Chu Shang Spicy 厨尚麻辣 — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Plenty of soup for you - annnddd errbody else!

Came here for a work lunch and what a great experience!

Located in Chinatown, the outside façade is unassuming and could be passed over on first glance. Parking will be tough to find in the area, so be ready to walk a little. The inside opens up nicely. More long than wide, the seating structure is well designed with ample space to move about but also have enough seats for small and large groups.

They have a diverse menu for appetizers and rolls, but the main draw is the make your own hotpot. On a paper placemat, you signify the broth, and all the additions. There are different levels of spice to indicate, and they don't hold back on the spice - so tread carefully!

I ordered the veggie broth, medium spice, added a bunch of veggies and the rice noodles. As this was the first time for most of us, I appreciated the server walking us through the process - thank you for answering all the questions and suggestions!

The food came out pretty quickly once the order was placed and the portions are AMPLE! The serving was hot off the heat and soup bowl filled to the brim! So many veggies and noodles! One bowl is more than enough for two/three people!

I thoroughly enjoyed the flavor profile of the broth and good mix of all the add ins.

The service was great as it wasn't too packed for our lunch time dining.

Looking forward to coming back and trying different...

When Chu Shang Spicy first opened, everything was perfect; Food Quality, Service, and Environment)

However, over multiple visits, I noticed a decline in all these aspects: There were times when I ordered drinks, only to be served tea without any flavor or syrup. The attention to detail that once characterized this place was clearly slipping. On one occasion, I ordered a dry pot with beef. The beef had a bizarre taste and a fishy odor. The dish was excessively salty, possibly to mask the off flavors. They also forgot my flounder, which was brought out separately, further disrupting the meal.

The most troubling incident occurred during my last visit: As I poured soy sauce, I was horrified to find it filled with tiny flies, likely drain flies. This wasn't a one-time fluke; every pour was infested. When I complained, the servers replaced the soy sauce, but the new bottle (from another table) had the same issue.Shockingly, they didn't even check the other tables' soy sauce until I suggested it. Even then, they only removed soy sauce from tables without guests, leaving others potentially exposed to the same unsanitary condition. This lack of proactive hygiene is deeply concerning.

I hope the management takes these concerns seriously and works to restore the quality and service that initially made Chu Shang Spicy a standout. For now, I regret to say that I won't...

Food was ok. The reason for low rating was the service! Horrible. Very immature wait staff. Asked for a straw and napkins and never gave it to me. Impatient when I asked about food on the menu. Portion was small. The atmosphere was nice. No one came to ask us how the food was or if we need anything. Only a few tables and we were not properly taken care of. The wait staff just sat there and played on their phone. We needed more water, napkins, and rice. I ordered another appetizer in the middle and he gave us very little sauce. Ignored my request for the straw and napkins. No manners. We kept saying thank you, and he never responded. Threw our food on the table and left. Never came back for service. Had to raise our voice several times for them to get their attention because he won’t look up to see if any customer was waving. Just sat and played on his phone. Took quite a while to get our food too. The water wasn’t cold and tasted a little nasty. In the end, we still left a good tip and my friend was mad cuz she thought they weren’t worth it. Their food is not bad. Not the best but good enough for me to...