Hot Pot City — Restaurant in Rockville

UPDATE (11/1/24): There is now NO REASON TO NOT TRY THIS RESTAURANT. I recently had lunch there, after several weeks. The food is better than ever! The hot food buffet seems like it has been expanded. They now have a lovely, self-serve bar for all of the veggies and the sauce bar has been improved. Fewer servers, but the already great service seems a lot faster since the self-serve has been expanded. They've also re-decorated and given it a bit more of a K-Pop-ish feel (if, that's your thing). It's still a more elegant, cleaner, quieter place to eat than places like K-Pot or Umi (which both serve vastly inferior-quality hot pot). However, if this isn't enough for you, be aware that they have somehow LOWERED THEIR PRICES! Lunch and dinner seem to have been reduced by about $4. (Lunch is $19.99 and dinner is $29.99.) Frankly, I just don't get it. In my opinion, they serve the absolute best, AUTHENTIC Chinese hot pot in this whole area. The higher prices would have easily been justified, but...for whatever reason, they lowered it. There is simply no reason not to go there, now.

Unlike most hot pot places, this is a place to take a group or a date for a pleasant evening. It's big, but not huge. It's well-lit, nicely decorated, and decently spaced out. It has open areas and more intimate corners. The pleasant, low-level background music compliments the nice ambience. It is also impeccably clean (unlike most hot pot restaurants). The tables, floors, and restrooms are spotless. The tables and booths are spacious and well-maintained. Unlike some hot pot restaurants, the induction heaters are recessed into the table tops and located further away from you. I mention these things because the majority of hot pot restaurants seem to aspire to vibe somewhere between a sports bar, a Waffle House, a Chuck E. Cheese, and a karaoke bar. This is none of those things. It's a very nice, sophisticated, bistro setting.

This is the MOST authentic CHINESE hot pot that you are likely to find anywhere...and I've had it all over the world.

Hot Pot City (HPC) is a fixed price, all you can eat. (Children get 50% off.) Not the cheapest hot pot out there, but by the time you finish reading this, you'll know why it's a better value than most. Like many hot pot restaurants, you order food, drinks, refills, and summon your waiter from a simple touch panel at the table.

The menu variety of hot pot ingredients surpasses even larger hot pot restaurants. A choice of TEN different soup bases, including an option for half and half. Traditional thinly-sliced premium beef, pork, and chicken are included, along with an array of traditional offal. (Hey! Don't knock it, til you try it!) Similarly, shrimp, fish, squid, octopus, mussels, and clams are also included as are the traditional soup favorites beef balls, fish balls, lobster balls, "fish tofu", imitation crab stick, mini sausages, and SPAM. One notable item that you rarely see on any hot pot menu are fresh, handmade pork and cilantro meatballs. (There are also 12 special traditional meat and offal selections available for an additional charge.) Likewise, they out-do most other hot pot places with a choice of NINETEEN different vegetables, four varieties of tofu, four varieties of noodles, rice, and even Chinese youtiao (deep fried bread sticks). Compare this to most hot pot places and in most cases they simply can't come close to matching HPC. BUT, there is still a lot MORE that comes included with the price.

Hot tea, iced tea, and soda are included, at no extra charge. Bottled juices, herbal tea (Red Bull), coconut milk, and soy milk and available for a low additional charge. Specialty tea drinks are also available for under $4. Premium Asian beer, sake, and rice wines are available, by the small and large bottles.

Guess what? Dessert is included, too! Black sugar ice pudding, shaved ice, "snow fungus soup", and self-serve vanilla & matcha ice cream.

When you add it all up, it is the most complete, value-added meal...

Sept 2021 Excellent hot pot, good food, great service, and fantastic experience! Note masks are required.

There were some negatives, but first an overview of the space. The place itself was open, clean, and brightly lit. Though the lightbulb over our table was out, we honestly didn't notice until we were almost done. The induction cooktops for the pots are recessed into the table (easier to see into the pot), with the controls located on the edge of the table (simple on/off and +/- buttons). Each person gets their own hot pot. You order from a tablet mounted on the table. The interface can be a little confusing at times, but easy enough to follow once you get the hang of it. Note the service category, where you can request the check, a refill of water/tea/soup, a different soup base, and other things. Also note everything you order on the tablet is printed onto your check. The pots themselves are very idiot-proof, covered in plastic for easy handling and allowing you to place it on the tabletop without worry. Food portions are small (but you can always order more) and if your tabletop isn't big enough to fit everything, they also have these small portable shelves by your table to put the excess. There are two unisex bathrooms that were clean and relatively dry. The floor gets wet by the sink/hand dryer by dinner time. Note there is an additional sink outside the bathrooms, with paper towels. It's mainly for the employees, but customers can use it too.

All the staff are very friendly and they offer hair ties (new, individually wrapped) if you want to tie your hair back. They are usually quick to bring your orders. We only had one time they were slow to bring us our order and we hit the "where is my order?" button. Otherwise, they are also quick to take away used or empty plates.

Everything was very good and delicious. Some notes about the food. The spicy soup base, even the less spicy one, are not for the faint of heart. They are SPICY. I suggest only getting it if you REALLY like spicy. And if it's not to your taste, you can switch it out for an extra $1. If you order a half-and-half soup base, it comes in a special pot that has a built in divider. Very good at keeping them separate, unless one boils over into the other. The crab sticks come individually wrapped in plastic, so be sure to take those off before putting them into the pot.

Probably the one, definite negative was the milk tea. First, note the Bubble Tea category is deceptive. They do not offer bubbles (boba). We ordered a taro milk tea and a lychee tea. The lychee tea was decent, with a good (but not very strong) lychee flavor. The taro milk tea was just disappointing. There was barely any milk/cream and it was VERY watery. The taro flavor wasn't very strong either. Do NOT get the milk teas.

Overall, very good hot pot and will definitely come back (went twice before posting...

Your "senior advisor" -- Yet another AYCE, hot pot restaurant. Basically same thinly sliced, rolled, frozen, healthy food. Your choice of brothes, meat, veggies, seafood, and a collection of herbs and spices to choose from.

Some places have staff carrying tablets to place your order. Most others have a tablet on your table, as this place does.

We had been told by friends, that are more appropriate to the rest of the clientele, that this place is better that others. So we had to go try it.

Being on a "protein and salad" diet, they didn't even have any lettuce. But they did have "Napa cabbage", that sorta worked.

While some restaurants charge you per drink, these hot pots give refills. This place actually gave you cans of soda, unlimited.

And as other of these places that we have tried, and there are a bunch, if you get there and you see a line, look for another place. There is a two hour time limit, and time goes by very quickly as you are concentrating on all of the options you have. Perhaps not so quick while you are waiting for a table.

Admitting that this was our first time THERE, they were incredibly helpful, and explained everything.

Just that their interpretation of less "spicy", and mine, is vastly different. I'm going for a less spicy broth next time.

We'll definitely be back. So many places, so many choices, all basically the same. Hot pot. Now throw in BBQ grill and that's...