Chuan Shabu — Restaurant in Worcester

Food: They have ACYE hot pot style, with many fresh vegatables & protien selction. We choose the Tom-Yom & Super Mala broth which were decent, it could use more depth and seasoning to enhance the overall experience. The super mala wasn't as spicy as I thought and the Tom Yom just didnt have that bold, herbal flavors. Adding extra seasonings like a little extra spice or herbs or even better peppers could enhance better flavors. They do have a sauce section where you can grab it yourself and add to your brooth or use it as dipping. The selection of protein with a few premium is avaliable is solid, but the taste in quality just did not meet my expecatation as it was a bit tough. All the vegatables were fresh, and seafood was well prepared which I enjoyed. I also had thier noodles & crab rangoons for take-out which was rather dry, so perhaps take out wouldn't be my thing to do here. I gave this place another chance, and it is better than the last time. Overall, its a solid option to go to satisfy the craving during the colde season.

Service: The service was fine, most staff tend to mind thier business and will arrive when you need something. Most of this is a help yourself kind of thing when it comes to cooking your own food or getting your own sauces. I believe they can be more attentive when needed.

Ambiance: It recently just featured moremodern decor with touches of traditional elements that reflect its hot pot theme. The space is designed for communal dining, with large tables that encourage sharing and socializing. Warm lighting and vibrant colors create an inviting environment, making it a great spot for gatherings,

Location accommodation: They have a parking right to the right of the resturant but you can park in the TD bank lot and...

I ordered the following: House Lo Mein, Crab ragoons, and Curied Spicy Chicken for Delivery. Asked to make sure chopsticks and napkins accompanied the food.

So, I'm not sure if it was Uber eats issue or the restaurant, but no one packed the copsticks or the napkins. 😒

Let me first say, the food was hot and smelled wonderful. However, the Lo Mein was flavorless. I really wanted some good Lo Mein. Lo Mein is comfort food to me and this was just very disappointing. ☹️ I feel like watered-down ingredients were used to create this dish. I'm pretty sure the oyster sauce was not even used ...as the dish was missing its distinct dark rich color and missing the signature red bell pepper.. Instead, what I received was very pale in color.

The Crab Ragoons really were literally just cream cheese. I dont even believe it was good cream cheese. 😕 Crab Ragoons are one of my favorite when ordering Americanized Chinese and again, these were disappointing.

The saving grace was the Curried Spicy Chicken. I must say, this is the first time, I have seen someone use Broccoli in this dish. ☹️ I really loath Broccoli, but I picked it out and tried it. The flavor was nicer than the lo mein, but not robust. This dish is typically very flavorful and tends land on the spicer side of an average American spice level. I added some additional chili flakes, ginger, tumeric and garlic to doctor it up.

I am not sure if this was just a bad serving (one off) or the flavors produced are just weak in general. I will give this place another try (hense the 3 star rating), but overall, most of the places in Worcester taste similar. Out of all the places in Worcester, I have only found 3 places that provide good American-chinese dishes on a consistent basis according...

Edit: Services from the past two visits have been very unsatisfactory. One time we had to wait solid 20 minutes just to get the menu just to get neglected for the rest of our stay as they placed us in the far corner. We even had to walk up to the server for second menu after waiting tirelessly, then waited at the register since nobody came to bring the check. The server saw us, just decided to stand around on the opposite side and chat. Similar experience for the second time.

One of the best hotpot places I’ve been in New England so far. Fresh vegetables and vast variety of meats and seafoods along with ample options for sauces. I took many of my friends here, and each one of them loved it. I visit at least once a month for the past couple of years, and the quality of the food itself never has changed much. I’ve never tried their dishes on the menu, so I’m uncertain how good they are. If you are looking for a spot to have a good authentic hotpot, I would not look twice. Evenings are usually busy and the weekend can be quite hectic - expect some wait time.

My only complaint is that they sometimes seem to charge for certain things as they please. For instance, they charge $7 for super mala broth, which supposed to be spicier than regular mala, but the amount of mala pepper and sauce varies every time. If we ask for spicier broth, some just bring extra pepper for free while some charge $3-$5 to make the broth spicier, which I think it’s quite absurd. Your experience here will vary drastically based on who you have as a server - some are very friendly and attentive while some just stand around or busy chatting...