Hou Yi Hot Pot
“A great back-up option in case you couldn't get a reservation and aren't up for the 2 hour wait at 99 Favor Taste.”
“Wonderful place – good soup base, great service, decent food selection with plenty to chose from.”
“Be sure to cap off your night with some unlimited ice cream that'll turn the fire from the broth into a nice wintery delight.”
Hou Yi Hot Pot
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Updated review: They still use a type of udon noodle with a really strange texture, but at least they have a lot of different noodle options. This time I ordered the medium spicy pork broth and it was delicious! The fish fillets taste amazing in this broth. It's a little pricey, but if you consider the fact that it's all you can eat; that you get unlimited free beverages from the fridge; and that you get ice cream included in the price, it's not such a bad deal. On a Friday night I ended up paying $40 for myself including tax and tip. The next morning wasn't as bad, but still something you should be prepared for.
Tip: Kids under 4'6" are half price
I made a reservation for 7pm on a Tuesday evening, and it wasn't very packed when we arrived. But in no time flat, the tables started to fill-up.
We got the kimchee spicy broth (still pretty spicy, even at the mild level) and the beef with herbs, which was SO good. Of the side options, I loved the fish balls the most, and I do enjoy the mix your own dipping sauce station (what genius!) along with the ice-cream bar. We ordered quite a few rounds and the wood ear mushrooms were fantastic for veggie choices.
Service was just ok. They could have been a little more attentive, and the speech we got at the start, to not eat too much, was rather off putting. I'm not saying be a glutton, but what's the point of an AYCE? We got weird, oddly judge-y looks, every time we ordered another round of food.
Next time around? I'd pick the shin ramen next time around, not the Udon (just so-so).
I'd come back.
I love hot pot and I crave hotpot during all seasons but especially on a cold day. Today was that day. I was easily able to make a reservation for 4 the day of and was seated almost immediately when I arrived. The restaurant was not packed but had customers steadily coming and leaving. The restaurant was a lot more smaller than I had expected and seating was not the most comfortable; I felt squished by the lack of space and overwhelmed by all the noise.
I rate a hot pot establishment based on the soup base and freshness of ingredients because honestly, it's very hard to screw up hot pot. I ordered the tomatoes and mushroom base and the Vietnam coconut curry base; both were average to me. The ingredients were fresh which is a thumbs up but again, nothing special in presentation or seasoning. There also wasn't parricularly more of a selection than other hot pot establishments. I love the selection of drinks especially the honey lemon tea they have swirling around in the dispenser in the front. the self serve ice cream was also a plus.
However, I was somewhat appalled by their restrooms. The one on the main floor doesn't flush and the one in the basement seems to be someone's home bathroom; there was a towel, hair dryer, and toothbrush among other amenities in the bathroom. Shouldn't you keep that bathroom private?
For $37.50 per person, I would not return. I rather hot pot at home.
Great for groups. It's very dim inside. The staffs are very friendly and helpful. They have quite a selection of Asian brand drinks and their homemade juices that's for all you can drink to go along with the all your can eat hotpot. The soup base I got was regular and spicy. It's was decent. They gave us bags to put our jackets in so the smell of the hotpot wouldn't catch onto our clothing. I thought that was really considerate and helpful. I wouldn't want to walk around smelling like hotpot. They also have this large selection of all your can eat ice cream. Well rounded from start to finish. It's basically all you can eat EVERYTHING. I love this concept!
Only place where you can have different selections of all you can eat AND drink. At the price of $35 per person, it's pretty worth it.
Was going to check out 99 Flavor as they had a better rating but they were completely booked, so ended up getting a reservation here pretty easily.
Decent selection of meats and veggies. Wish seafood had unpeeled shrimp (I hate peeling my own cuz I'm lazy). Sauces are good/ have variety (they have peanut butter too which I always like in my sauce), broth is decent. I ate WAY too much, good times. You also get free drinks and they have a ton of ice cream too (why though? I'm full, I don't want dessert, but there's like 10 ice cream flavors to try, so okay I GUESS I'll try 3 flavors and then feel like I'm dying).
Service was okay, could have been a little bit better.
If you want ayce hot pot, this is definitely a viable option.
Firs thing to note: this is a AYCE restaurant with self serve drinks, sauce and dessert. I thought for £29.99 per person it is amazing value and we were very happy with the quality of items: shrimp and fish fillet were amazing. Recommendation: I have a very high tolerance for spicy food and chose hot base but as time passed and chillies managed to do their trick, I started to struggle. The place is nothing fancy and when I went to use the restroom it looked like someone's personal restroom: towel, blowdryer and toothbrush are not items I usually see in the rest room. We really enjoyed this place as we went there with not so high expectation and were pleasantly surprised.
One of the first AYCE hot pot place in Chinatown that I've tried. I feel ripped off. The service was slow for our table. There is a fridge of all you can drink for free rom chinese ice tea to coconut milk and others.
So when we sat down and ordered we asked the waitress if the beers were all you can drink. She said no they are $1.00 per bottle. I was happy to hear that!! But when they bill came out the beers came up to $4 per bottle and when I asked the girl who said they were $1.00 denied what she had told me and said it has been always $4.00
The price for 4 people came up to $160 which was not worth it.
I love this place!! Unlike other all-you-can-eat hotpot places, Hou Yi also offers you different kinds of drinks (yakult, sweet tea, etc) and a lot of different flavored ice cream. The food is also delicious. I love all their food and soup choices (especially the spicy one).
Although, the portions for each order is kind of small. So if I ordered an order of beef, it would come in a little box and I would kill it in five minutes. So I'd have to keep asking the staff to bring me another order. Moreover, your first order of meat is always really good quality. But after like the 3rd order, the quality of meat starts to diminish. It's not as enjoyable, but it's not worth making a big fuss about it. Nevertheless, I would still recommend this place. Make a reservation beforehand to avoid waiting!
IMO: Better than 99 Favors.