Vancouver’s 2025-2026 food trend seems to be self serve hot pot. There are more and more locations popping up between a particular popular chain to one of’s putting their own spin on things. One such is Piping Hot.
They all seem to be comparative price wise, so it boils down (intensional pun) to what goes into the pot. Therefore this post will be written to highlight what makes Piping Hot stand out in a sea of others, that makes it worth driving down to Richmond for.
First, ample parking and plenty of seats to ensure minimal wait.
Second their background is from Taiwan, so they have more than just hot pot on menu. They also offer bubble tea and cafe snacks, and you can actually get them at a discount, should you want to supplement your meal in any way.
For happy hour they have a spend $20 and get one free drink promotion. This is available Monday to Thursday from 11:30pm to 1am and Friday to Sunday after 10pm. There are only six flavours to choose from and for the sake of time and the staff, they are all mixed and sealed ahead of time for optimal distribution. I went with the coconut milk because it was the only one with tapioca pearls, that I wanted to chew through. However, I did not find the flavour all that complimentary to my order below.
We also tried their new wagyu beef skewers. Two for $3.88, with each stick containing 4 blocks of meat. It was on the fattier and juicer side, so despite appearing tinier and over cooked with its blackened char, there was no mistaking that this was indeed lush waygu meat.
For sides they have pork or braised beef over rice. A little on the plain side, so this served well as a bowl of rice to have with my chosen hot pot ingredients.
The third difference is the sheer selection. I was impressed by the distance the shelves and bins of raw meat and vegetable ran, all the way down the extent of their side wall. This four layered refrigerated shelving was split between the “deep fried zone” with ingredients labelled in orange, and the “piping hot zone” in white.
The former included balls on skewers, already fried chicken and squid, and a few potato options. It is recommended that if you plan to partake in both you separate them in two different pots. The most interesting items up for selection included hurricane potatoes, churros, French fries, Takoyaki, cheese corn dogs, and crispy sweet and sour pork pieces.
For your more rare boiled items I noted frog legs, pork’s blood, abalone in shell, a larger variety of fish and seafood balls stuffed with a just a many different of fillings, kelp seedlings, tamagoyaki, a whole fried boiled egg, and Sichuan spicy fish dumpling.
Using tongs you pick and place everything you want into your pot. Once satisfied you take it to the front counter where it is weighed and you are ask to pay per pound. So the pro-tip is to choose plenty of leafy vegetables and the curls of thinly sliced meat to reduce said weight. However, with all the options of colourful and fun balls, it is hard to not gravitate towards them and move the weight up. Although if that were to be the case, you can easily doggy bag what you don’t finish as the food travels and packs well.
From here you can choose what broth you want. They have international flavours like Japanese Sukiyaki or miso Broth, China’s mala broth, Tom Yum from Thailand, Nanyang Style Curry Broth, and the new Guizhou Sour Soup Base. I was tempted by the curry, having never seen such an option elsewhere, but ultimately went for the Laksa Lemak, which is also just as unique to them. Whereas I would normally order the collagen pork broth or tomato dry mix else were.
I found the soup delivered as promised and was packed full of flavour. Whereas at other hot pot restaurants I have had to rely more heavily on the sauce bar, or simply order a dry mix to ensure optimal flavouring. Nonetheless I still helped myself to a customized sauce here, selecting ingredients to my liking. I do enjoy the activity of it and find it serves as a great way to rejuvenate bites.
And the last notable difference is the free dessert. This is a stand out and by far the most impressive. Soft serve swirled ice cream in a house pressed taiyaki cone. Although sadly the cone I had wasn’t fresh, so I didn’t eat much of it. Instead I focused on the delicious milk tea flavoured ice cream. This is on rotation, with them changing flavours every 2 months.
In conclusion, for the largest selection of ingredients to choose from, a multitude of promotions to take advantage of, the option to add on bubble tea to your meal, and a photogenic and fun dessert to end on; I recommend Piping Hot for your next hot pot craving.
Piping Hot
8111 Ackroyd Rd #160, Richmond, BC V6X 3J9
(604) 370-9600
piping-hot.menufyy.com
