I went here with my parents and we order two items. Hianinan chicken and the other dish was pawns with walnut. The total bill came out to $50. The food was good. When we ask for the bill and payed the amount. The sever/host told us that we have to tip 15%. Eventually we did cash tip. As soon we were about to leave the server/host said that wasn't enough tip money. First of all why you would ask for 15% tip. Second asking for tip and then complain about how we tipped low. You should be grateful there was tip. I never seen this kind behavior from any restaurant establishments. I work in the restaurant industry that is a very rude thing to say to paying customers. Also on top of that I understand Cantonese so I understand all the unnecessary talk about didn't tip enough and why you should tip more. As much I like the food here, more likely I won't be coming back. read more

Got my order wrong specifically asked for no egg multiple times meal was full of egg and pineapple fried rice was subpar won't be returning

Henry is just awesome! He helped me with my orders and it was all so delicious! I would recommend their DUNGENESS CRAB! We tried all kinds of their dungeness crab and the garlic a d chili tops it all. Im definitely going back this Thanksgiving as per children's request! read more

Hainan set meal surprisingly good with great soup. The chicken is tender in nice yellow skin. Service is fast. The steam pop up for fresh seafood is cute. Xia long bao, I will skip that next time because the skin is too thick. Great place to bring friends. read more

We ordered: 1 crab, 10 razor clams, 4 shrimp, an order each of mushrooms and okra, porrage base. Total cost: $160-ish This restaurant is perfectly fine. The steam machine is kind of cool, and I think it's a novelty for people who haven't seen this type of cooking before. However, the food quality isn't really good enough to justify what I think is a pretty exorbitant price. Yes, the food tastes fine, but there isn't really any cooking involved whatsoever, so all you're paying for is the ingredients, which I had a difficult time believing really cost as much as the final bill suggested. Came here earlier this april. read more

This restaurant has good service and a spacious space. Food is yummy. Would recommend.

Delicious steamed seafood. Place is not large but can accommodate big groups, including a private room! Fresh seafood and delicious porridge! read more

Waitress service is very nice. Took good care of us. Food was great. Had a good time. Location is hard to locate. It behind the plaza at the corner. Overall great experience. read more

