After work, a few of my coworkers and I went to Claypot Hot pot in Richmond on Alexandra Road. It was a busy Friday on this strip, but since it’s in a plaza, there is no need to fight over parking spots unlike other restaurants. We close to come to Claypot since a few of my coworkers have never been to hot pot before. We thought it would be awesome to take them here for their 3 tier hot pot! Go big or go home right?
The price isn’t bad here, for the 3 tiers, it was around $21. With the price of the 2 types of broth and drinks, each person ended up paying around $30 after tax and tip.
At the bottom, there is the hot pot, 2nd tier is the grill and 3rd tier is the steamer. We went with the Pork Bone Broth and the Szechuan Spicy Broth.
Before the hot pot arrives at the table, hot tea is heated in the middle of the table. It’s nice to have piping hot tea before the meal begins.
Soy sauce and Satay sauce in large bowls are on the table for you to create a sauce for dipping your cooked hot pot items in.
You can’t have a hot pot without plum juice or beer. As others got plum juice, I went with Tsingtao Beer. It’s light and refreshing. Goes great with hot pot.
Once we put in the order, the food slowly started arriving. We did notice there was a discrepancy between what we ordered and what arrived. Dumplings didn’t arrive for a very long time.
You gotta get a mix of meat, veggies and seafood. You really just need to pile on the meat to make your monies worth.
I love dunking the beef into the Szechuan spicy broth. Adds a lot of flavour! I liked the pork broth more for seafood and veggies. Definitely a good balance to have 2 types of broth especially if you have a large table of people with varying tastes.
The grill isn’t too powerful, so it does take some time to get the meat to get charred a little bit especially if you’re putting on short ribs.
The steamer basket up top works really well. The only items we put into there were dumplings and chicken wings. I know, chicken wings are a weird thing to put in the steamer but it cooked a lot faster than grilling.
Round 2 of ordering is a must. You can never say no to more food. We grabbed more meat and tofu.
The service here is ok, but it’s pretty typical for a Chinese restaurant. Our group was very keen on making our server smile/laugh since she always has a serious face on. After a while, we loosened her up and made her laugh a few times. The food was good, with great company around the table.
They definitely stand out from the other hot pot places around town. You’ll definitely want to make reservations in advance as some nights can be quite busy.
We Rate Claypot Hot pot and BBQ:
Address:
Alexandra Plaza, 105-8291 Alexandra Road, Richmond
