sushi place here in Bloomington. I’m from Chicago so I’ve tried both high quality and cheaper sushi places. With 2 great reviews from 2 months ago and one terrible review from one year ago I though about giving this place a chance. Well this is one I’ll recommend people to not go and be wary if they do. I thought it was strange that the menu had no prices on them, until I asked what they were. The waiter gave me a takeout menu. On the menu they advertised an “All you can eat” for $19.99. There’s also a fee for if you don’t finish your food for $8.99. I thought it would be cheaper to go with that since I was out with a friend to eat. I suspected that if I’m paying for this that the sushi should be good. I don’t even think it was real fish, or at the least not the best quality. My “spicy sushi” looked like it was stuffed with chum! I decided to get a regular salmon roll and that tasted off and had felt like I was eating rubbery sushi. My friend had asked for Crazy Roll and it only had avocado inside topped with what looked like soggy tempura. What topped off this experience was how not only the waiter, but all the staff kept coming up to our table asking if we wanted more sushi. Mind that we were the only customers in the restaurant. It screamed desperation to me. I left paying $48.18 ($5.00 for the tip) for two people. We both felt sick and nauseous after eating all our food, in fear having to pay more money than we wanted to spend. The price and quality are not a match. The only decent thing about this place was that...

I have eaten here at least 45 times over the past 2.5 years. I have tried almost everything on the menu. Not once have I had an ingredient that was bad. Every time I go, the food is fresh, clean, and sanitary! (It's also all you can eat.)

All of the soup bases are delicious (try the fish maw one!) and the service is unparalleled. The family who runs the restaurant is kind, and very attentive. I always see the young man who works there teaching newcomers how hot pot works. He is happy to answer any questions people have.

I'm not 100% certain that this is the only all-you-can-eat sushi place in Bloomington, but even if there was another place, I would always go here. The rolls are awesome (try a salmon hand roll!) and despite being completely landlocked, the sashimi has always been fresh, flavorful, and hits the spot.

For ~31$ a person including a drink, I would recommend this spot as a great place for a unique dinner date. It is fun to order ingredients served family style, then make your own dipping sauce, and then cook food together. A great bonding opportunity.

Lastly, I have seen negative reviews that say that some of the meat they received is spoiled. Each of those reviews incorrectly identify tenderized/velveted chicken or frozen beef as spoiled, just because the meat looks different than it does at a grocery store. I have never seen, smelled, nor eaten unsafe food here after eating here many times for two and a half years.

tl:dr Awesome fresh-ingredient variety and tasty soup-bases combined with all-you-can-eat sushi make for an...