4.5 STARS *Texting* Me: "Dad, where did you want to eat on Father's Day?" Dad: "Banana Island." Me: "Again? Did you want to go somewhere nicer for Father's Day?" Dad: "Ok, suggest something but it has to be close to my house, easy parking, and healthy." *923981723034823 texts later* Dad: "Ok, let's try Pop Kitchen....WAIT, you're treating right?" ( -- ___ -- ) Pop Kitchen's concept: Steam Hot Pot! Each table has one steamer in the middle of the table where the server places a plate of food on, an electronically activated dome covers it, and a timer is set. The plates have little holes so all the juices from the seafood and/or meats drip down into a soup for jook (+surcharge). The extensive menu has Seafood, Meat, Dumplings, Noodle Rolls, Rice Dishes, and Veggies. The food cooks in its own juices, no oil or seasoning. Don't worry, there's a sauce bar (no msg) so you can make your own dipping sauce(s). Super healthy and great for a group with a sh*t ton of dietary restrictions. Even your vegan-paleo-low carb-gluten free-nut free-no salt-no msg-no sugar friend can enjoy something other than a cup of free-range ice for a change! Since the plates are a la carte, it can get pricey especially if you order the premium items like king crab, geoduck, sea cucumber, live coral shrimp, etc (seafood tanks were pristine with active crustaceans). For Father's Day, there was a special set menu starting at $288 for 6 people which I thought it was a good value for 12 dishes with premium items like live fish, boston lobster, and premium beef. I wanted to order this but it would be rude to with the dietary restrictions in our group so we ordered a la carte. I ended up paying less than $200 (pre-tip) for 5 people which I thought was worth it for the food quality and novelty. We were so stuffed and had two boxes of leftovers. There's only 9 tables and a private room ($300 min for 10 people) so reservations are a must on the weekends. Keep in mind, each plate is steamed one-by-one so expect to spend 1.5-2+ hours there. We ordered the following (fav to least fav): * Homemade Shrimp Ball w/ mushrooms ($30): Fresh sweetness of the shrimp + earthiness of the plump shitakes = simple and delicious. * Live Black Cod (2.5 lbs - $50): I usually hate cooked fish but the steaming keeps it super moist and flaky. Really good with the jalapeno soy sauce + scallions. * Premium Beef w/ enoki mushrooms ($18): Steamed beef sounded gross but the premium beef was so intensely marbled, the beef cooked in its own fat. Super flavorful. * Homemade Beef Balls ($8): Soft and beefy. Great with the housemade chili sauce. * XLBs (10 pc - $13): Skin was a tad thick but the pork filling was hella juicy and there was ton of soupy goodness inside. Served with a side of red vinegar. * Sweet Corn & Pork Dumplings ($9): Similar to the XLB but with sweet corn kernels and the wrapper was thinner. It was also soupy. * Taro & Pumpkin ($7): Super tender. * Ginger Chicken w/ rice noodle roll ($11.80): Overcooked chicken but the cheong fun noodles were smooth and silky. * Ginger Chicken (1/2 - $15): They were being overly cautious so the chicken was also overcooked. There was no ginger dipping sauce. =( * Cabbage & Yu Choy ($13): Way overcooked, wet, and mushy. Service was excellent. When making reservations, no one picked up. Two minutes later, the owner called me back. I forgot to get this name but he's such a genuinely nice guy. He helped my dad with the menu, regularly checked in with us, and kept our water glasses full. He even knew some tagalog...because Daly City. There's only two servers and they're busting their arses every time a timer goes off. They're not the friendliest but they're super efficient - they check to make sure the food is cooked through, then serve each person in your group a portion. Then, they set the next plate in the steamer. Midway through the meal, they changed our plates. They're going to each and every table at least 8-10+ times so please tip generously. One thing they can improve on is training the servers to better explain the jook option (it wasn't a language barrier because my stepmom was speaking to them in Cantonese). My dad wanted jook but it wasn't explained that it comes at the end of the meal (made from the meat/seafood drippings). He was hangry and was just told it will take 30 minutes to make. Formerly Valero's Tropical Bakery, the owner did a great job transforming the depressing space into something fun, hip, and colorful with inspirational quotes on the walls. There's Top 40 music videos playing on the TV. Overall, I really enjoyed Pop Kitchen. I came in with low expectations because I thought the concept may be gimmicky and because it's Daly City (sorry!) but my dad loved it which is what's most important. I was getting mad order envy seeing other tables with chicken feet, beef tongue, coral shrimp (s*cking heads), and razor clams so next time it IS going down! read more

Pop Kitchen - Steam Hot Pot: Healthy, delicious, and great for ALL dietary restrictions in your group. Great service from the owner too! - Seafood Near Me - Daly City, California

Famous for Singapore style Hainan chicken, stir fried vegetables. Fresh food will have a steaming party. read more

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We recently went to the market where Pop Kitchen was located. The noodle place we originally planned on eating at looked empty and there were a lot of people at Pop Kitchen and the menu looked interesting so we went in to dine. Big mistake. The first thing was we were handed a tablet with the menu (which did not look like it had been cleaned (it's COVID times people!). I got the Curry Beef Brisket and my friend ordered Hainanese Chicken along with soup dumplings. As part of the order you get a choice of "beverage"....milk tea or won ton soup?? We selected the wonton soup and it had no wontons. Only bones. There was also a layer of grease on top from the fat. Gross! Hainanese chicken rice itself was OK, but the boneless chicken portion was tiny. It looks like a lot in the pictures because it's on a bed of lettuce and you will be left hungry. My beef curry brisket made me wonder if there was actually beef as there were thin strips that were maybe skin or intestines. It didn't even taste like curry. We wanted to like the place and were complimenting the whimsical nature of the plastic toys on the lamps. It was just the food which is what really matters most. Unfortunately we won't be coming back here. The food is overpriced for what you get. The steam and seafood is a novelty and that may be their specialty, but the other stuff stay away. Bleh. read more

