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Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot
Categories: Restaurants Mongolian Restaurants Chinese Mongolian, Chinese [Edit]
19062 Stevens Creek BlvdCupertino, CA 95014
(408) 996-9919
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Mon-Thu 5:30 pm - 10:30 pm
Fri 5:30 pm - 11 pm
Sat 5 pm - 11 pm
Sun 5 pm - 10 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
277 reviews for Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot
Review Highlights
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"Recommend the half and half broth." In 14 reviews -
"The meat (beef, pork, lamb) are all super delish." In 62 reviews -
"Meat- Beef and lamb combo and fish balls." In 14 reviews
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277 reviews in English
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Review from Tammy V.
San Jose, CA
5/7/2012 1 Check-in Here
I was craving hot pot and asked my friends to look for a place. I live in north san jose and the two that are near us is down for reconstruction.
Another friend had recommended this place so on the road we go. When we got there, which was on a Friday night, the line was a bit long. There was a 20 minute wait which isn't so bad.
The restaurant was narrow in terms of walking space, it wasn't open so you do feel a bit cramped but the decor was pretty nice and serene.
We got the half and half soup for our base, which I highly recommend because the soup is pretty spicy, you can switch over the regular side to calm your tongue.
I recommend: muscles, shrimp balls, fish balls, beef, vermicelli noodles, tofu. Everyone has different taste in veggies so whatever veg you like in your soup.
Not recommended: assorted meatballs, had one meat that was weird in texture and didn't taste good, might of been lamb =/
The soup itself was super good, I wanted to eat more but I was so full. The portion is pretty large so I would suggest ordering a little at a time.
Overall, we had great food, great service and a satisfied tummy =) I will be coming back for sure! -
Review from Yasuko S.
Fremont, CA
5/9/2012
I wish I liked this place more...It's not it, it's me.
It just wasn't my cup of tea.
Service was great, the array of meat/vegetables/snacks were nice.
I think the broth wasn't what I expected. -
Review from diane w.
Los Altos, CA
5/6/2012
Like this one so much more then the San Mateo place. Much more open and very pretty inside. We didn't feel as rushed or cramped either. We decided to go all veggie and it was an immaculate experience. The best part is the mushroom assortment. Good tofu plates and very fresh vegetables.
The veggie broth didn't have the big taste that some of the hot pot places have but it was very clean tasting.
Some very unusual plates to try and it is highly recommended. -
Review from Chinda P.
Bay Area
5/20/2012 1 Check-in Here
Little sheep, you disappoint me! I was really hoping to like you but after the bad experience I had...I'm sorry buddy, but this will be the last you see of me. You are WAY OVER PRICED for mediocre food. You're service is bad and you shouldn't make people hunt you down for a refill on water or for their meal! You need to have more then just a nice venue to draw in customers. Try paying attention to what people order and ask them if they need anything. Word of advice, please look else where for a good dinning experience. This place is not the one.
-
Review from Annie N.
5/15/2012 1 Check-in Here
They have pretty authentic lamb meat balls. I like the spicy pot, although you can't select the degree of spiciness; it's one spice fit all. The place is clean and they blast the AC so you don't sweat like crazy during the meal. The food is fresh and plenty. It is fairly pricey but still pretty good! Service is quick and pleasant.
-
Review from Justin Y.
Milpitas, CA
4/19/2012
Me and my friend came here on a Monday night so it wasn't crowded at all. Ordered the half and half soup base. I highly suggest that. You can mix both in your own bowl because the spicy is super spicy and to hot for me to handle. It looks very modern and has their own bar. I decided to get the meat platter, tofu, and udon noodles. The staff informed me that the meat platter was about a pound of meat where individual orders equal about half a pound.
Food was nicely prepared on the dishes and very neat. Every time our soup base would get lower someone would come and poor more in for us. The staff was very nice and on top of it. I would come back here again, it was definitely worth the money. -
Review from Karen L.
4/15/2012 3 photos
This hot pot place is by far the best and most unique one I've tried!
We ordered:
1) Half & Half Broth - This is a mix of the original herbal broth and spicy herbal broth.
2) Angus Beef
3) Watercress - Great if you love something sweet and light. It also compliments the broth quite nicely.
4) Seafood platter - Consisted of mussels, scallops, shrimp, and fillet fish.
The broth is SO flavorful and all the food soaks it up. It consists of many traditional chinese herbs. It was really refreshing because I've never had hot pot this way before.
