I was really looking forward to a great hotpot experience, just like the LiuYiShou in Edmonton with its amazing snack bar, sauce bar, and plenty of fresh, tasty side dishes. Unfortunately, this location was a huge disappointment. The snack bar looked sad and unappetizing. All the fried items were hard and pale. Service was poor from the start; one server gave us a strange look when we walked in. We had to ask for basic soup spoons, which are essential for hotpot. We waited 20 minutes for our meat rolls, while other tables got theirs much earlier. The vegetables weren’t fresh, and portions were tiny. A server even touched the meat on my plate while serving, which was unprofessional. I ordered the tomato soup base, and it came covered in a thick layer of oil. Hotpot is literally my family’s favourite food and we have it a lot at home too. I’ve never seen a single tomato soup base with this much oil… When I politely asked if it’s possible to have some oil removed, the server gave me a weird look and flatly said no. They also added a mandatory tip at the end... I definitely prefer other hotpot locations, like Happy Lamb or Haidilao. Chinese hotpot can be so much better than this.
