Attempting out Richmond’s latest eating pattern

The primary Sizzling Pot 757 opened in Henrico final 12 months at 7502 W. Broad St. When the second location just lately opened close to me at 10040 Robious Street, I couldn’t wait to take my children and check out the brand new eating expertise.

However I’ll be sincere: Our first time concerned some trial and error.

The idea is the creation of Raymond Xiao, who additionally launched Boil Bay Cajun Seafood & Bar, and combines Chinese language and Korean traditions into one, a brand new strategy for the Richmond space.

At Sizzling Pot 757, tables come outfitted with each a sizzling pot and a BBQ grill. Diners should buy all-you-can-eat sizzling pot or BBQ for $29.99 or each for $33.99.

After we visited for a latest lunch, we have been greeted by Sizzling Pot 757’s new robotic waiter BellaBot. She has a kitten-shaped face and makes a purring noise. We adopted her to our desk and he or she carried the menus. The children have been smitten.

The inside of Sizzling Pot 757 is sort of a Chinese language palace with festive Chinese language umbrellas hanging from the ceiling, statues of Chinese language figures and projected photographs of flowers on the ground.

That is an expertise, a type of eatertainment, if you’ll.

However I used to be confused, a little bit overwhelmed by all the alternatives and didn’t know what number of gadgets to order or find out how to season issues. I used to be a sizzling pot beginner and I definitely felt it, fumbling my manner by way of the expertise.

I went again a second time and Lin, the supervisor, supplied sizzling pot ideas and solutions that turned the meal into an expertise to recollect.

With sizzling pot, a broth is delivered to a boil and simmers throughout the meal. Uncooked components, akin to meat and greens, are positioned into the broth and cooked, then dipped into sauces for extra taste. Thinly sliced meat, hen, seafood, dumplings, noodles, and greens are typical sizzling pot components.

For the new pot, you’ll be able to select what kind of broth you need. There are 9 totally different broths from unique to Japanese miso, Szechuan spicy to Thai tom yum or extra. Every diner will get their very own pot.

On my first go to with the children, all of us ordered the unique broth to be on the secure aspect, however it was fairly bland and I didn’t know find out how to season it.

On my second go to, I attempted the Thai tom yum broth and it was an enormous enchancment. The Thai tom yum had a spicy, bitter and salty kick that was an ideal base for seafood choices akin to spicy fish filet, shrimp, black mussels, crimson clams and shrimp dumplings.

My companion ordered the Japanese miso, which had a deep salty-sweet richness that was an excellent match for meats like beef brisket, pork stomach and dumplings.

Diners can order as many proteins, dumplings, noodles and veggies as they need to add to the new pot.

On my first go to, we ordered about six or seven gadgets for the entire desk. Rookie mistake. I appeared round and noticed different tables that have been crammed with a mixture of proteins, greens and sauces.

Lin mentioned that for decent pot, every particular person ought to order 6-8 gadgets, which provides as much as 12-16 for 2 individuals, and extra for 4.

On the second go to, for 2 individuals, we ordered eight totally different proteins with a mixture of beef and seafood akin to beef stomach, dumplings, crimson clam and black mussels, and we additionally ordered about eight totally different greens together with enoki mushrooms, crown daisy greens, bok choy, fried taro and bean sprouts.

The enoki mushrooms have been a brand new expertise for me – they have been lengthy, skinny, clustered collectively and had a chewy texture, nearly like an earthy noodle. I additionally actually loved the fried taro, which tasted like a refined potato, and the crown daisy greens which had a really gentle mustardy taste.

A sauce bar crowns the eating room the place you may make your individual sauces. There’s a home sizzling pot sauce and a home BBQ sauce for the barbecue. However on my first go to, I discovered them each to be overly candy and gooey. There are solutions for making your individual sauces akin to sacha sauce (which is savory and barely spicy) and garlic sauce, however no measurements.

Lin made us her particular sauce which included oyster sauce, garlic, ginger, cilantro, chopped scallion and a little bit chili oil. Preserve that as a cheat sheet, it had a little bit little bit of sweetness from the oyster sauce, a freshness from the cilantro and scallion, and only a trace of warmth from the chili.

You need to make your sauces first, then you’ll be able to dip your meats, seafood and dumplings into them.

Time your cooking. The dumplings – we ordered shrimp, hen and pork – take about two minutes to prepare dinner and went in first. Then the heavier gadgets, just like the fried taro and corn. Shrimp take a minute or two. Pop within the greens and swirl them round.

The meat is sliced tremendous skinny and might go in final. Then you definitely scoop out your meats, dip them in your sauces and luxuriate in.

It took roughly two years to construct the Sizzling Pot 757 restaurant at 10040 Robious Street, in line with the restaurant’s supervisor Lisa Lin. It took one 12 months for the allowing course of – to permit tables outfitted with each a grill and a sizzling plate for decent pot – after which nearly one other full 12 months for building of the constructing which previously housed a Planet Health.

Proper now, Sizzling Pot 757 at 10040 Robious Street is in comfortable opening mode and hasn’t acquired its ABC license but. It is going to host a grand opening as soon as it may serve from the total bar. But it surely does serve a wide range of Boba teas, which will be cooling for the spicier dishes.

After the second go to, I discovered myself desirous about the new pot, craving that distinctive, earthy, pungent, spicy mix of flavors. It was enjoyable and totally different than any eating expertise I’ve had earlier than.