Hometown Hotpot & BBQ

Lots of yummy sauces. Nice and open, very well lit space when compared to 99 Favor Taste. Remember to check in on Unilocal to get the ice cream! The BBQ & hotpot is a really good deal if you’re a big eater– otherwise I’d stick with the just the hotpot because you’ll be stuffed by the end of the 2 hours. Nice selection of veggies and meats, fresh and clean.
Note: my friend found a bouillon cube wrapper in her soup but it was immediately replaced (but not comped). Probably because we are chill and didn’t make a huge fuss. Also, they only take 2 cards per party (we were a party of four, maybe bigger parties get more methods of payment– unsure)

Food was ok nothing special, very limited choices comparing to 99 flavor. Friends said we should give it a try and we did but don’t think we will be coming back. We had 7 guests in total, they squeezed us into 6 person table which was kinda uncomfortable for the 7^th guest. Even though they have bigger table to accomadate more ppl in the basement. Also we literally jus sat down, the waitress came over to take our order already. Chill, I know they want us to eat and get out so they could have table for the next guests.
After we placed our our soup base and meats etc… Soups came out first, then it took another 15−20min for the meats and veggie to come out. Woah how long does it take to get the raw meats on the plates. Our friends and I were extremely hungry. Took us an hr and half to get to the place and another 30min wait. And add another 20min for our orders to come out. We were siting there drinking our soups.
Service wasn’t the best. Only one of the waiter was attentive but not the waitress who took our order, she dissapeared right after. Never saw her again. Not coming back rather go to my usual spot 99 flavor.

We ordered so. much. food. But the staff was very accommodating to our large group of over fifteen people. We weren’t able to order the bbq, as our group was too large. Also, they were out of crab, my favorite! But the worst thing was the $ 15 uncorking fee, for the alcohol we brought ourselves. $ 15 seems a bit much, no? But aside from that, the food was good, the vegetables and meat were fresh. They could have refilled our pots a bit more often but they handled the large group size pretty well.

It was relatively empty on a Wednesday evening around 6pm. My group was seated in the basement level where they are larger tables to accommodate larger groups.
Their service is definitely on point. Every few minutes, a server would come to cook the meat or take the cooked food off the grill and place them onto plates. On the other hand they used the same tongs to handle the raw food and cooked food. Might explain the stomach rumblings I felt right after I finished the meal.
The boneless t-​bone was my favorite bbq meat. It must have been slightly marinated because it was a little juicy and very tender. The lamb and duck are easy to overcook so the meat was tough to chew. Spicy squid was hardly spicy and lacked flavor. The steak in black pepper sauce was drowning in black pepper so if you like your black pepper, you’ll love this dish.
I also regret getting the vegetables… stick to the meats. The mussels were decent though. They also put some kind of garlic sauce on it before cooking them.
They have a sauce station to create your own dipping sauces and a dessert station (really good red bean porridge with black rice and some sweet potato soup).
Don’t get the jerky unless you like eating lap cheong that’s just been flattened. You will smell like bbq so wear your least favorite clothes. The vents are really high up so it barely gets rid of the smoke. Try to sit near the wall because all the vents seem to be faced towards the middle of the room.

Stopped by here this weekend with a few friends for AYCE hotpot. I have to say, this was much better than Flavor 99. I mean, they’re both good deals but the quality here is MUCH fresher. Plus, you can also get AYCE crabs which is nice.
Will definitely be back. Sun lunch is a good time to stop by — barely anyone there.

Pretty good quality for all you can eat hot pot.
We stopped by for an early dinner on a Friday, and there wasn’t a wait at 5 PM for two. We just did the hot pot, and among the ingredients I enjoyed the most were the stuffed tofu, the stuffed fish balls, and the spinach noodles. The green bean noodles were a bit too small to be found in the broth afterwards, and the meat wasn’t great, but not bad quality for all you can eat. It’s not too cheap, but it’s not bad value for buffet-​style hot pot.

