CHOCHO Hot Pot, all you can eat

When you have been writing about the Vancouver food scene for as long as I have, you can recall trends and how they impacted restaurants.

I remember a time when buffets and all you can eat options were all the buzz. All you can eat sushi was especially popular, and right behind it buffets that featured a blend of fast food Chinese cuisine and American style sides the likes of fries.

So it is interesting now to see that hot pot is going back in that direction, and more and more spots are offering an all you can eat menu. The reality is this strategy works best for hot pot because you can buy your ingredients in bulk and they will last longer because you don’t need to cook everything or anything before hand.

This is more so the case if you display said ingredients over ice in a buffet line, and allow your patrons to pick and choose what they want, and how much of each they want; with a penalty for any plates not finished at $10 a plate. The fee is enough to discourage over scooping and encourage more reasonable portions.

This is exactly what you will find at ChoCho. ChoCho is the all you can eat option for popular high end hot pot chain Dolar Shop. The latter specializes in premium ingredients and a bounty of lesser seen seafood and meat options, ChoCho gives you less options, but more bang for your buck.

Both sister restaurants are set up with the same similar clean aesthetics, sectioned off tables and booths; and the same dish ware and hot pot accoutrements. I especially liked the neon lights encouraging you to hot pot hard.

The restaurant was especially busy this Thursday night. The entire seating area was booked and they utilized their texting system to let you know when your table was ready, simultaneously advising that if you don’t come in within a certain amount of time, your table will be given away. Although a little before, they do give you a courtesy call to confirm you are indeed still interested in having dinner with them.

We are seated at a booth for four, but honestly hold two more comfortably, with enough sprawling room to support all your plates, sauces, raw meats, and vegetables. Each place setting has its own coil, as they are one of the only locations for hot pot, where you don’t have to share the pot. You are able to enjoy your own individual hot broth and everything that goes into it is your responsibility.

You pick your own broth and it is brought to the table in a metal pot, then allowed to heat over the in-table stove top. A ceramic covering is placed around it to protect patrons from would-be burns, as well as offering an aesthetic appeal to your dining experience.

Each table has his own iPad menu to order from. A server comes by to explain all the details. Seeing as it is only all you can eat, that is the only option, with just a few housekeeping notes to take in. You can also opt in all you can drink. These are all non-alcoholic, beverages, juices, pops, and teas. They do well to help change the taste in your mouth and adds longevity to your meal. Or you can order alcohol beverages à la carte, by the glass. We decided to not indulge in either, knowing our goal was to eat all we could food-wise, and we didn’t want to take up any unnecessary stomach space.

So really your only iPad ordering options are your individual broth and what type of meat you want. I guest has a dairy allergy, so it was nice to see that they have an allergy chart listed on the iPad. It is a checkbox chart that indicates what is safe to eat for those with Dairy allergies, gluten allergies, or those wanting to keep it strictly plant-based. They also have a vegan section that includes meat alternatives and plant-based dumplings and balls. This is the first that I have seen from any other hot pot restaurant.

I guest went with the sukiyaki Japanese style broth, which is the only one that was 100% dairy free. I, myself with no allergies was able to try their new Tom Yum flavoured broth, which was a split serving, alongside their classic tomato broth. Both of which are not spicy, and both of which were enjoyable to drink as is. The Tom Yum was tangy and bright with lemon grass, the more refreshing of the two. However, I prefer the creamy tomato to cook the raw ingredients in. It had more body and flavour, plus I am a fan of anything tomato-based.

For spice in heat, we look to our dips and sauces. And as I always say, when it comes to hot pot, the flavour is derived from the sauces that you mix together.

There is a sauce bar at the back that you can help yourself to. Scoop-able dry ingredients like minced garlic, chilies, onions, and cilantro. More exotic mixers like sesame paste, fermented tofu, and preserved pickles. As well as pump bottles of oils like soy, chilli, and vinegar. You can mix and match to find your perfect blend, or default to the popular Dolar Shop signature sauce. This is made for you at your table, by one of the team member. It is on the spicier side with chilli oil, garlic, soy, green onions, and ginger.

For meat there are only 5 options, which is plenty. I firmly believe the cuts don’t matter too much in hot pot as they are often over boiled and sliced so thin that you aren’t gnawing at much. We went with their Signature wagyu short plate and pork belly. The rest we got from the buffet.

Also, at the back of the room is the aforementioned mini buffet set up with a bevvy of vegetables and starches, eggs, meat and seafood ball, plus everything in between. I liked the possibility of trying a little bit of everything and getting one of each of the balls.

I also noted that they had mussels in shell, and shrimp in and out of shell. I loaded up on intestines and aorta for their textures. As well as some squashes, melons and roots, the likes of pumpkin, winter melon, lotus root potatoes, and carrot.

My guest enjoyed the possibility of spam, as well as congealed blood. I indulged in several mini quail eggs and picked up a raw chicken one to crack into my broth for substance; and to poach for a silky egg yolk to further use as a dip of sorts.

And although the hot pot: all you can eat, cardinal rule is to not fill up on carbs, we could not help but pick up a few bundles of their colourful handmade noodles. There are two varieties in bread boxes, purple and yellow style Ramen noodles that were hard. And more chewy and starchy egg-based noodles in the colours of green, yellow, orange, and brown.

But my favourite of all to choose from was the kelp knots, quick cooking tofu curls; and the taro noodles, which picked up hard, but become squishy and chewy once boiled in soup.And for those looking for an appetizer before their hot pot meal, or some sides to change the pace and taste, ChoCho also has a healthy selection of premade food.

There are steamed and fried dim sum. You can either pick up an entire steamer or grab them by piece. This included salted egg yolk buns , steamed barbecue pork buns, shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, deep fried sesame balls, deep fried dough with condensed milk, and a danish spiral with cream filling that I really enjoyed.

There’s so many options, and I had to try them all, and that was half the fun for me. I made sure to save room for dessert. They have a dessert bar adjacent with gelatin, fruit, and syrup to craft your own Taiwanese style sweet soup dessert.

Although the one to get is their vanilla soft serve ice cream in either a cone or cup. This I found the ideal palate refresher and a last bite I could muster, despite being so full.

Truly, this was a great experience that exceeded my expectations; thus propelling them to the top of the list as my new favourite hot pot spot. I will return when craving hot pot, and will definitely recommend them to others.

CHOCHO Hot Pot
4361 Kingsway #4A, Burnaby, BC V5H 1Z9
(604) 416-5086
dolarshop.com