By Sherman Chan,
Special to The Post

Kitchen staff prepares dry pot food in a sauce instead of boiling water. The Prawn Hot Pot came with additions including scallops, lamb, ribs, lotus root, gluten, bean curd skin, cauliflower, tripe, rice cake, oyster mushrooms and pig trotters in a spicy Szechuan-style sauce (minus the numbing spice). Although we had different ingredients, they were cooked mostly independent of each other. The shrimp and scallops were not overdone while the rice cake was still chewy. Rice was needed with this dish.

There was no filler underneath the top layer of the hot pot. Rather, it was all the good stuff that we ordered. Because there was so much of it, everything stayed steaming hot. That meant the seafood continued to cook, so we removed it right away. I loved that they didn't skimp with the more expensive ingredients as the ratio was even with everything in the bowl. The Mouth-Watering Chicken was tender and flavourful. There could've been more spice. I also loved the gelatinized skin (with some gelatin underneath).

The hot pot wasn't cheap, but considering how much food there was and the level of execution, I'd come back for more.

G.L.G.W.

8291 Westminster Hwy #150, Richmond, BC

The Good:

• Proteins done right

• Spicy, but not killer spicy (depends on your personal tastes)

• They don't skimp with the more expensive ingredients

The Bad:

• Even though I thought the pricing was fair, it can add up if you don't watch it

• Contradicting what I said earlier, it may not be spicy enough for some

Sherman Chan is the #1 ranked food blogger on the Vancouver portal of Urbanspoon.com. Read more of his reviews at www.shermansfoodadventures.com.