I had urges to try hot pot for a very long time but always had excuses to avoid it. This was clearly a bad plan as this hot pot restaurant was fantastic. When I first entered, it was busy. The smell of the combination of different broths and foods filled the air. It did make the room a bit warm but that's to be expecting in a room filled with boiling pots. After sitting down, we were quickly explained how to order on the menu and left alone. We ended up with a dual pot of hot and spicy broth and of tom yum kung broth. I'd like all of the meats and vegetables we ordered but it's best to say that the options were plentiful and I was able to get fresh shellfish. Yes, I could even get seasonal crab, razor clam, and scallop. It didn't take very long for the pot of broths to come out, along with the giant plate of foods we ordered to go along with it. I'm a big eater and even this looked overwhelming to me. And the quality of food matched the quantity. All of the vegetables were clearly freshly cut and the shellfish was clearly fresh. It was a very fun experience to cook foods in the pot. Occasionally they'd come around to add more water to the pot as it boiled off. They also offered to bring us more food. I never needed it but it was good to know I could get it. In hindsight I could have used more crab because it was clearly worth the price on its own. I really would want to go back. It's not exactly a cheap place but at £16.99 per person it was such a good experience that I'd happily go back. read more

Xiangbala Hotpot - Plate of seafood - Chinese Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

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As a college student for 2 years at Strathclyde uni, this place is my fav restaurant in Glasgow. They are so generous on the food. The seafood is very fresh and tasty. I ate so much fish, even more than when I was at those restaurants I had in China! They also give Chinese lots of other genuine Chinese food as an add-on for free: steamed buns, roasted beef, chicken feet, ice cream.... Lots of appetizers! We had great memories at this restaurant. I would definitely come back whenever I return to Glasgow! What's more, they have Karaoke for free! read more

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Best hot pot spot in Glasgow-- also the best I've had all over UK. Fresh ingredients, delicious seafood, authentic Chinese snacks, extraordinary lamb! The most important thing that I want to mention is the soup base. I have had countless types of different hot pot back in China and in New York, and I know the one thing that determines the quality of a hotpot restaurant is their soup base. This is easily one of the top 5 soup bases among the hundreds of different kinds of hotpot I've had all over the world in my life. The owner told me that she had visited tons of Sichuan hotpot restaurants in Sichuan to taste their secret recipes, so that she can create the most unique and flavorful soup base of her own. And she did it. It was sooooooo good. Very spicy and flavorful. You can also make your own dipping sauce at the sauce bar. Awesome place. Highly recommended! If you want to try authentic Sichuan hotpot in the UK, this place would be my top of the list! read more

Xiangbala Hotpot - Buffet style all you can eat. Fresh meat, seafood and veggies. - Chinese Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

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A stormy day in Glasgow, we came across the saviour of humanity; Hotpot. We decided to give it a try, and to our surprise it was one of the best hotpot in Glasgow. As my dad used to say, never judge a book by its cover; do not be fooled by its 90s decor, the soul of this restaurant is in its food. One thing that really appealed to my tingling tastebuds was the fact that they served ice in my coke. Being around Glasgow, finding restaurants that serve ice with your beverages are like searching for a needle through a haystack. I am glad i found this needle, it was one of great significance. Another thing i found really heartwarming was the fact that this restaurant took care of it safety measures. Safety is of utmost importance to me and my family. The restaurant had a sign to warn patrons of the in-swinging door which may pose some dangers to their unwary kids. "DANGER!" was what it said on the door, which was pretty thoughtful. Apart from the sign, the fire extinguishers were replaced recently as well, which definitely adhered to the general safety guideline. I mean, the last thing you want is to have to evacuate the building in the midst of enjoying some good-ol boiled oranges. With the fire extinguishers in good condition, one would be able to enjoy the nice spectacle of the fire display. heck! i would even throw some belly dancers in as well! All in all, dining and food was definitely 5 stars from me. Attached are some of the photos of our experiences - People polishing off their plates & including the one dish to try (orange dipped in tomato soup). Lovely. Enjoy! read more

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Not impressed. Mediocre food; abysmal service. Average no. of selection food-wise. Not the best I've had. Avoid the steamed buns, they practically crumble in your hands as soon as you try to eat them. Been in the steamer for too long I guess? Carbonated drinks in the dispenser have lost all their fizz. Appalling service - our table was full of empty ingredient plates and we tried to ask the waitress to take some away but she rudely asked us to leave these near the window instead! Avoid. There are better hotpot places in this city. read more

Xiangbala Hotpot - Asked to put the away the empty plates near the window instead :/ - Chinese Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

