Favor Taste

I was never really a fan of this chain, but my latest experience here has really changed my view.
So the only bad thing really was that the chili oil from the sauce station was NOT SPICY at all. My sauce consisted of basically 50% chili oil, but it wasn’t spicy at all. Not even a little. What the heck. :(
Anyway, the waiter for my table was super attentive and helpful. The girls I ate with didn’t have their hair up, and he offered scrunchies to them. Those plastic telephone cord type. I didn’t even know they had those to offer! He made sure throughout our meal that we had what we wanted and didn’t run out of food. Great service. His name tag said Jake/​Jack (can’t really remember), but based on the pictures near the entrance, it’s Ze, so I don’t know which one it is. But he’s great! The food we got was all fresh (as far as I can tell). No stomachaches from anyone afterwards.
We also got a pitcher of the avocado smoothie/​milkshake. It was a bit too sweet, with just a bit too little avocado taste. More avocado and less sugar please! It cose $ 19, and I think there was less than 1 whole avocado in it. :(
They gave us orange after we were done eating and Wrigley’s gum as well. Perfect way to finish off hotpot!

We visit all the time. Very good service, only problem is you have to have a reservation or the wait is long. My daughter loves this restaurant, her favorite is the pork belly. We’ve tried all the bbq dishes and they are the best. Don’t forget to order the seafood pancake, yummy!

The experience we receive here is generally outstanding and very unique. From the minute you walk in, you’re greeted at the door. From there, if you do not have a reservation (we highly suggest you do), you’re asked to wait patiently in the lobby seating area. Occasionally, a staff member will bring out lemonade refreshments to all those that are waiting. When you’re finally seated at the table, a staff member introduces themselves and starts to take your order via their iPads. As a millennial, this is refreshing compared to the paper and pen format and most importantly, also ensures your order is executed correctly. If you’re in a party that includes hot pot and BBQ, they’ll take orders for hot pot first. By the time they take your order for BBQ, the hot pot ingredients are already on its way to your table since that takes more time to cook.
One of the best parts about choosing BBQ is the bonding experience you have with your staffer as he/​she grills in front of you. You learn quite a lot about the business as well as each other’s backgrounds. And since each staffer stays at your table for no more than a few minutes, there aren’t any awkward «lingering» conversations.
Our last experience on ⁶⁄₁₁ could have been better and they could’ve been accredited due to a new trainee. Our order could not be completed in one round, the grill plates were only replaced twice instead of throughout the course (this is very important), they forgot to bring the spam, the meat was placed on top of the pancakes and changes the flavor, and finally some of the meat was undercooked and raw.
This is the important part. A staff member noticed our dissatisfaction. We told her not to escalate as we only wanted to point out the contrast between this visit versus all the others. Within moments, a manager approached our table. She introduced herself as Lisa and initially wanted to explain what may have happened. When we politely interjected, she did something most wouldn’t expect. She listened.
Lisa took our comments seriously and explained in thorough detail their commitments towards complete customer satisfaction. You could tell she was very proud of the company by the way she described their culture. She was also flanked by a senior staffer who flawlessly grilled in front of us while she was bonding with us. It felt like a strategic operation and though most patrons may not have realized this, I did. There was a true sense of inclusive meritocracy and perhaps Lisa’s most important role was indeed taking complete ownership.
My friends and I appreciate this experience as its shown us that even the best place in town is not perfect all the time. However, how you handle the situation as it presents itself is crucial to the outcome of said experience.
I am a Vice President managing 5 financial banking centers for a Fortune 500 company. My specific areas of focus is on staffing and customer experience. Thanks to Lisa and her team at 99, I’m going to bring back a few takeaways to my staff!
Regards,
Michael
PS– By the way, the food is excellent!

Came here for my birthday and just when I was about to leave, they surprised me with a free ice cream (along with a birthday song). Not sure if it was cause two other people was celebrating birthday and I was the only one without the cake, but it doesn’t matter. The experience is what matters.
The food here is great. They cook it in front of you so I can be lazy. It’s just a little awkward when someone is cooking and has to listen to your conversation. I wish that the food would cook a bit faster as well cause they put it on low fire. All in all definitely recommend.