What’s not to love about the interactive dining experience? Definitely something to try, and well worth it once you have. Best way to experience it is to do both hotpot and BBQ… Def a good amount of food so don’t be overzealous. We barely finished ours and had 2 hours to do it lol
You pick out your hotpot (soup) base flavor (s) and pick out whatever you wanna throw in there. I went with seafood and vegetable assortment for the hotpot, and chose to grill up beef and pork. Great meat selection, fresh seafood, fresh vegetables. Staff is super friendly and helpful. They are patient if you don’t know what you are doing. Frankly, you don’t even have to cook it yourself, you can opt out of the labor and the boys come around and do it for you. It’s a fun experience, and well worth the expense.
Place is busy. Def would suggest reservation. Layout is awesome, it’s not cramped like most of the places in Koreatown, which I love. Infact, I felt a bit far from my friend lol, found myself screaming over to her. Clean all around, even sauce station was continuously wiped down.
Kid friendly, family friendly I feel. Beer and wine, not full service bar. Good place for group dining or a date too. Some video action below

This hotpot joint was ok, selection is kind of limited for all you can eat. The place looks clean and new tho.
I would just go to 99 flavor for the all you can eat buffett. The price per person is about the same.

Full disclosure, this was my first hotpot experience. That being said, I loved it! A place like this really checks most of the boxes for me in terms of a fun brunch out with friends; (relatively) inexpensive, ayce, byob ($ 15 corkage fee), lots of space, and Asian cuisine. Bonus points go out to the impressive sauce bar, where you can mix and match everything from traditional soy sauce, to a homemade Hometown sauce (the best) and add garlic, scallions, sriracha, etc. The place is modern and spacious inside, which was quite unexpected. You can bring a picky eater or your suburban family here, no prob. The staff was polite and fun to chat with. They can explain away if you’re a first-​timer and will fill your glass, should you BYOB.
As for the eats, at this point I’ve tried all the broths and have had no issues with any, but the best for me is the dual pot with original and Ma La. The original allows you to sauce your meats like a bawse, while the Ma La gives everything a nice kick. Be warned, should you put greens in the Ma La, they will soak up a lot of spice and sneak up on ya. If this is your first time here, you can keep it simple. Grab the traditional meats and a few basic veggies. Once you get the hang of it you can order again and dive deeper into the menu.
Overall, they’ve made a big fan out of me and I’ll be back… often. Try it!
Fun Fact: I put an uncooked sausage in Peter D’s jacket pocket while waiting for the check. There was no charge for this uneaten sauseeege.
Protip: Go there early on weekends. It fills up FAST.

I don’t know why but I just prefer this place over 99 Favor by a mile. It’s $ 22 or $ 21 per person for hot pot. The place is huge and bright. A lot of seating on the lower floor. Both floors with sauce stations (major key). The meats and vegetables are super fresh and always clean. Servers are kind/​similar to 99. But the time it takes for orders to come out is a lot shorter which is a huge plus.
The curry soup base is bomb and you should try that if you dig spicy.
I always get ridiculously full at these places and usually don’t need to hotpot for another 3 months. But I actually crave this place often…

Hometown is the first hotpot restaurant I have been to in years– over 7 if I’ve done the math right. My relatives host hotpots for the holidays and most places do not hold up to that standard. I say this because most places tend to use inferior ingredients.
For the most part, this was not the issue at Hometown. While eyeing the uncooked meats and veggies that my friend and I ordered, I examined no obvious graying of meats nor yellowing of vegetables. We ordered about a third of the hotpot section, and were in tune with each other’s choices.
For a party of two, we cleaned off most or all of every plate except for the beef tripe. We even ordered extra half plates (yes, totally allowed) of the beef, lamb, & more rice noodles and veggies (enoki mushrooms, watercress, corn).
The reorders were their strong suits, but there were a couple of items that I would avoid. The crabs did not taste fresh and sweet. I received one chalky shrimp. My friend was disappointed by their Spicy Ma La soup base; she likes it ‘hawt,’ & there was a terrible THICK layer of fat that she grossly scooped out and left on a plate. Imagine how unappetizing it was for me to stare at that for the duration of the dinner. The glob of fat she picked out, which the waiter mistook for food, was left on the table while all the other dirty dishes were removed.
Cost-​wise, it was standard for AYCE places: $ 25 will cover your hotpot cost plus tax & tip. However, the change of this clean atmosphere to dine in is always priceless within Chinatown. Inviting and modern, I can see why it is a ‘hometown’ favorite. With two floors of dining patrons, the lower level being more spacious and containing the restrooms, we were originally quoted a 1 hour wait time at 6:30 pm on a weekday. However, for reasons unknown, we were seated about 15 minutes in.
Lastly, my stomach did not feel great that same night into the early morning. It was gurgling & making ungodly sounds. I’ve censored my experience for your benefit. I couldn’t pinpoint if it was the curry soup base or a bad/​under-​cooked ingredient. Take my review with a spoonful of Pepto Bismol; you might need it.