Lastly, great service and ambiance. I thought it would be a casual setting but the place is very sleek and modern.
TIP*** - I highly recommend coming extremely early! We got there a little after opening time and it was already getting crowded. By the time we left the wait time must of been over an hour.
The items are a bit pricey though, they charge per item.I suggest getting the combo platters!
5 STARS -
Review from Kim T.
San Jose, CA
5/1/2012
My first time eating here, I was brought to the Union City one.I can't recall how it tastes but seat wise, I did not like it. Compare to here I feel like I am able to have a private dinner with who ever I bring rather than seeing everyone.
I brought my parents here for their first time and they loved it! My dad was complimenting on the broth and the garlic non-stop. He also was constantly eating the garlic like its nothing. I was very pleased to see how they were enjoying their meals at this place. Aside from my parents, I also brought my boyfriend here. He was quite shock on how clean and fancy it was for a hotpot place. We were able to enjoy our hotpot without anyone looking at our table.
By far the only place I like and will keep coming back for more and definitely to try more stuff on their menu. -
Review from Kathryn B.
Mountain View, CA
4/15/2012
This place doesn't look like much on the outside. In fact, I almost drove right by it because I couldn't imagine this strip mall was the right location. But don't let the run down exterior fool you. The inside of the restaurant is really nice. It's very well decorated and hip.
Plus, the food is AMAZING. I was with a group of about 10 people. We ordered 1 of almost everything on the menu. I think the lamb was my favorite, but we had so much meat, I really couldn't tell one from the other. The beer braised meat (beef?) was also really yummy.
Overall, I was really impressed with Little Sheep Mongolian hot pot and would definitely go back!! -
Review from Edison T.
I want to give this place 5 stars but the service unfortunately prevents me from doing so. Can't come to this place without the servers giving me a "hurry up, order, eat, and then get the fuck out" kind of attitude every time.
Still, the broths are on point, I'm especially a big fan of the house spicy. Lots of spices, lots of flavors, and the aroma just gives an extra kick to your senses.
The ingredients are always fresh, from the veggies to the meats. Couple of the meat dishes that really stands out are the cuttlefish balls with the fillers (the stuffing is just scrumptious), the lamb skewers (seasoned and grilled perfectly, very sweet & succulent), and any of the fatty cuts like the pork bellies (the fat gives it a really nice flavor).
I feel like the busboys are more attentive to the customers' needs here than the actual servers and most of the time, I ask them for refills and additional needs. Overall, the place offers some really good hot pot, the prices are fair but the amount of food does fill you up rather quite nicely, service can kiss my ass. -
Review from schelly y.
Santa Clara, CA
5/3/2012
I love having a little sheep in Cupertino. Now I don't have to drive to Union City. The only thing with this location is it sometimes is crazy busy even on a week night. I have waited up to like 1.5 hours on a random week night and on a random Sunday I came in around 530pm and was told the wait was over an hour. So assuming you don't have to wait, some delicious hot pot will hit the spot. This place is nicer than the Union City location and they serve alcohol as well.
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Review from Navjot K.
Cupertino, CA
3/29/2012
My meal here was a bust! I came here hoping to try something cool and experience something new. Cool and new it was, but not exactly great.
My first impression of this location was really nice. Amazing decor and looked much swankier inside than it was outside. I really thought I was in for a treat!
I guess everyone that comes here is a hot pot pro because no kind of run down on how to eat you're dinner was given. There was an incredibly long wait when I went in a Saturday night for dinner. By the time we were seated my boyfriend and I had already picked our food, not a bad thing cause at least we were ready to go.
We ordered. Our half and half broth was brought out and the meats and veggies too. The waiter left and brought some more and I tries to ask him how we I about "hot-potting" but he just kind of pointed around to other tables and the placemats that give directions.
We ate following the placement directions first. Cook meat, then veggies and blah blah. It was ok kind of like a broth fondue. Then we just dumped everything in together. That was better it was more like soup and you got a bit of everything at once rather than having to cook little by little. We finished out meal like that.
Overall, the experience was fun because it was new to me, however I don't think I'll be visiting this hot pot place anytime soon. Their food was ok, their service is in dire need of reinvention. They should do a brief overview of how to go about eating hot pot and not just leave you in the dark. -
Review from Chau V.