Got their typhoon grab, chilly oil fish, tasty rice, dried scallop fried rice, and cabbage stir fry! All of them were tasty, and the food arrived piping hot. The crab was pretty easy to eat because it was cracked and cut; fish had a lovely spicy and 酸 taste to it; eggplant was cooked to nice texture and the two rice were both nicely seasoned and nicely fried. I would order from here again :) read more

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My friends and me love this restaurant. We ordered steam seafood. The seafood was great and fresh. And the porridge was tasty. We'll come back again. read more

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Food was really good here and the service was amazing. The chicken was tender and the ginger sauce is so fresh. We also had the XLB which came out piping hot and you could tell it was fresh handmade dough.y daughter loved the HK Style street rice rolls which really gave us nostalgia - back to HK. Since it was lunch we didn't get to try the steamer but we plan on coming back. The menu has a reasonable family dinner meal which Includes crab and a few signature seafood items. read more

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I love steam hot pot and decide to give this restaurant a shot. This restaurant really impressed me! The food is fresh and tasty, especially the clams! And please order hainanese chicken rice!!! You won't be regarded!! Not to mention is above average. The waiter ( probably the owner) is not that talkative but he is very nice and gentle, thumbs up! read more

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came in with no reservation, and were seated promptly. lots of good options, food was very fresh.

Really pleasant owners. I enjoyed the eggplant a lot. I should've ordered a side of rice because there's a lot of sauce. We also ordered the baked seafood which is a HUGE portion that lasted several days. It's extremely rich and pairs really well with the crunchy chili garlic sauce from Trader Joe's! I also recommend Laoganma Spicy Chili Crisp which you can pick up at the grocery store across from Pop Kitchen. The wonton soup included with the baked seafood was tasty too and I think that's why I became full so quickly - there's so much food!!! read more

We are rarely in the neighborhood (near airport) and found this Hole in the Wall place on Yelp. What a great find! Ordered the chicken rice dish with soup for $14, which was great! Hot and sour soup $10 can feed 4 people! XLB dumplings were juicy but the skin was a bit thick. Service was 5 star! Recommend! read more

Cool concept where everything is steamed right in front of you! They also use fresh seafood so you know you're getting that quality. But of course with quality you're definitely paying steeper prices. We ordered the chicken conch soup, halibut, razor clams, and a rice dish. Highlights were definitely the chicken conch soup and the razor clams. Steaming the ingredients to prepare the soup resulted in a soup with so much flavor. Chicken soup on a whole new level. Also, be sure to dip the seafood with the garlic sauce!! You won't regret. read more

Pop Kitchen - Seafood Near Me - Daly City, California

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Long story short: cute place, cool concept, not enough side dishes or made to order food, but the items we did order was SUPER fresh. It was on the pricier side, but you definitely get quality over quantity. I was getting really impatient waiting for all the food to be cooked. And it gets eaten up so quickly if you come with a big group. Read the full details on this eating experience on my blog: http://sophaddicted.com/pop-kitchen/ read more

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This review is solely for the take-out Hainan Chicken dinner special for $25. I haven't ordered anything else or been there for sit-down dining, but plan to when it's once again safe to do so. But after ordering the same thing three times, I'm ready to chime in here. Hainan Chicken is something that many restaurants claim to "make", but only a small handful are actually able to prepare correctly. If you don't know now you know. And Pop Kitchen definitely does Hainan Chicken right. The chicken is fresh, cut up and boxed. It comes with a container of "tasty rice" (contains dried scallops/shrimp), two containers of soup and ginger/green onion dipping sauce...enough for three to four people and an excellent overall value for the taste/quality. My dad vouched for the taste and authenticity of this dish, and it's been one of his favorite take-out meals for me to grab for him during the covid times. As for the location, you'll never see this place from the street. It's in a corner of a small strip mall/shopping center so just drive into the parking lot when you arrive. Parking for take-out has never been an issue. Nice to have a good option besides Tai Yuan. I'm giving this dish (and this dish alone) a 5-star review. read more