A bit pricy, yes, but it’s all you can eat! Come on your birthday and get unlimited hot pot for free! I like the décor and feel of this place, and the waitstaff is quite nice. They have a good selection of things to put in your hot pot, including several fish ball options, stuff tofu options, and others. Their broths are good, but definitely not exceptional and don’t taste particularly distinct from each other.
I also appreciate the sauce bar and the giant vats of red bean pudding and corn milk pudding. Check in on Unilocal for some of the darkest, most delicious (yet not with that over-​steeped, bitter flavor) green tea ice cream I’ve ever had!

99 Favor has strong competition!
If you aren’t in the mood to trek to Flushing/​Queens, Hometown and 99 Favor are probably your best bets for hotpot in the city. Both offer very comparable deals of AYCE hotpot for $ 21.99, with similar quality, menu items, and setup. I particularly like that the interior is so clean and large.
One extra point for Hometown: since they’re newer, they have slightly better wait times and less crowds. That said, Hometown is still VERY crowded on weekends and at dinnertime.
I had a group of 4 on a Saturday night, and although we were quoted 45 minutes, it ended up being 1 hour 45 minutes. Probably my only complaint of the night. We checked in with the hostess several times, and every time we were told it would be 5 – 10 more minutes. I understand that wait times are variable, but there’s a big difference in 45 minutes and almost 2 hours. Had we known in advance, we could have used the time better. The wait wasn’t the problem so much as the lack of transparency. (Side note: If you have 6+ people you can make a reservation, which I highly recommend doing).
AYCE HOTPOT:
Other than that, I really do love Hometown for its hotpot. It’s not the best I’ve had, but it’s good. You have the option of getting up to 3 separate broths as long as you’re ok with sharing the hotpot communally. We shared the original, Chinese herbal, and mala (spicy) broths, adn the mala stood out in terms of flavor. I think the broths could be a bit more flavorful, but they’re still tasty.
For the AYCE deal, you get to pick from a wide assortment of meats, vegetables, carbs, and seafood. All the regular culprits are there as well as a few goodies, from lamb and fish tofu to spinach noodles and tong hao. I also love love love that they have a sauce bar, my favorite part of any hotpot place. Mix and match your own concoction of dipping sauce and if you don’t like it, make another.
I was also pleasantly surprised to see that they have dessert soups here! They’re easy to miss since they’re next to the sauce bar, but save room for them! One is red bean and black sticky rice soaked in coconut milk (a personal favorite) while the other is sago, coconut milk, and chunks of taro and sweet potato.
Overall, a good experience and probably my new go-​to for hotpot in the city. I hope Hometown sticks around.

3.5 stars
Came here with friends for a hotpot dinner! We got here at 7:30 and there were a lot of people waiting to be seated so definitely make a reservation ahead of time. Contrary to what most reviews state, they do seat your group even if not everyone is there yet. I arrived about 10 mins late and they still seated everyone else before I got there. Décor is great! A step-​up from your usual hotpot places; not too cramped and very chic layout/​interior design. Service I would say was good, especially considering the popularity of this place and how many diners they have to attend to.
The sauce station is not the most extensive I’ve seen but it does have all of your essential hotpot sauces. I liked how the sauce plates are separated into three different sections so that you can get different combinations of sauces instead of just having one mix of various sauces. Try the Hometown special sauce! So delicious! In terms of the food, I would say it was pretty standard. All I can comment on is that I’ve had better fatty beef at other hotpot places. The other foods were not bad though. They also offer a variety of unique hotpot soup bases as well, including curry and tom yum soup. Finish off your meal with an Asian dessert located next to the sauce station! We had a delicious pumpkin sago based dessert and a red bean dessert. $ 28 after tax and tip for ayce which is standard and not expensive at all.
As stated in my previous Unilocal reviews, all ayce hot pot places are pretty much the same. What makes Hometown stand out:
— Very cool décor/​ambience, nice service
— Yummy desserts are included in ayce
— They play the happy birthday song and bring a cake with candles to your table if it’s your birthday! Awesome!
— Free scoop of ice cream if you check in on Unilocal!Don’t get the green tea flavor though, very nasty…