Departing Los Angeles, we arrived in San Jose six hours later. Upon our arrival, our local friends recommended us to Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot. It was such a coincidence because this hot pot joint has been on my must-eat list.
After going through the whole day with heavy rain, fog, gusty winds, and even hail on the freeway, we were finally rewarded ourselves with great food. Spicy broth was indeed spicy but very flavorful. There were a variety of items to choose from mushroom, veggies, to meat slices and meat balls. Their meat balls were impressive because they are home made. Another item that definitely went home with me was their egg noodle, very fresh and tasty.
Our friend called in advance to reserve a table of six. However, we were 45 minutes late, yet still managed to have our table ready by the time we got there. The staff is accommodating and customer oriented.
It was quite pricey. Each of us paid about $25.Listed in: NorCal wonderland, Hot Pot
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Review from Victoria L.
San Jose, CA
4/8/2012
Talk about sodium overload (2000+mg per TABLESPOON!!!) but hell, its well worth it.
Most hot pots have sauces you can dip the ingredients in, but at Little Sheep, you don't need it. The spicy broth is so flavorful that you can do without. When I was eating meat still, my friend and i went there at least once a week during the winter. We always ordered the half spicy and half non-spicy. (Good thing, because sometimes the spicy half is a little too hot)
Probably hands down the best hot pot! :D -
Review from Dennis W.
San Jose, CA
4/18/2012
If you don't mind a little more driving, go to their branch in San Mateo. I have eaten at both Cupertino and San Mateo many times, I can tell you that the quality and the freshness of the food are much higher at the San Mateo location.
But, if you don't want to drive that far, this location is okay. The soup still taste good and the meat are still good, but you just won't be like "wow, this is so good" (if you had gone to San Mateo). -
Review from George L.
Saratoga, CA
4/13/2012
I just came back from dinner at this restaurant and it was a fairy pleasant experience. I have eaten at the Union City location in the past and when I found out they were in the South Bay, I was pretty happy.
We got the half and half broth, the assorted meat combo platter, the supreme lamb shoulder, the vegetable combo platter and the lamb skewers. The broth was definitely very flavorful, but as mentioned, it is very salty, so definitely have a beverage at the ready. The meats were pretty nice, although pretty typical for hot pot. The vegetable combo platter was standard as well. The lamb shoulder was quite nice and our meat turned our fairly tender. I do think it helps, that being from Taiwan, we eat hot pot as a part of our winter meal ration on a regular basis, so it's fairly easy for us to adapt to cooking our food this way. The sesame pancake was fairly nice, and a good change of pace from the hot pot. While the lamb skewers were pretty good, and according to my father, something that they're known for, I really think they are a bit of a waste, as ours came out pretty lukewarm.
The utensils given were pretty standard fair, but definitely useful for isolating the soup or whatever item we needed to retrieve. I also liked the fact that the vessel used for the hot pot was nice and wide, which made retrieving items fairly easy, which is good for a larger party.
Service was decent to spotty. Our items came out decently quickly, but it was a bit of a hassle to get out waters refilled as well as refilling our broth. One good thing that I found out is that you can take home your broth to have additional great tasting hot pot meals at home. That said, another thing that I was a bit bothered by was receiving our take home containers and check, as they were a bit slow coming to us.
All in all a good experience and I would return here again. This place is one of the rare restaurants that makes me think of the great meals that I have when going back the Taiwan. That said, parking is a zoo, so get there early or be prepared to circle around and wait, as it gets packed relatively quickly and will not accept reservations for parties of less than 6
A solid 4/5 -
Review from Mel S.
Mountain View, CA
4/7/2012
I like this place but go early, it gets soooo crowded especially on Fri/Sat/Sun evenings. Perfect for cold nights! Fan of the lamb shoulder, tofu fish cake and of course the herbal house broth.
Tip: go early, take broth to-go so you can have another hotpot meal at home adding in your own goodies!
Parking sucks! -
Review from Noby T.
Santa Clara, CA
4/16/2012
Hot, hot and hot. Great. I went there with my wife to have Saturday lunch, this was the 1st time.
Half and half broth, lamb, pork, two kinds of vegi, tofu and rice. Every portion was rather big for two. The broth is also rather big and the hot broth contained not only lots of chili but lots of garlic (around 10 pieces ?). Service was good enough.
Lots of sweat made me so tired and my condition bad that day. But I'll enjoy it again. -
Review from Christine S.