THEY ARE OPEN UNTIL VERY LATE, LIKE 3AM. I HAVE COME HERE A FEW TIMES PAST MIDNIGHT !!! WEEKENDS CAN BE VERY PACKED, CALL AND RESERVE IF YOU DONT WANT TO WAIT!!!
On to the actual review — I love this place. It is very nice modern looking and spacious. Sure, it is nothing compared to mister hotpot or some non-​ayce places but you really shouldn’t be comparing it with them. It’s a buffet/​ayce joint, you get what you pay for.
I have come well over 30 times since opening, only for the AYCE hotpot The price is reasonable. I believe its 18.99 for ayce hot pot. Not really sure but I always pay around $ 25/​pp if no drinks.
I personally eat like a starving child + food eating champ so AYCE is highly preferred for me since I get my moneys worth. They have a pretty good selection of food but I normally just come and get plate after plate after plate of beef. Some other stuff I get are fish, shrimp, veggies, fry tofu skin, etc. all decent — good. The service is also usually very good, about 75% of the time, our waiter/​waitress can joke around and are attentive. Off course, like everywhere else, you can get a miss, and get that terrible service. They have a nice selection at the sauce bar for you to make your ideal sauce.
Some stuff to note are: $ 3 beers and free ice cream if you check in social media. There is also a pool hall and ktv bar right next to it.
One day, I’ll try the kbbq only because I like to try everything at least once but for now, the overall hotpot experience from this place for me (local brooklynite) is top notch so why stop?
Oh, cant forget about the lovely free dinner they offer on your birthday (must show id), or you can even get it the day before or after if you also bring a cake+id.

I didn’t have a bad experience here at all! Everyone was very nice and made sure our food came. Our server was named Monkey lmaoo he’s very funny and cracked jokes with my friends. I liked this place for BBQ. I would definitely come back for hot pot to see if its as good as the BBQ ;D There’s a variety of foods and you have to HAAAAVE TOOOOOO get beef, of course, otherwise you’re missing out. It was nice and all. Definitely give this place a chance :’)

One of the original AYCE Hotpot and Korean BBQ places. I like this place because the price is reasonable for AYCE. They have a wide variety of food and a decent amount of seating for parties (they even have big private rooms here with doors that close). Staff members are friendly and the sauce options are great!
I would recommend BEEF BEEF BEEF! haah

Came for the AYCE hot pot on a Saturday night. We got there fairly late (sometime between 9 and 10) and got seated after about a 5 – 10 minute wait. For our broth, we went with half spicy (pork bone I think?) and half regular. The spicy broth was really good but had a lot of herbs floating in it (including mala, or numbing herbs!!), which were kind of a nuisance when we were trying to pick out our food.
Service was great despite how busy it was. Waiter took down our orders on an iPad and we got our food pretty much instantly. Their hot pot selection is pretty standard. I liked that they give you a stack of plates since your plate can get pretty gross with broth/​sauce after a while.
When we got our check, the waiter notified us of this deal they had where we could get a discount on our bill (I think it was like 10 or 15%?) if we registered our email with them. Since I had WeChat I was able to simply scan a QR code to register.
Throughout the night there were a LOT of birthdays, and they did the whole song and cake thing for each person. It was funny the first time, but it was starting to get tiring after hearing it 7+ times.

Great food especially the pig brain! (tasted like tofu and was my favorite)
Service was good, food was great and for my first hot pot experience this was a lot of fun. Plus we got free icecream which is always a plus.

I really enjoyed this All– You– Can– Eat Hot Pot and BBQ place. It gets real crowded on a daily basis so I definitely recommend making reservations ahead of time. This place is great for groups and lots of people come here for their birthday celebrations. Your meal is free if it’s a couple of days within your B-​Day (with ID as proof). You have to let them know ahead of time and bring your own cake, they will supply a huge sparkling candle and blast a TVB inspired Birthday song for you. You will hear this throughout the night over and over again. who knew there were so many birthdays on any given day.
The Hot Pot/​BBQ combo is a great deal and the options are endless. Some options on the menu is additional $$$ but it would definitely not break the bank. I really like that each patron can have their own small pot above a electric stove in big groups. This allows you to select your own broth and cook your own food. The BBQ is shared in the middle of the table and they have servers cooking the food for you the entire time. I’m sure you can cook the food yourself if you want to have a blast but for this occasion, it was really helpful to have the server cook the BBQ while you cook and feast on the hot pot options. Our main server Elaine was attentive and took care of us the majority of the time.
A good tip would be to ask for their huge plastic bags to protect any clothing that you have so that they do not soak in BBQ smell. You can make your own sauces towards the back of the restaurant and there is ice cream (free if you check in on Unilocal) in front of the restaurant.
I will definitely be back to this location if I’m ever in the area with a big group.

