Happy Lamb Hot Pot, San Mateo 快乐小羊 — Restaurant in San Mateo

2021 Update: We were very excited to see that renovations were complete and were happy to come back once we had our vaccines. We even spotted the robot waiters crossing around inside - how cool!

But then we managed to get in, and right away there was a problem - they replaced the old tabletop resistive coil burners, which worked fine, with new induction coil burners sunk down into the tables, with vent fans. These induction coils emit an ear-splitting whine in the 15khz-19khz range depending on how high they're turned up, which was louder than the (fairly noisy) background chatter in the restaurant. Trying to enjoy a meal while being assaulted by the same sound a dental drill makes was very difficult indeed. I got some earplugs from the pharmacy over the road, but they only barely made the noise tolerable, and made conversation a real chore.

Sadly, because I have taken care of my hearing, I cannot comfortably eat at what used to be one of our absolute favourite restaurants. I will not be back, which is a pity because the food is still great. I can now only recommend this restaurant to people who are at least partially deaf.

Original review:

Really nice place to eat. The food is phenomenal (six stars!), but the service can sometimes be a little inattentive or not strong with English (four stars!), so I'd say this is a five-star place.

Prices are not unreasonable if you don't go completely mad - keep in mind that the more expensive cuts of meat are still being boiled, so those fancy textures aren't necessarily worth paying for. Our favourite meats are the Angus and the Fatty Beef, which are two of the cheaper options. We typically also get Broccoli and Napa Cabbage. We get the regular broth, as the spicy broth is beyond our tolerances. Those are the two gluten-free broth options, but there are about four more which we haven't tried ourselves.

We go here quite a bit, especially with close friends who don't mind dipping chopsticks straight into the...

Can you believe it, I've never had Mongolian hot pot before! I guess you can't call me Chinese.

As someone who grew up eating homemade hot pot made by food snob parents, I guess I have a high bar. And I was pretty blown by Little Sheep. I guess all those years of ignoring its ugly green awning in China was a mistake? I'll never know.

Well, first, their soup base is reaaaaaally flavorful. I really like medicinal soup bases for Chinese hot pot. And Little Sheep's has a lot of herbs and is pretty thick. The spicy broth is pretty spicy, especially if you're like half way into your meal. They add more broth as yours evaporates, so that's awesome.

The items are a la carte and the portion sizes are pretty decent. The meat is delicious and goes quickly. Definitely get the lamb and beef. Those are the best meats when it comes to hot pot.

As for veggies, I'm a huge fan of napa cabbage, any kind of greens like watercress and sprouts, all kinds of mushrooms, WINTERMELON!!, taro, tofu, and cuttlefish balls.

You don't need any sauces because the broth is already so flavorful.

Then at the end, get some noodles and make a delicious bowl of noodle soup to end the meal.

And then when you're really done, get some plastic containers and take the soup base home to make your own noodle soup at home!

Prices are a little on the high side. If you got in a group, it'll be about 30 each, which for Chinese food, is a lot. But it's a lot of food... and really delicious. Totally worth it!

PS: Make a...

Hot pot is a pretty "crowded" market in the San Mateo downtown area. There are many and it takes effort to stand out. To be frank, the broth is easily replicated, and the quality of the meat starts to matter less when you're so starved from waiting and it is sliced thin so pretty much everything is tender.

HL (Happy Lamb) stands out for a few reasons. The presentation of the dipping food is impeccable. It almost elevates the hot pot experience to a premier, high-end fashionable restaurant. The interior is super clean and modern which again makes us feel good about what we're putting in our mouth. And finally, the hot pot is sunken into the table so that it is super easy to dip.

Of course, the taste is great. Awesome broth with decently fresh meat, veggies and noodles all come together well.

The place always has a wait but the queue tends to move quite fast as the restaurant has a lot of tables.

My only feedback is to make the sauce / dessert buffet a bit more richer as there are barely any choices for pickles and side dishes, and the ice cream machine was somewhat broken. Even then the entire meal was amazing and my family had a great time.

Absolutely will...