Really cool concept where you steam your food as you eat (similar to cooking food on the grill for KBBQ or putting food into boiling water for hot pot). It does take time since you can only steam 1-2 dishes at a time but they have extra side steamers to speed up the process. Nevertheless, I'd give yourself about 2 hours for a full meal. This is the place to go for seafood - they have a huge selection including razor clams, oysters, crab, etc. Because it's a bit like tapas style (order multiple dishes), I'd suggest coming with 4 or more people so you can try more dishes as it does add up. It's also nice that at the end, you get congee (made while you steam the food so it has a seafood flavor) and complimentary sweet soup dessert. The waiters were also great and attentive. read more

Pop Kitchen - Seafood Near Me - Daly City, California

Best seafood place in bay area. We ordered lobster, dongeness crab, razor clam, they are super fresh and delicious. We also ordered some dim sum. The sim sum here is freshly steamed on the desk! It's second time we went here. They open on Christmas day as well read more

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Cool concept of steaming everything instead of boiling it in hot pot and BBQing. Very original! Every table has its own steamer that moves up and down and each table has a pot that heats up the porridge in front of you while other things are being steamed (you need to see this in person to fully understand!) timer on every table too to make sure things aren't over cooked. They do provide you 6 different condiments for you to make your own and I think they are very necessary because steamed things are not as tasty as grilling (personal opinion). Don't get me wrong, I'm a lover of sauces and they made my meal very tasty. Ordered: pork belly with enoki, tender greens, beef meatballs, sea bass and porridge with spareribs. This was for 2 people, everything came together nicely in a meal and the porridge washed everything down at the end. Lastly, I was very impressed by the steamers because that took away all the smoke that you would normally have to endure in a BBQ restaurant. Also, there are lots of instagramable quotes on the wall paper. read more

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MSG very high. Lost taste bud & tongue for almost 4 hours. Won't come back. No thanks read more

Pop Kitchen - Steamed Chicken with Chili Sauce (Half Chicken was very salty hidden in spice. - Seafood Near Me - Daly City, California

Fun concept! We went there a couple of months ago, but our server wasn't very good at explaining the whole process to us. (When our server was telling us to get soup or jook, I thought she was just trying to up-sell, not that we actually needed the steam from those items to cook our food.) So, either they need to have the servers clearly explain the process, or have better descriptions printed in their menu. Anyway, food was good but took a long time to cook everything... so I'd suggest that you first order your soup or jook and a dish or two to get started... and while they are cooking, look over the menu and order more... don't waste time trying to decide on everything at the beginning. read more

Nice, friendly staff and very cute ambiance and decor. Truly a unique dining experience, but the food was awful. We had about 5 or 6+ dishes. I wish the food tasted better. :( Won't be returning and can't recommend either. I was starving for good food after the dining experience. read more

I haven't been on this side of town for quite sometime. I was originally planning on getting some Filipino treats from what used to be Vallero's Bakery. I came across Pop Kitchen where the Bakery used to be located at. So like any self respecting foodie would do, I yelped it. There I saw that they're known for Haianese Chicken. Basically Chicken, Soup and Rice. 1 whole chicken with two big containers of soup with a big serving of aromatic rice... All for $25. I was sold on it. Also, they did have a few selection on Crabs. I went for the Baked Crab with butter and cheese. Although it's good, I found the crab to be dry. Not really complains since I did get a baked one, so I expected it to be dryer than normal. Next time I'd try a roasted one, maybe they'll do better justice on that. read more

Pop Kitchen - Baked Crab with Cheese - Seafood Near Me - Daly City, California

Really liked this new spot near my neighborhood! Fresh seafood steamed to perfection, healthy and tasty. They have a wide variety of seafood, small selection of veggies and meat as well as snacks like Xiao Long Bao to steam. The kick is the steam table and the cool controller at the table that can be programmed to cook your selections to perfection. I went in and ordered a Pork spare rib and bamboo shoots as a base that sits underneath a grill type rack, then ordered coral shrimp, geoduck and empress clams to be steamed on top. There is a very good selection of sauces so you can combine / mix / concoct your flavors to suit with your meal. I also ordered a cold lemon & ginger coke that was beyond refreshing! Definitely recommend coming here with friends for an innovative experience read more