Winter in NYC means hot pot season, and 99 Favor Taste never disappoints. Though not as spacious and nicely furnished as their Chinatown location, the Brooklyn Favor Taste offers the same all-​you-​can eat hot pot deal for only $ 19.99. On your birthday, you eat for *free*! We must’ve heard their Happy Birthday song at least 5 times in the hour we were there.
We always order the beef, tofu skin (so addicting), watercress, and fish balls. It’s all you can eat and you can order to your heart’s desire (but I do believe they expect you to finish/​cook everything you order, so don’t go too crazy). I’ve never tried their BBQ, but that’s another option as well.
Definitely come with reservations or be prepared to wait if you’re coming on a weekend. Ordering was easy (multi-​lingual staff) and food came out quickly. Servers were very friendly. They also gave a bag for us to put our coats in so they don’t smell like hot pot/​BBQ afterwards. And free ice cream if you check in or if it’s your birthday!

Everything is A-​Okay here. I like the Chinatown location 100x more. I have been here a few times already and their services are just not as great. First off, making a reservation here doesn’t really mean anything unless you your reservation is during the afternoon. There are times were I have heard other customers complained about reserving spots and still having to wait an hour or more. Oh believe me, I have experienced it myself. So. I don’t really understand the point of «reservation.»
In addition, there were tons of times where I have to repeat myself to order what I want and it never came. At first, I was giving the waitress the benefit of the doubt, maybe she didn’t hear me. The next time, I confirmed with her to make sure she put down the order and she reconfirmed with me that she added the order. Well guess what… it never came until the next few times I asked. How many times do I need to repeat myself ??? x. x
Their sauce station is always so messy and there are a lot of times certain sauce cans are empty and nobody refills it. I’ve tried asking a few workers to refill the sauces, but they just keep telling me to «hold on» and they’ll do it right after. I return to the sauce station a few minutes later and I figured, it was still empty. Yeah, I understand that it is can be busy. but if there are no sauce, how can some people enjoy their food? Also, they ran out of chopsticks. The Chinatown location is bigger and has a lot more people, but the workers there can efficiently refill sauce and have great services. What a big difference.
Besides, their services, their food is not too bad. Their seafood pancake is YUMS and they give samples while you are waiting to be seated. They have a pretty large varieties of food for hotpot and a lot of meat options for BBQ. However, they do not really have sauces for KBBQ, since most of their sauces are more cater towards hotpot.
They have FREE WIFI and if you check into Unilocal,you get a free scoop of ice cream :) Also, if it is your birthday, your meal is free. I was also told, if it is not your birthday the day of and it is a few days later, you can bring a cake and your meal would still be free. Coolbeans.

My family and I came here again for the AYCE bbq for a birthday and knowing that there are always long waits, we made a reservation the night before. However when we arrived, they said they couldn’t find the reservation and claimed that we made it to the ct location one but we checked number (it was 8av#). In the end, they worked something out but we still had to wait another 45 minutes to be seated.
*make sure to leave your phone number and name and take down the reservation code/​number they tell you
*maybe call in to double check your reservation
*free birthday dinner if it’s your birthday on that very day if not you would need a cake
*bring id or whatever that would prove it’s your birthday

Favor Taste is pretty god damned legit. When you hear about a place thats All You Can Eat, you imagine them to try and be shady and undercut you in a blatant or obvious way. Not at Favor Taste.
In fact at Favor TAste, everytime they see you lean back in your chair, the wait staff will approach you since they take it as a sign that you want to order more food. No joke!
A few helpful hints for you though so you don’t walk away from your first outing at Favor Taste with an overbloated stomach and genuinely feel like you want to throw up.
— Order a small selection of stuff in your first go around — this lets you try everything you want before you commit to more on your second round.
— Take it easy on your second round — you might think that you can easily hold down another solid round of meats and veggies but trust me, you probably can’t.
At $ 19.99 per person and free meals for anyone with a birthday within 3 days (that’s right, you don’t have to be here on the day off!), this is a really solid value. There aren’t a lot of high priced items on the menu nor was the selection super rounded out: I personally would have loved to see some pork kidney on the menu. However there’s sliced fatty beef (delicious) and even some fresh blue crabs.
Just don’t fill up on all the spam and sausages as tasty as they are. Lots to be had here and you’ll definitely want to set aside 2 hours to take advantage of your max dining time.
One last tip: make a reservation. You don’t want to come here without one as we heard the host quote a 90 minute wait for someone who walked in.

I love this place for all you can eat hot pot. It sucks that they have a time limit, but I’m sure you’ll still fill yourself up during their limit. This location isn’t as crowded as their Chinatown location, but still set up a reservation! If you love hot pot, you’ll definitely love this place. I haven’t tried their Korean bbq yet, but I can guarantee you their hot pot is so yummy.
This place is generous with birthdays too! Celebrate your birthday here and you get a free meal!