San Jose, CA
My favorite hot pot place so far!
The most important thing about a hot pot place is their broth. They have a spicy one and a nonspicy. I would highly recommend the spicy. It's spicy but has a lot of flavor - I'm generally not a spicy food person so I kept drinking water but I couldn't stop eating it because it was so good!
They have a wide variety of meat and veggies to order which was nice. We also tried their meat pie which was AMAZING - It was cripsy on the ouside and the meat inside was very flavorful.
Another unqiue thing about this hot pot place is that they have 4 different types of sauces that you can dip your food in. I really enjoyed the garlic butter and satay.
The service was good - we got seated immediately around 6:30 but when we left around 8 it was packed. Our server was very nice but not as attentive. He let us to-go the broth and meat since we had leftovers.
There's a lot in front of the restaurant for parking. -
Review from Kimmy P.
San Jose, CA
5/9/2012 2 Check-ins Here
One of the best hotpot places I've been too. Its like a hole in the wall restaurant but don't let the outside fool you, when you step inside its like a whole new environment. The food is goood and affordable, I recommend the half/half broth if you like to balance out your level of spiciness.
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Review from Urban C.
San Francisco, CA
4/7/2012 2 Check-ins Here
This was my second time at Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot. I loved it the first time. This time however, the service was completely off the mark. The food was still great and tasty. I generally like spicy food but I would strongly advice against getting only the spicy broth. It's unimaginably spicy. At most, you should get the half and half with one half spicy.
I think the broccoli goes well with the broth on offer. The tea is warm and complimentary. The head waiter seemed to be in good spirit and came a couple of times to check on us. The waiter who came to announce last call refused to bring cutlery and asked us to ask someone else, which I found extremely odd.
I might go back here again if I read that the service has improved. -
Review from Julisa L.
San Jose, CA
3/4/2012
I love going to any locations of the Little Sheep Hot Pot. Their broth is soo delicious and prices of the dishes are reasonable. Only down side about this place (and all other Little Sheep's) is the wait time :( You cannot make reservation unless you have 6+ people. Even then, if not all 6 show up at the reservation time, they'd give the table away after 15 minutes. We went to this location on a Friday night and initially the hostess said 30 minutes; 30 minutes turned into almost 1 hour :(
We always order 1/2 and 1/2 broth (original and spicy). The soup makes everything so yummy, no need extra sauce or toppings! Additional to the raw food, we also ordered the peanut noodles - it's cheap and great to have while you wait for your food to cook :) -
Review from Elaine N.
3/1/2012 4 photos
Little Sheep, it was a spontaneous night eating at this place after a long day at work. My food buddy and I decided to eat here since I have been wanting to come here for the longest time. I am very pleased to say this hot pot place is very clean, delicious, and tasty. Not to mention they have chic and modernized decoration.
For two person, we ordered too much! I think we basically went with everything as in getting varieties of meats ( beef, lamb, chicken, and pork), mushrooms, veggies, noodles, and fish balls. PLEASE GET THE HALF AND HALF BROTH! I think that is a wise choice because you can experience both flavor. I would definitely come back here again! -
Review from J J.
San Jose, CA
5/24/2012
my cow worker took me to this place and i loved it ,but is little bit pricy
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Review from Bonnie n.
Saratoga, CA
4/25/2012
meh--- went here awhile back and not sure i'd be back unless someone else really wanted to go
negative- there were slugs in our veggies
positive- they took them back, offered new veggies (we said no and they gave us free dessert and that was YUMMY!)
the hotpot part seemed pretty run of the mill hotpot food.
service was super slow and we waited forever for our table. -
Review from Steve F.
Milpitas, CA
5/2/2012
First of all, I have no idea what is the hype about this place. You can buy their soup base in Asian supermarkets for $4 a bag and can be used a couple of times at least. So many people have told me that they are crazy for this hot pot place. After missing out so many chances in China, I decided to go there and give it a try. Went there on a Friday evening, the wait is ok, the parking is hard to find, and the inside of this place is not bad. Ordered some meat, vege, and seafood and the bill came out to be $100. A bit pricy for a self served hot pot for sure. One time deal for me
-
Review from Max P.
3/1/2012
I went with a large group of friends
About 10 of us
We had to constantly ask the waiter for more water, napkins, and other normal things you would need while eating dinner
We were the first to arrive for dinner time and there was hardly any other customers
The food was OK
I did have a pretty good time though
For about the same money I would rather have Korean BBQ -
Review from Veronica H.