Came in for the daily lunch specials to go! $10+ for each Hong Kong style inspired entrees. I got my mom the pork hop with tomato sauce & cheese baked on top of fried rice. The other one was fried rice under mushroom & chowder with mushrooms & fish fillets. The staff are attentive, kind & on to ask. They are exact on coking & making sure the food comes out in time! $22 total for two filling entrees & good packaging. No real downsides but condiments are tiny. They also offer up their own sauces & other goodies like walnuts for honey walnut prawns & dried shred pork. Super clean eatery & a great variety of items to choose from on the menu! Well worth coming here. read more

It's very delicious, two people set is enough for 2 or 3, Lobster, oysters, chicken ball and Panopea generosa read more

Pop Kitchen - Seafood Near Me - Daly City, California

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Hey Pop Kitchen. Never going back. Service is bad and waitress is unethical. * We arrived at 1:50 (based on my text messages) and my parents' dish didn't show up until 38 mins later. * I had already finished eating my dish & my parents had yet to begin eating. * When the check came, i looked at the iPad and noted the $29.90 (before tax) total and was surprised iPad didn't give me an option to tip. Later that night I received the email receipt & saw a $5.20 tip was added. * I suspect waitress "had it in" for us because my father kept asking why our dish was late and my elderly parents shared one dish instead of ordering 2. read more

This place is very innovative and creative! The restaurant is very clean and well decorated. Really love the ambience of this place. The service is also really good. Our waitress was really friendly and guided us through the process on how to order here. The food here is fresh, delicious and is steamed so you know it's healthy hehe. There's also a cute little sauce station located on each table to add extra flavor for your meal if you so choose to. read more

Delicious food with great customer service. Will definitely return and recommend to friends! Lunch dim sum menu at a good price, the Siu Ma, handmade shrimp ball and the rice with spareribs is super good. The food quality is over the price! read more

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Ate here with friends. Delicious, good value. Ordered hainanese chicken to go and it was delicious and lasted me four meals and came with two large soups. Friend said her chicken was too salty but mine was perfect. I did the same two days ago and when got home I noticed the chicken was too salty. I ate it anyways because I was too hungry. The next day I boiled the chicken in soup and ate the chicken and it was still too salty. Today brought the order back for exchange. Host didn't understand English which is normal for places like this. I did my best with my broken Mandarin and Teo Chow. I finally was able to tell her it was too salty by talking about the ocean. She said it was like this. I said no, I know this dish. She then said no, you ate some. I said give me a half order then. She said no, you were supposed to come back right away. Come back right away when you driven home and restaurant is about to close? She said you ate it. Obviously I had to try some. I gave it a try and I took out the sauces so they wouldn't have to give that back to me so it did look a bit emptier. I am so appalled at how they handle the matter. Who got gipped? Me or them? At least give me half the order. Tossing this. Anyway my peers, try your chicken before you walk out of here because they don't care cuz the chicken should be so salty you feel it to your bones. read more

Pop Kitchen - Seafood Near Me - Daly City, California

Heard awesome things about this place. Went to try out their Hainan chicken rice special for 25$ Food portions were really good,got 2 medium sized cups of soup , 1 medium sized tray of rice and a whole cut chicken Flavour was decent and was enjoying the meal until I noticed that I have been eating half cooked chicken.... Please make sure your food is fully cooked before you give it to your customer... I hope I dont get sick.. read more