Where to start? Let’s begin with the soup. There are about 5 kinds of soup bases to choose from, ranging from mild to spicy or herbal. We opted for just the regular bases, and man are they cheap about how much they pour in the bowl!!! I was like… can we get some soup with our hot pot?! They have the average hot pot accompaniments: fish balls, beef balls, tofu, enoki mushrooms, fish, beef tripe, squid, sliced beef or lamb, different kinds of choi, noodles, mini sausages, etc. Nothing was amazing. I wasn’t wow’ed by the sauces they had either despite having a rather nice sauce bar self-​serving area.
The bbq wasn’t noteworthy either except for the short ribs, otherwise just go to a Korean or Japanese BBQ restaurant. The grill is way too small and doesn’t nearly get hot enough to achieve a good sear on the meats. They had a decent variety of meats and seafood for the bbq, such as gizzards, jerky, mussels, crabs, squid, short ribs, chicken, etc. Honestly, your life will be fine if you didn’t order their bbq. Now onto beverages.
Malaysian ice tea was surprisingly good and not overly sweet. Watermelon lychee shake was light and refreshing but the ice could be crushed finer. This place charges you $ 6 for a pot of tea. I was WTF??? We’re in Chinatown. let’s get real!!! $ 6 for tea?! That’s absurb!
On to the seating. They have built in hot plates on the table for each individual person and there are larger ones in the middle. I feel like I’ll kill myself if I turned on the one directly underneath me. They sat our party close to the door and there was a MASS of people directly behind me which was probably one of the most annoying things in the world. Because of the long wait and it being cold outside, most people were crowding inside which made it hard for us to move in and out of our seats and for the servers to get around our tables. I was about to blow, but I kept my cool somehow.
In regards to the service, they were friendly but not that helpful. They didn’t really explain anything to us, so god help those who’s never had hot pot before in their lives. Food was blah and had nothing special. If you want good hot pot, hop over to Little Sheep. You’re definitely going to be disappointed with the bbq so go to K-​Town for that instead. Definitely will NOT return.

All you can eat (AYCE) hot pot in Chinatown! Upscale and luxurious (for Chinatown). The best quality hot pot in Chinatown! You just have to wait 2 hours for seats on the weekends (no joke). However, I agree with the rest of the reviews here– the wait is definitely worth it, every minute of it!
I celebrated my birthday here by mixing abnormal combinations of sauces and ordering meat until the server intentionally forgot to bring more meat to the table. Nevertheless I cannot be more grateful enough about the birthday special Hometown offers. Bring a 8 inch cake (your friend hopefully) and the birthday boy/​girl eats for free. Does a birthday boy/​girl who comes alone with a 8 inch cake eat for free? If so, I totally recommend you to do so. If not, I’d totally recommend you to do so. The food is worth the price tag and more.
Remember to save some room for dessert!

I had never done hotpot before coming to Hometown, and let me tell you, I’ve become a convert. While I’ve been told this place is a bit pricier than other hotpot spots in Chinatown, $ 21.99 for unlimited meat and veggies and your own personal hotpot seems like a steal to me. Not to mention the fact that everything I tasted was absolutely delicious.
I went with a huge group, which for most restaurants would be an absolute nightmare. Table for 16? No way, jose. But at Hometown, they have tables made perfectly for a group this size, so it was NBD whatsoever. We did have to wait until most of our party had arrived, but since there is a 2 hour time limit on your meatstravaganza, I understand why. Once we were seated our orders were taken swiftly — I had the Chinese herbal broth — and we moseyed over to the sauce bar, which is somewhat intimidating but ultimately incredible. Highly recommend the chili sauce, the peanut butter, and the sesame paste. All excellent.
Meats-​wise, all the red meat was delish. The beef was fatty (in a good way) and the lamb was, well, in my opinion you can’t really go wrong with lamb. Don’t skip the pumpkin, the quails eggs, or the fish balls. I wish the shrimp were already peeled instead of whole, because they became quite unwieldy out of the hot broth. Go early if you want fancier shellfish, as they were already out of crab by the time we tried to order them at around 8pm.
I’ll definitely be going back to Hometown Hotpot this winter. Oh, and pro-​tip: if it’s your birthday you can come in with an 8-​inch cake and your meal is free! And they play a great birthday song. It’s not for the faint of heart when it comes to public humiliation, but if you’re into clapping and shouting, it’s great.

