Yep Yep Hot Pot

[Hayley1]

Yay or nay? Anyone recommend it?

[Mouserat]

Only tried it once. Quite good for a quick hotpot fix near town. It wasn't as cheap as London Road although there were some pretty cheap combination plates. Friendly staff, English menu. Didn't seem to serve alcoholic drinks.

 

However, hotpot for me is a very social experience. You all sit around the pot, dropping food in, chatting. So individual hotpots don't really work for me. Particularly as you all sit side by side at a sushi style bar. They also didn't seem to like us sharing our food orders.

 

We spent about £30 for 2, but ordered quite a lot of food and a few drinks. You could probably eat quite well for about £10 a head.

 

Very like a sushi approach to hotpot so you pay for everything, including dipping sauces and so it could mount up.

[Hayley1]

Very helpful, thank you. Would you say the one on London Rd is a better experience too?

[Unitedite]

There's excellent hotpot at China White (which might not be its real name) down by Plug.

[Mouserat]

I've been to one down near Plug - Man Ting, I think? - and it was very good. Probably the same one as Unitedite recommends. However, when we went, there was no English menu and the staff weren't great at speaking English. Did mean that my dining companion had to imitate a sheep in order to specify what meat we wanted - that certainly added to the experience! That was more than a year ago, so maybe they have English menus now! Almost certainly the most authentic and this was also probably the cheapest.

 

Happy Cook on London Road was fine, and quite reasonably priced. There was a good selection of food - it's all laid out in fridge units for you to choose from if you go for the buffet option. The staff seemed to be doing a reasonable job of keeping an eye on it. It's quite canteeny in service style - the staff bring you your drinks / hotpot, but then you're pretty much left to your own devices.

 

Our favourite is Noodle Inn Hotpot (used to be Jabu) on London Road. Again, we tend to go for the buffet option - slightly more expensive than Happy Cook (buffet's about £16, I think, hotpot and BBQ). With the buffet, you order what you want and they bring it out. If you want more, you order more. I like the atmosphere. It seems nicer and brighter. The staff are very friendly, and also keen to make you their special dipping sauce. But best of all, you get to "fry" your own ice cream at the end of the meal - which is much more exciting than it sounds!

 

Both Happy Cook and Noodle Inn Hotpot do hotpot, but also hotpot / BBQ combos. Good idea to book at NI Hotpot, but Happy Cook / Man Ting are bigger and we've never had a problem just walking in.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Mouserat
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[Hayley1]

Very helpful - many thanks

[Unitedite]

I've been to one down near Plug - Man Ting, I think? - and it was very good. Probably the same one as Unitedite recommends. However, when we went, there was no English menu and the staff weren't great at speaking English. Did mean that my dining companion had to imitate a sheep in order to specify what meat we wanted - that certainly added to the experience! That was more than a year ago, so maybe they have English menus now! Almost certainly the most authentic and this was also probably the cheapest.

 

Yes, that sounds right. I was with some Chinese friends so didn't notice the menu issue - I can imagine having no English menus would make it a bit of a lottery!

[Goooooogle]

So my daughter wanted to go to noodle inn hotpot this Saturday for her birthday meal but apparently it has closed down...?

 

Is the best alternative still happy cook or is there a better one?