🚩 A New Type of Hot Pot Restaurant from an Established Brand - All-You-Can-Eat Self-Service Bar

It's that time of the weekend again when I want to eat hot pot. This old brand, Lao Xian Jue Plus, has been open for over three years. I had only passed by before, but today is my first time dining here. The restaurant is located on Minzu Road in Xindian, between Qizhang and Dapinglin MRT stations. The sign outside still says Lao Xian Jue MINI, but it was recently renovated and upgraded to a Plus restaurant.

After entering and finding a seat, I took the menu and ordered at the counter where I could pay with cash and various payment methods. The menu lists different soup bases; those on the left include meat, while the second row requires separate meat orders. There are many types and sizes of meat available, but I didn’t order any a la carte ingredients today. Each dine-in customer must pay an additional $58, and items in the self-service area are available for unlimited supply.

Today, I ordered two types of hot pot: a thick pork bone broth and a clam and loofah broth, both with a milky white color that isn’t too strong, offering a mild flavor. When they brought the dishes, the broth already contained some cabbage, and one of them had clams and loofah pre-added. Since they don’t serve a meat platter, I went to the self-service area to grab what I wanted—really nice! I feel this reduces waste. I took a lot of mushrooms and greens, and the self-service area is continuously replenished, so there’s always something to grab. Great news for big eaters: staple foods (e.g., Prince noodles, fried noodles, and vermicelli) are also available unlimited! A small drawback is that the meat portion of 140g is really quite little; it’s gone in just a few bites, so meat lovers might want to order a 300g meat platter or choose two types of meat.

The self-service area also has six flavors of ice cream. I tasted the white one and felt it was very familiar but couldn’t figure out what it was. Before leaving, the owner asked if we were satisfied with the meal and if there were any areas for improvement. As they’ve just switched their business model, they need some feedback. Overall, I found everything to be quite good, but I’m sorry to say: the meat was too little! 😅 After a bit of casual chatting, they finally revealed what that mysterious white flavor was, but I won’t spoil the surprise for everyone! 🤣