Old Alley Hot Pot — Restaurant in Houston

this place might not seem like anything exciting from the outside but as soon as you open those dragon doors, it's like you're in a whole different world. The ambiance of the place surrounds you and the hot pot aroma begins to takeover.

We were promptly greeted and seated, as a party of 5, to a nice booth where we would scan a QR code that opened up a shared ordering menu for the table. It was not too busy on a Sunday during lunch time in the summer. We got two broths, pork bone and classic spicy, that both tastes flavorful and delicious. The pork bone broth had a nice rich flavor while the spicy was not overpowering, but just right. The deluxe lamb and beef combo was the perfect thing to get as lamb and beef are a staple for every hot pot place, and while this was a combo, the quality was fantastic and not to mention the presentation was beautiful as well. It was just enough for 4-5 people and was not that expensive either. Self-Serve Sauce bar was $3/person and I believe it is mandatory, as it also comes with a complimentary slushie machine that was delightful and haagen-dazs ice cream bars at the end of your meal. I also got a plate of beef tongue that was just the right consistency and texture, not too chewy. A underrated star at the table was the sweet potato vermicelli noodle, as it was very delicious and soaked up the broth nicely.

Overall, I can confidently say this is a very strong competitor to somewhere like Hai Di Lao, and one of my favorite Hot Pot places to go to. We stopped here at the end of our Houston trip from Dallas, but I would 100% go back there as my first choice whenever I'm...

ROACHES EVERYWHERE 🪳🪳🪳 OMG! 🤢🪳 FRIEND SAW ONE FLOATING (literally being boiled) IN OUR SOUP, at the same time she noticed, my boyfriend is walking back from the self serve bar just seconds after, he said that he also saw a roach crawling down the wall right next to the kitchen, we all lost our appetite. Literally the food JUST came out. We told our waitress Vicky. They didn’t even offer a refund, let alone apologize, nearly $200 bill!!! Vicky the waitress grabbed the long strainer utensil from the table, picked the roach out of our soup and put it in a napkin and walked away quick with the napkin without saying a word, like as if it was nothing new to her, so seemingly THE STAFF KNOWS about the roach infestation. Not to mention Vicky was rude long before the drinks even came, everyone was so nice to her, what was her problem? On our way out, after signing the receipt, another crawled across the walk way by someone else’s table closer to the front door. Like are we the only ones seeing this?? $170+ for roaches and a rude server. I wonder how many more customers are unknowingly CRUNCHING on roaches, omg we were so disgusted. Not returning! Liuyishou Hot Pot is much better & right across the street, good food WITHOUT the roaches! Picture was after Vicky pulled the roach out 🤢...

Xialongkhan is a hotpot restaurant located in Chinatown Bellaire. The interior is decorated nicely and transforms you into a historical Cdrama.

They offer a variety of broths and side dishes for your hotpot and a sauce bar in the back.

They are not all-you-can-eat, which is nice when you just want to enjoy and take your time eating without fighting for your life and unbottoning and unzipping your pants by the end of the night.

I always get their pork bone broth, chicken broth, and classic spicy soup base. The classic spicy soup base is pretty spicy, so make sure to start off low!

We also like to get their beef and lamb, which they put around the hotpot aesthetically.

It’s better when you go with around 3+ people. They are pretty busy at around dinner time especially during the weekends, but if you wait over an hour, they’ll offer a beef ribeye plate or chrysanthemum tea. My favorite is their shrimp paste! When cooked, it is soft and bouncy—very delicious in the classic spicy broth.

You order everything from a QR code, which is more convenient than flagging down a server. The side dishes do come out slow at times, though, but Xialongkhan has definitely become one of my favorite...