San Francisco, CA
3/1/2012 1 Check-in Here
LIKES:
- Clean decor
- Big variety of things to order on the menu
- Tofu, Bok Choy, Wintermelon
- Meats are decent - I liked the white fish best
- Easy parking
DISLIKES:
- Spicy, oily broth can be too spicy and oily
- Overall salty salty broth... OMG salty
- The club music thumping throughout the restaurant
Decent place, but nothing impressive. -
Review from Andy T.
San Jose, CA
3/12/2012 3 Check-ins Here
Having trying this place in union city many years ago i fell in love with this place over any other hot pot or shabu shabu place. i decided to do my birthday dinner here with my friends and family party of 16. i made reservations a week in advance. checked in and had to wait a little bit over my reservation time as there was a party that hasnt finished.
Broth was great got the half and half. we all ordered a variety of the menu and was very satisfied. everything we liked but we passed on the lamb as much of us was not a fan. we went through 10 bottles of soju and were quite loud but the staff was great did not kick us out or complain as we were quite rowdy. we even got the table next to us to join our party. i would def recommend this place for any time to eat and celebration -
Review from James L.
1/28/2012 1 photo
Ive been on craving hot pot a lot because of this cold weather we been having
I ordered the spicy broth, which wasn't spicy at all. So one of the staff members went to the back and whipped up a big bowl of this super intense sauce, and just dump the whole thing in. Soon my broth looked like lava. I didn't mind eating it spicy at all. But it was pretty intense, I started coughing and sweating. At one point I'm pretty sure my whole mouth was numb and my lungs were on fire. I had them leave the whole pitcher of water for me.
Anyways the broth is different from other hotpot places because of the herbs they put in it, gives it a unique taste. The only problem is that you get grab your food, you'll have to pick out all the little seeds and herbs. It was really annoying, they should use a seasoning net to wrap the herbs in then drop it in the broth. Makes things more convenient for customers.
You can pick from all sorts of items.
your choice of: beef, pork, lamb,
comes with tofu, cabbage, fish balls, mushrooms and noddles. You also can order tripe, tendon,intestine. As extra side dishes, all the good stuff a good hot pot needs.
nice clean restaurant with helpful staff -
Review from Julia L.
Burlingame, CA
3/21/2012
I don't understand the hype of this place.
They rush you out the door and the prices are high.
The various broths aren't that great, one of them just tastes like dishwater with MSG. Service is lacking when they are rushed....but why do they seem so disorganized with so many waitstaff roaming around?
Hotpot is just all around better done at home. -
Review from Joyce C.
2/15/2012
Back in San Diego, I went to Little Sheep ALL THE TIME. I love this place so I expected nothing less of their Cupertino location. This restaurant definitely did not disappoint.
The decor is more "hip" than I am use to, but no problem. The restaurant is fairly small so come early to avoid the wait!
We had a variety of meats, different types of balls (LOL), noodles, vegetables, and seafood with the half and half broth. I love the half and half because the spicy side is too spicy for me and I can blend it out with the mild. We ordered the beef marinated in beer, interestingly it did have a hint of beer taste. I am still a fan of the normal beef slices though. I love the lamb and noodles are a MUST.
I believe the prices at this location is higher than those in San Diego, but that makes sense - higher cost of living up here.
Does this location have the AYCE promotion?! -
Review from Skye L.
San Francisco, CA
4/14/2012
I like this location a lot, even more than the Union City one. Me and the bf went for lunch, waited for 15 minutes, and then got a table. (The parking lot is wayyyy tiny so I ended up sending him in first while looking for street parking.) We'd already filled out our order form while waiting, so we barely had to wait for our food.
Since we got the spicy broth, we spent a couple minutes vigorously fishing out a literal plateful of chilis. This is crucial to avoid death by slurping chili oil into your lungs. When our beef, pork, tofu, bean vermicelli, and a vegetable combo arrived, we were very...confused. Instead of vegetables they'd given us a mushroom combo platter, so I asked our server what was up with that. She said that was indeed the vegetable combo, so I was like "Ok..." (because maybe in Mongolia mushrooms count as vegetables? Or something?) and ordered a spinach so we could have leafy vegetables. She leaves and we dump some of the mushrooms in, but then a male waiter comes by to tell us that sorry, we actually DID get a mushroom combo and he'd give us a vegetable one instead. Sheepishly I told him that we'd already started eating them and didn't want to pay for a vegetable combo AND the spinach as well. He was very nice and took away the remaining mushrooms, cancelled the spinach, and brought us the vegetable combo (green lettuce, watercress, napa cabbage, bok choy). We didn't get charged for it and the bill was correct despite all the changes. So hey, free mushrooms!
