At long last, we have a Chinese hot pot spot in New Haven! With that said, I have some notes to share...
General Notes:
1) Your hot pot is cooked to order - which means it is nice and fresh, but can take 10-20 min to prepare even if there is no line.
2) At the kiosk, you can swap between English & Chinese menus by clicking the buttons in the upper right (EN / 中)
3) They automatically put green onion and cilantro on top - add a note in your order or let the staff know if you don't want one of these toppings.
4) They didn't offer a ton of leafy green options, even missing classics like napa cabbage. Not sure if this is due to lack of demand, but it would have been nice to have more choices beyond bok choy.
Notes if you are new to hot pot:
1) The ordering kiosk can be a bit overwhelming at first. But basically, you choose a broth, then keep scrolling to add in proteins, veggies, and carbs based on your preference.
2) If too many ingredients sound unfamiliar, they have 5 preset combo options that allow you to try a bunch of stuff and learn what you like.
Notes if you are familiar with hot pot:
1) The hot pot is precooked in the kitchen, not served on a burner (even for dine in). Everything is served in takeout containers.
2) As far as I can tell, they don't offer dipping sauces either, it's just the ingredients + soup.
Recommendations (things we liked, although this varies widely based on personal preference):
1) Golden Hot & Sour Soup Base (Mild)
2) Pork Belly
3) Lotus Root
4) Bean Sprouts
5) Fried Tofu (soaks up the hot broth nicely)
6) Bok Choy (for health of course)
7) Vermicelli read more