Jaclyn’s Pick

HotPot88
2502 S 130th Ave
Fare: Asian
Cost: $102 for three adult dinners
Reservations: Recommended

Greetings, Eaters and Readers!

When my brother Matthew was in town not long ago, he mentioned getting hot pot and I was immediately on board since I’d never had it before. And who better to take along a new foodventure than Martha? The perfect opportunity to turn it into a future blog post.

We were glad to have a hot pot guide in Matthew, as he helped explain how it worked and put us at ease about the mystery things hitting our plates – and palates! I should note, our server also explained what to expect. But it was nice to hear it twice for novices like us.

Here’s what we learned:

Step 1: Choose your broth.
Step 2: Order appetizers. (Or, skip this step for now and order them mid-meal if you want.)
Step 3: Choose your add-ons. This is where you pick your meats. We recommend starting with a couple trays to begin, and get more as you go. You’ll find that the cuts are pretty thin and small, so they go by fast.

Once you’ve done your first round of ordering, off you go to the mix-ins and toppings bar. Make your best guess about what you think you’ll like – and don’t be afraid to try new things. Lastly, create your concoction of sauces to dip anything and everything in. You really can’t go wrong with any combo.

Probably the most important note of all is that while it’s all you can eat, don’t order more than you can finish or you will be charged for uneaten foods.

Crab Rangoon

Listen. What more can we say about crab rangoon? We eat them a lot. And we sure love them a lot. We can’t improve upon the last time we told you about our feelings on crab rangoons – so if you really need to know: here. But come right back for rest of our hot pot experience!

Custard Bun

I got so excited to see custard buns on the appetizer menu. I’ve only found them on dim sum menus, of which we a serious lack in Omaha. The soft doughy outsides contain a sweet, creamy, buttery filling that I can’t get enough of. I made sure to double my order of this beloved treat.

Spicy Sichuan, Thai Tom Yum and Coconut Chicken Soup Pots

Matthew’s Choice: Maybe one of the most common and popular hot pot broth flavors, Spicy Sichuan (named after China’s Sichuan province) is described as a synergistic flavor sensation that marries the capsaicin of chile peppers with the numbing quality of Sichuan peppercorns.

Jaclyn’s Choice: Thai Tom Yum is described as featuring all four of the famous Thai flavors — salty, sour, sweet, and spicy. Tom Yum (a paste typically made of aromatic fresh herbs and fragrant spices like dried red chilis, and shallot) in soup form is an amalgamation of the Thai holy trinity — lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves. Martha wants this one next time.

Martha’s Choice: Inspired by China’s Hainan province, Coconut Chicken hot pot contains coconut water-infused broth, lending it that signature savory tropical nuttiness that China’s southernmost province is known for.

Beef and Lamb

Matthew told us the most common orders of meat include beef and lamb – so who were we to buck tradition? The key to hot pot starts with these perfectly, very thinly sliced pieces of meat that cook quick and evenly once dunked in the boiling broths.

Mix-ins & Toppings Bar

Rounding out your full hot pot experience, there is a cold buffet of hot pot mix-ins. From different types of noodles, to vegetables, crab sticks, crunchy tempura, meatballs, and so, so much more – there is no end to the customization possibilities a hot pot meal can offer.

Final Bites

You might have noticed at the top of this post that we recommend reservations. While we were lucky to snag a table at 5:30 on a Saturday, the restaurant filled up quick and patrons were seated in the lobby to wait their turn. Having sat close to the hostesses, we heard them ask often if the newcomers had reservations. So if you’re planning to go at peak times, err on the side of securing your table in advance.

Eating hot pot is not just a meal bursting with flavor, it’s truly an experience. We had so much fun interacting with our food and trying all the different things. HotPot88 was a great choice for our first time trying it. And now that we have some knowledge under our belts, we can’t wait to go back to try even more variations.

That’s triple forks up for you, HotPot88. We’ll see you soon!

Cheers!
The Good Bite Gals

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Custard Bun Image Credit: Yelp