Went over to his super hidden hot pot spot in the city centre for dinner with some pals from Malaysia. Wouldn't have known about the existence of this place without my friends pointing it out! It's a restaurant located on the second floor, beside central station. It felt like a very familiar atmosphere as we were surrounded by customers from all walks of East Asia. Woo great! The staff members were super friendly. They greeted us as we arrived, seated us and were very attentive. So basically, the idea is that you pay 17quid and then order anything and everything you want, dunk it into your hot pot soup and feast! You're allowed to eat as much for max 2 hours though to, ya know, avoid the place from going bankrupt hahahahaha They have quite a bit of selections for soup! We went for satay, clear, hot and tom yam soup broth. YUMMMM. We also ordered basically everything on their menu including the meats (lamb, cow, pork YUMMM), seafood (tons of shell fish and squid YESSS), veges and noodles. Like everything, basically. We were there for over 2 hours finishing our food and we were stuffed to the brim! SO GOOD! Perfect for the cold weather approaching for sure. Yes I'd definitely go back. It's affordable and you eat SOOO MUCH. I loved it! read more

Well, this review is so late that the restaurant is rumoured to be closed! (I think I'll have to investigate.) One thing you must know about me... I love the feeling of culinary culture shock! So naturally, when I saw this place appear on Union Street, I added it to my list. I'm not sure how it took me so long to get to it, but Harry decided to treat me to dinner here some time before Christmas (yes, this review has been sitting half finished for a while... naughty, naughty Jen) and it was just as wonderful as expected! And a perfect place to eat in miserable weather. Nothing warms you up quite like a good hotpot. Each table had an induction heating element built into the middle, and the place was absolutely packed. It's one of those places, though, that you'd swear you were in another country entirely. Which I always find a good sign! Feeling somewhat like a fish out of water, I scanned the room to get an idea of hotpot etiquette so I didn't do anything weird or supremely offensive. So here's how it works. When you're shown to your table, you select your size of bowl, your type of broth and if you want it to have more than one kind of broth (we had a pot sectioned into two, but I saw one that had three sections at another table), and your selection of ingredients to put in the broth from a large selection of meat, noodles and vegetables. Once you've made your choice, the waiter brings your broth and sets it on the hob plate on the table, and brings a tray piled high with fresh and uncooked ingredients. If you run out before you're full, you can ask for more things to put in your hot pot. There's also a station where you can make your dipping sauces. Mixing things together was like a marvellous experiment in alchemy. You also pick up your chopsticks from this station, and if you're quick you might be able to snag a steamed bun. :) Harry got a tom yum broth and I got the special chicken. The broth cooks quickly, and so do the finely sliced pieces of meat. Everything is fresh and tasty, and as far as communal cooking goes, it is just great fun. Hot tip! If you're adding the noodles, don't put them in at the start. They will disintegrate by the end. I can't wait to go back here... so here's hoping it's still around! read more

I've tried a few hot pots in Scotland, I would say this one was value for money and there was a good selection. Walked in on Friday night and was seated straight away and the staff are very attentive. I would recommend going. I look forward to going again soon. read more

Xiangbala Hotpot - Hot Pot in Glasgow yummy - Chinese Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

Visited last month with a friend who loves hot pot. Of the few hot pot places I've tried in Glasgow this is my favourite. Inside it's nothing fancy. Just tables with hot plates on them. It is a very casual place which I don't mind at all. The hot pot menu itself is pretty standard. They often have extra items like steamed buns which are next to the sauce area. They have a curry flavoured soup which I haven't had anywhere else (it's usually just clear broth or spicy) and it tasted nice. Unfortunately they don't have a licence for alcohol. I'm unsure if it's BYOB. They just have the regular soft drinks on draft. The staff were friendly. Not all of them speak English but that wasn't a problem. Overall I really recommend this place for hot pot lovers! read more

Been dying to try this place out for a long time. Went for dinner at around 6:30 ish and it was very busy, luckily someone vacated the seats about 2 minutes before we arrived so we were promptly seated. As you walk in its a steamy warm environment with tables set out with what looks like a halogen panel to heat the broth. Its pretty simple to order, its all you can eat, you pick your size of bowl, your type of broth then from a selection of ingredients covering veg, noodles, meat, fish and shellfish. All the veg was clearly very freshly cut, the meat was arranged on the plate very nicely and was all very fresh. A nice little touch of this place is that you can go to the ingredients at the back and make yourself pretty much any dipping sauce you want to accompany your meal. If you run out you can reorder things from the menu as well. The drinks are the usual fare of spriits along with the lovely tea options and aloe very juices as well as bottomless soft drinks. All this for the tiny price of around 17 quid! Also just to make sure people know this is a cash only establishment, no cards here!!! The reason its a 4 is for a couple of reasons, firstly is some of the waiting staff only have basic english if that so it can be a little difficult if you need help and that our drinks were forgotten about to begin with. These minor niggles aside though and bearing in mind it was our first time in here this was a great experience of hot potting/buffet and i will be going back soon! read more

I had this hot pot buffet during my travel in Glasgow. I have to say the soup was too light(not strong enough) but theseafood was good and worth the money. The service was good as well. read more

Xiangbala Hotpot - Chinese Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

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Had better, although there was a good selection when we got our ingredients they not only forgot or noodles but it looked like they just gave us the scraps of what was there not organised at all! The only thing that saved it for me was the peanut sauce and self service draft drinks read more