With the popularity of Big Way weighed hot pot and more of its locations opening, it was only a matter of time before BC saw different brands providing the same concept popping up. One of the latest is Datang in Richmond.
With its name and mascot logo this reminded me of a cross between Big Way and Haidilao, especially with their branded gifts and complimentary soft serve dessert to end the meal on.
You are greeted at the door and ushered to scoop your meal right by the enterance. However, I recommend grabbing a seat, putting your items down, and going about this hands free. One hand holding a large golden pot, the other matching tongs.
You peruse the refridgerated compartments and pick and choose what you want to eat. You are charged by pound, so the savvy diners know to load up on thin slices of hot pot meat, vegetables, and tofu to limit the weight.
I, however go for what I like and that tends to be the root vegetables, mushrooms, noodles, and seafood; minus the balls that tend to weigh the most.
There more unusual ingredients include frog legs, sea urchin peach balls, and pigs blood.
There is also abalone, which is the only item that you are charged directly for, $3.99 per.
Once you have curated your serving you bring it to the counter where they weigh it and you pay right away. Here, you are given a choice between dry or wet broth.
As a first timer, I took the clerk’s recommendation of their fish maw chicken broth, which is their signature and best seller.
In hindsight I should have added additional flavour or mix a couple of them together as I found the broth unappetizing to look at and bland as is. The soup needed salt and seasoning, depth that all the amount of additional ingredients could not provide.
Thankfully they have a self serve sauce bar that helped to remedy this. A mix of creamy sauces and dry seasonings including chilli flakes and MSG. You pick and choose what you want into a bowl. My go-tos are satay paste, sesame paste, oyster sauce, chilli oil, minced garlic, and green onion.
You are given a numbered sign and are asked to wait for your meal at your table. It is erved on a full tray with all the necessary cutlery.
And today, during their soft opening week we were treated to one of their Chinese Burgers for free, provided that we spend $15 on our hotpot, and we did. I was close at $17 so earned my freebie. A crispy fried and flaky pancake converted into a sandwich and stuffed with fatty pork meat. Best fresh, but a little too gristly as is. It needed some freshness and acidity to temper. A hoisin sauce and some cucumber could have helped to balance.
I wasn’t able to finish this, so packed it to go. They have lovely take out containers, and I would recommend ordering more than you can eat in order to grab a set. Blue and white, they mimick Doir’s Toile de Jouy collection and pattens their paper cups, two sizes of take out containers, and reusable takeout bags.
I saved space to be able to help myself to their soft, serve ice cream bar. You grab black charcoal sugar cone and dispense a swirl of milky soft serve into it as tall as you please. I found the act challenging and have a new found respect for the servers who can masterfully create a tower of spiralled cream. This was a perfect way to end such a rich meal, especially given the amount of garlic I used in my sauce.
Worth mentioning is that they also have a panda merch to give away, but don’t advertise it, or put it out on display. I saw a few units on the back counter and thought to ask the clerk. Given that it was their soft opening, I believe she obliged, we walked away with a panda enamel keychain and a cute panda holding a daisy that you could put into your cars air conditioning vents to have it spin.
Is short, this is a great spot for a hot pot that combines value with selection. The joy of ordering what you want and trying to keep it within your budget with perks, like branded merch, self-serve sauce bar, and complimentary dessert.
Datang Hot Pot å¤§æ£ éº»è¾£çƒ«
8140 Leslie Rd, Richmond, BC V6X 4A8
(604) 285-8288