In summary, the food was all very fresh and delicious, the bathrooms are clean, and the service was attentive, if somewhat confused. We'd nearly walked out of the parking lot when our waiter came running out to give me the sunglasses I'd forgotten at the table. How nice! -
Review from Chris C.
1/19/2012 1 Check-in Here
What can I say, Little Sheep gets hot pot right. Despite being pricier than doing it yourself (especially since you can buy the broth at your local Asian grocery store), Little Sheep puts out a very satisfying product with no fuss. Great service, great meat, great broth. Speaking of great broth, the spicy is ridiculously good. Now all of our home hot pots will be using Little Sheep's broth mixes.
To get the perfect experience, remember to ask for the following for your dipping suce:
-Chinese BBQ sauce (yum!)
-Green onions (even more yum!)
-Garlic (need I say more?)
-Egg (can cook it in the pot or use it in your dipping sauce to get better coverage over your tasty morsels)
In terms of meat, pork, beef, and lamb should be aplenty and then you can get anything else in-between like the fatty pork etc. Don't forget the fish balls (the ones with the beef are delicious!) as well!
My only gripe is what I already said. It can get a little pricey especially compared to doing it yourself if you're already equipped (most Asian families may very well be equipped by default). Beyond that, Little Sheep is a wonderful way to get together with friends for a hot and satisfying meal! -
Review from Kaori M.
Mountain View, CA
1/28/2012
It was my first time to go this place. I really liked!
We had hot and normal soup. 3 bowls of vegetable, a lot of meat. At the end, two kinds of soup were totally mixed but it was okay. Service was good, too. -
Review from Lien T.
San Jose, CA
I have never been the biggest fan of hot pot, but after trying Little Sheep, I am now dangerously addicted...
I've only been to a handful of other hot pot places and they are usually all-you-can-eat or a set price for a set menu; Little Sheep is a little different. Soup base is a set price and each item is a set price. You can only imagine how expensive a meal can get here, so I highly recommend coming here with a large group--that way, you can try more items.
I came here with a group of six and we ordered plenty of different meats, vegetables, and noodles (http://www.yelp.com/bi...). Some of the meats that we ordered were the lamb shoulder with red wine flavor ($8.95), hand sliced supreme fatty beef ($8.95), house made lamb meat ball ($6.95), house made lamb dumpling ($5.95), supreme beef slice ($7.95), fatty pork belly ($5.95), beef tripe ($4.95), and pork stomach ($4.95). We also ordered some napa cabbage ($3.95), spinach ($3.95), king mushroom ($4.50), oyster mushroom ($4.50), fresh tofu ($2.95), and a cold plate of hot spicy beef tendon ($4.95).
The meal was absolutely amazing! All of the meats were top quality and the vegetables were very fresh. I love that they had so many fresh items, such as freshly made dumplings and meat balls. The lamb shoulder with red wine was one of my favorites of the night! It was sooo flavorful! There were about five different soup bases, but we got the half and half, which was half spicy and half original. That's the best selection, in my opinion, because you get to really taste the natural flavors in the meats and vegetables in the original soup base.
I do not recommend coming here on a completely empty stomach. We had to wait 1.5 hours for a table, so I would suggest having a little snack or something. My friends and I occupied ourselves with a few drinks from the bar. I definitely recommend giving this place a try. Apparently they have many locations, so check them out!Listed in: SluUurp, sluuUrp!
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Review from Hilary S.
Santa Cruz, CA
4/15/2012
Yummy! And fun. The whole family enjoyed it. The service was great, too.
Our favorites were: steak, shrimp balls, bamboo hearts, beach mushrooms, knife-cut noodles, and sesame pancakes. We got half spicy and half regular broth, both of which were delicious and a nice compliment to each other.
My only complaint: the broths are too salty! Especially when the broth simmers down over time. By the end of the meal it was so salty I had to stop eating. And the next morning I felt all puffy and gross. -
Review from Elizabeth S.
