Happy Lamb Hot Pot — Restaurant in City of Industry

As a frequent patron of the Happy Lamb in Boston's Chinatown (since I work in Boston and occasionally fly home to Rowland Heights), I was pleasantly surprised to see a new location replace the old Romano's Macaroni Grill.

Happy Lamb offers a nominally Mongolian-style hot pot, though it’s clearly adjusted to suit a Chinese palate. I’m fairly certain this chain either used to be Little Sheep or is somehow related. This is not a Sichuan-style hot pot spot loaded with numbing spice. For that, check out Malubianbian, ShangChengLaMeiZi, Haidilao, or similar places.

So what exactly does Happy Lamb offer? It’s an all-you-can-eat setup, priced in the upper $20s to lower $30s depending on the day, with a base tier and an optional upsell tier. I went on a Sunday night at 6:30 p.m. and paid $38.99 per person for the upsell option. Each party is limited to 90 minutes of dining time.

The marrow broths, both spicy and non-spicy, are the highlight here. They’re rich and herbal, the kind of soup you'd expect from a Cantonese restaurant that simmers its stock for half a day (well maybe they cheated and boosted it, but it's delicious still).

The meat selection is clean and well presented. Sliced meats are ordered through the servers, while everything else — vegetables, meatballs, rice noodles, and more — is available on self-serve refrigerated shelves.

Service here exceeds expectations. The staff are polite, patient, and efficient, with not a hint of disinterest or attitude. Overall, this location perfectly captures what I love about Happy Lamb and makes for a reliable go-to hot...

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A new gem in town! Happy Lamb City is officially my new go-to spot. The food was absolutely scrumptious and full of flavor, and the atmosphere made it even better—warm, welcoming, and modern. The staff were some of the friendliest and most attentive I’ve ever encountered. Big shoutout to Francisco, who made sure our table was always taken care of!

We had the Happy Menu for 3, which comes with access to the buffet and two broths of your choice. We went with the spicy and regular chicken broths, and both were incredible—rich, flavorful, and perfect for hot pot. The meat selection was generous and high quality, and there are veggie broths as well for plant-based folks.

The buffet has something for everyone: fried or white rice, seasoned veggies, fish, BBQ pork, chicken wings, soups, sauces, dips, condiments, and even desserts like mini cakes. Drinks include Pepsi, water, kombucha, homemade lemonade, watermelon-strawberry juice, and more.

Whether you’re into meat, chicken, pescatarian, or vegetarian options, this place has you covered. It’s great for dinner with friends or even a first date. I’ll definitely be back—so happy to have...

When we first walked in, we were impressed. The food on other tables looked tasty, the décor was inviting, and the veggie bar looked fresh and well stocked.

However, once we ordered, the experience went downhill. Our meats came out quickly, but the broth (half bone marrow and mushroom) took a long time to arrive. During that wait, our server was hard to find, so we ended up eating most of the premade hot food and finally flagged down another server for the broth. Once it arrived, we expected more attentive service, especially since this is an all-you-can-eat format, but we had to flag down other staff members to get additional meat orders placed. The food itself was a mix. The hot food bar was just okay--some items seemed like they'd been sitting out too long and were a little dried from the heat lamps. On the other hand, the veggie, seafood, and noodle selection was fresh.

Service: 1/5 - slow and inattentive Hot Food Bar: 2/5 - not very appetizing; much of it looked dried out from sitting under the heat lamps and over salted Veggies, Seafood, Noodles: 4/5 - fresh and appealing

Overall: 3/5 - Great potential, but the service really...