I came here on Halloween. The birthday songs will go off every 3 – 4 minutes here on a weekend night – birthday person gets a free meal. I’d recommend if you are looking for an All-​You-​Can-​Eat hotpot or Korean BBQ in Brooklyn.
Hotpot $ 18.99 — Competitive price and lots of options. Some essentials include Beef, Shrimp, (Fuzhou) Fish balls, Fish Fillet, Watercress, Fish Roe (extra). I’d recommend the Original or Pig Bone style soup base. You can mix your sauce in the back of the restaurant.
Service is attentive and the food comes out relatively fast after ordering. Online complaint was the smoke flying in your face.
Make sure to call and reserve your table before arriving on busy nights. They provide a clear plastic bag to put your jackets in to avoid the smoky smell. Free ice-​cream after your meal by the bar up front. Spicy soup base is really spicy.
You will get sick of the birthday songs. Trust me.

Came here for the first time with some old college buds of mine. Even with reservations it was a gruesome hour wait. The waitress gave our scallion pancakes to the patrons patiently waiting which is pretty sweet; however, it did not help how crowded it was by the entrance and waiting area. I also noticed 95% of the staff being not able to understand basic English (given it’s in the Chinese area of Brooklyn).
The service was ³⁄₁₀ as I was told by our main server that they ran out of cups after asking for water and shortly after another gentleman delivered us 5 cups to fulfill our initial request.
On the flavor/​taste end the BBQ was definitely more Chinese inspired rather than KBBQ as they like to advertise. Much of the seasonings and sauces were more for hotpot.
We all ended up overstuffing ourselves and getting our money’s worth. At basically $ 25-​$ 30 a head I can see why it’s a popular spot in the neighborhood but I rather shell out more cash to go to a more decent and authentic bbq spot. Quality and service after all was pretty poor.

Let me start by saying I went to both the Chinatown and Brooklyn locations within the same week. In both locations the food was good.
I tried calling earlier in the day for reservations, but the call did not get through. (I called a couple of times). Decided to just walk in on Saturday night without reservations. Was told it was a 2hr wait. (Total was a 2hr 15min wait). Bf and I arrived at 7:30pm and got our table at 9:45pm. We placed our number down and just wandered around the neighborhood for an hr. The servers gave out watermelon juice to all patrons that were waiting – that is very considerate.
We ordered both the hot pot and BBQ. Figured that we might as well try both options at the same time since we were getting a freebie meal for a birthday. Next time we will just stick with one or the other.
Pros:
1)The plates are decently sized here. We got super tiny plates in Chinatown. And each table had a stack of clean plates and napkins on the side!
2)The servers are very nice and efficient. We weren’t expecting them to help cook the BBQ items!
3)Plates are cleared frequently.
4)Dude walking around constantly refilling the hot pot.
5)Restaurant floor was pretty clean. No slip and slide.
Con:
1)Ladies room-​the bathroom floor was so wet.
The birthday policy is different between both the Brooklyn and Chinatown locations. At Brooklyn, the sign only said free dinner on day of birthday or +/​-​3 days from birthday. Nothing about a 8″ cake was required like the Chinatown location.

I came here over the weekend with my family to celebrate my aunt’s bday. We had booked a room for 11 people. Luckily we did because the place was packed. We were told that we had a 2 hr time limit for the room because it was so busy.
We decided to get the hotpot and Korean BBQ combo. I saw the food options for the hotpot and I wished there was more to it like dumplings and wontons. We ordered the beef, shrimp, chicken, squid, tripe, watercress, mushrooms, corn and more beef… for the Korean BBQ, we ordered the beef, chicken, lamb, corn, eggplant. There there button mushrooms on the table but we didn’t know if it was for the hotpot or the grill. By the time our server came to grill the veggies, there was only one mushroom to grill… why didn’t we ask for more?
I was surprised that our server did the grilling. I thought we were going to do our own grilling. It was fine anyways. He was very helpful. It didn’t seem like I ate a lot but I was full by the end of the meal. Since it was my aunt’s bday, she ate for free… wooo!
Also, I wish our room had more ventilation or air flow. In a room with 10 streaming pots of water and a grill, it can get a bit hot. My face was sweating up a storm. (Since the steam was blowing towards my face.)
When we left, there was a crowd of people waiting to eat.

Been to Flavor Taste twice so far both experiences were the same, just ok. I’ve only been there for their AYCE hotpot but they also offer AYCE Korean Bbq. It’s awesome because you can select both for a few dollars extra.
For my soup base I tried the spicy and regular. Nothing was «special» about it. The spicy soup base was my least favorite, since it was overloaded with peppercorns. Definitely numbed my mouth… Lol… I believe you can have up to 3 soup bases.
Service was surprisingly great given that it’s located in 8^th ave. The servers were really nice and very attentive. They definitely kept the food coming!
BTW, free ice cream on your way out!