Pop Kitchen - Raw chicken... - Seafood Near Me - Daly City, California

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My party and I went here last October. I was browsing through pictures on my phone and remembered our dining experience. I've never been to Daly City before and we were looking around for places with good reviews. I've never had hainan chicken with rice, but It seemed to be a popular dish so one other person in my party and I ordered it. Can't go wrong with meat and rice, right? Well If you're into cold chicken with feathers still stuck on them along with congealed liquid...then look no further! I could not bring myself to eat more than one bite. I recall the other food we ordered (curried vegetables and some peanut noodle dish) were underwhelming, but at least edible. The only redeeming item was the side of soup that came with our meals. I also ordered a Diet Coke, which didn't taste normal. I checked the bottle for an expiration date, and found it expired sometime in 2019. I can't remember the exact date but we visited 10/2020...so 10 plus months it's been bad. I think it's time to invest in someone to be responsible for quality control. I typically don't like leaving bad reviews, but it just was not a pleasant experience at all. I'm glad other people have had good experiences here. Maybe it was an off day...but we will be avoiding this place the next time we visit Daly City. One star, but added another as staff seemed nice. read more

Pop Kitchen - Cold chicken with congealed liquid - Seafood Near Me - Daly City, California

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A different take on hotpot . Everything is steamed at your table. It's quite fancy looking and innovative. High tech cooking at your table. I suggest this place to those who love seafood. The taste is very fresh, clean, and natural because it's all steamed right in front of you. I love abalone and the fresh abalone was tender and delicious ~ the sweet shrimps steamed kept its natural sweet and saltiness. Didn't need anything else ~ You can order a selection of meats but I only recommend the handmade beef balls(or other handmade balls) which resembles the dimsum style ones. Steam sliced meats can make the meat too tough but go for it if you crave it. Nothing sauce won't solve. There is a sauce station of satay(chinese bbq sauce), soy , chili oil, cilantro, scallions(green onions), jalapeños, garlic and a few other things I do not recommend the Shanghai dumplings unless it's you want to try it. The meat inside isn't soft and tender as I would prefer. There isn't much soup. But it's not bad. Mainly I just I don't get people and their crave for dumplings and it takes at least 10mins. Remember you only have 1 steam table to use . I actually had my dumplings steamed at an empty table so we didn't have to wait. Service is friendly. They put everything in the steamer for you in a specific order I think. They serve you too or you can serve yourself . Just be careful not to burn yourself on the steaming hot plates . The place is comfortable. Good for anyone to try something new/different . I think it's good for dates cause it's kind of cool watching the food on the steam table cook. Watching the lid go up and down. and While the food cooks, it's a Perfect time to chat it up ~ don't just play on your phone ! There aren't a lot of tables but I'm not sure how busy this place can get. I gave it a 3 but was debating a 4. 4 is more for the service and atmosphere of the place or their expensive setup for the steam table. I can't really justify hotpot or similar places with a high score. A 3 is good and it's my first time here. I wouldn't waste my time writing a review if I didn't think good of this place, have hopes for it and got two friends coming to try this place soon. read more

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Better tasting than Michelin restaurants! Very good tasting and friendly staff and service. read more

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4 stars Heard about this new restaurant and came here with a group of 6 on a Saturday night with reservations. - Ordered: raw geoduck, clams, one big shrimp each, razor clams, xiao long bao, beef enoki, scallops, and sparerib pumpkin porridge, 3 bottles of white wine - Food: This is how it works - you choose what porridge you want as your base and this will go under the steamer so that the juices of the food getting steamed will go into the porridge as well as cook the porridge. Then you order all the food (mostly seafood) that you want to get steamed. There's also a sauce bar so you can make your own sauce. All the seafood was really fresh and delicious. You can skip the XLB. My favorites for the night was raw geoduck with wasabi, the giant shrimps, and razor clams. I love the porridge at the end too. It didn't seem like we ordered much but we were all full after. - Presentation: they have a really cool automatic steamer machine which is why I got attracted to coming here - Service: Service was quick and attentive. They spoke Cantonese and English. I love how they steam everything for you and set a time and then put it on a plate for you. The only down is that the waitress does try to recommend all the most expensive items (hahah) - Price: $90/pp. It's pretty pricey here and items add up quickly but you do get really good quality and it's a fun experience. - Additional comments: Only come eat here If you have time because it can be a long (~2 hours) dinner since you can only steam one item at a time. A lot of items on the menu says seasonal without a price so you should ask first if it matters to you. We sat at a spacious round table. Love restaurants with round tables so I can see everyone. I believe they have one private room read more

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