Sunnyvale, CA
2/1/2012 2 Check-ins Here
The Cupertino location is just as good as the San Mateo one except it's smaller. I actually like the seating here better which is all booths from what I observed. The decor is still sleek and contemporary style- everything from the flat top stoves on the black corian tables to the brushed nickel air hoods above. The lighting is all accent which gives the restaurant a hip ambiance. There are large dried bamboo poles in the aisle dividing the restaurant which give it an exotic feel. -not totally thrilled about dining to Wild 94.9, but I can get with some of their mainstream music.
Now, for the good stuff: The service is excellent. The host is very attentive. He checks up on your table multiple times by walking by solicitously. The bussers take empty dishes away efficiently, fill up your glasses and any other request one may have.
Of course, the food is what keeps me coming in addition to the quality service and comfortable establishment. There is a lot of ingredients in the broth to make it tasty such as garlic, Chinese dates, green onions, cilantro and peppers. It is quite tasty in the beginning and even better towards the end. They serve quality lamb, beef and pork here. They serve all kinds of seafood too (oysters, mussels, scallops, fish, shrimp...etc.), mushrooms of all sorts (oyster, enoki, trumpet, shitake) and all kinds of veggies (bok choy, cabbage etc.) If you want a side dish or something unrelated to hot pot, they've got that too. I like their jellyfish salad.
I just love these places! They are so hearty, and it cleared my sinuses today! -
Review from Jessica C.
Cupertino, CA
12/23/2011 ROTD 4/7/2012
At the end of our meal outside he asked for a hug, while he was getting ready for a quick smoke. My mind was set for a warm embrace, something magical occurred.
Our bellies touched first.
Normally in any ordinary date-like situation, I would have been embarrassed and probably started to run away, after all, what woman would want their belly to collide with another human being on hug, before their boobs? But at that moment I don't think I was ever happier to have something so silly occur.
It was a Thursday night, he had requested we do some sort of hot pot, since it reminds him of home. Little Sheep generally has been delicious for me and is convenient to get to. It was crowded as usual and we waited on the leather couches, chit chatting.
Once we got in, he let me order as usual, which frankly I adore in general when people are adventurous eaters. The waiter said I ordered too much, and recommended I remove 2 dishes, "but but but... you don't know how we eat!" I exclaimed. He still thought it was too much for 2 people to consume.
I let the waiter put in the order, but then proceeded to be visually bummed, since I really wanted boy to try the other two dishes, I was still mulling it over in my own thoughts when boy interjected.
"Just order it, we'll finish it."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Called the waiter back, ordered the handmade meatballs and tendons in addition to our meat platters and we ended up demolishing everything. Demolishing everything is also a testament to how good things are here. I adore the handmade meatballs and the thin slices of beef in the spicy soup. I probably don't say it enough but, I love the people that make things so "easy" and put my doubts at rest.
And I've never been so comfortable having bellies touch.Listed in: the value ROTDs
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Review from James K.
1/10/2012
I can't believe I forgot to write a review on this place. There are a lot of reviews so i'll try and be short and sweet.
The only other place I had tried hot pot was Hot Pot City in Miltipas and this place blows the competition away. When I went to Hot Poty City , I had no idea what to expect. The concept seemed interesting and the food was okay; well at least my initial impression.
What I failed to realize was that this place in comparision is far superior. For one, their broth is off the chain. A party of 5 decided not to go spicy, though I may try that next time. We ordered the regular broth and initially it looked underwhelming. It looked like plain ole broth. How in the heck can this plain looking broth absorb and give flavor to all the dishes we had ordered?
Well I still don't know the answer but all I know is that everything tasted yummy to the tummy. We must have ordered about 14 dishes I think. Proteins include shrimp, tofu, beef, chicken. We also orderd an assortment of greens.
The only knock on this place is that it's just way too crowded. Felt like Chinese New Year arrived early. They can't help it though, I suppose.
The other thing is that one of the hosts tried to sit our party of 5 into one of their small a*s booths. We were literallly shoudler to shoulder and we're all thin. She thought it would work but it didn't so we requested a normal sized seat. Upon walking back to the front, we noticed a party of 2 in a huge booth!! WTF!!!! That doesn't make any sense to sit a small party in the big table and a big party in a small table!!
If you have the patience to wait, it's worth it. If you're in a rush and hate crowds, pass.