This place definitely did not rub me the right away. First, when my friends arrived they wouldn’t even seat them down despite the fact that they were only missing one person (me — I walk slowly when its snowing). Then, a table later than us, 3 people got seated and their group of 6 arrived 15 minutes later. Uhhh?
Also we had ordered only beef for hotpot and they gave us two plates. One was definitely beef and one was I presume lamb. I asked the waiter what it was, he said beef. That clearly shows he has absolutely no clue what he is talking about because the texture and looks are obviously not the same and it was so much tougher. Look at the photos below.
We ordered sprite as it was free refills but when they gave it to us, it was so flat they needed to change the CO2. We asked if we could change to ginger ale but he said no. ??? Then he tasted our soda and realize that indeed the sprite was disgusting and that it will take 5 minutes to change the CO2 and there, we finally got normal fountain soda that tastes just like McDonalds.
Lastly, the bbq did not rub my friends the right way. Everything was so bland and I just kept dipping it in soy sauce I felt like I had overdosed on sodium. We as a group will definitely not return and continue waiting the hour at 99 Favor because Hometown just did not suit to our tastes. Also I had to ask for refills like… why aren’t you guys super attentive when the place is almost empty and you have a dozen waiters/​waitresses?
Also if you want an upset stomach please be my guest and eat here.

I have been to this place twice. The first time was a terrible experience because I couldn’t even get in but the second time was great.
For the first time, I initially went to 99 Favor Taste for hotpot on a Saturday night, they had me wait for 2.5 hours, so I called Hometown Hotpot and ask how long their wait was. I just wanted to know so I wouldn’t bother to walk over if they were crowded. However, they kept telling me it’s first come first serve. I explicitly said if there were a line outside in English and then CHINESE, but they were not answering my questions at all! When I got there, they told me I had to wait 1.5 hours, they could have told me that on the phone!!!
Anyway, I got there at 2pm and had a seat right away the second time. I was in on the lower floor and they have a little glass ceiling/​window which allows natural light to shine through and creates a bright and spacious space which I like a lot.
They offer all you can eat hotpot or BBQ or both. I got just the hotpot as I think it’s faster than bbq. Go to their website for the full menu cause there are too many options. They have a wide variety of meat, vegetables, seafood, staple, more than enough to fill anyone. I really like everything as they are always crowded so the food is really fresh.
Overall, I like this place, it’s in the heart of Chinatown right next to Little Italy. Service was super fast and good. They also speak English and Spanish. Definitely recommend. Walk in only. First come first served.

Nice environment and very spacious. I already likes the food and service more than 99 Flavor. In one week I came here here twice and overall everything turn out pretty good.
The only problem I had my first coming to Hometown Hotpot and BBQ was the host stated I couldn’t make a reservation but stated that she can put my name down for a certain time and we will be first when they have available table at that time. I already advised her that this for a company dinner and she wrote down all my information and cellphone number. She did not call me and when we got there she told us we were 10 minutes late and that we had to wait at least an hour and that she did it as a courtesy to put my party down because she it’s not a reservation. I would of went else where if she had that attitude when I first came to place my name down. Luckily my amazing and patient boss worked things out with her if not it would have been a NEVER AGAIN.
Now back to what I love about Hometown Hotpot & BBQ:
— I don’t know about the waiters but waitresses especially Janice was very nice and even though they were so busy yet they still to manage their professionalism and didn’t forget any of our orders
–All equipment are advance and new.
–They were very consistently came back to make sure everything is okay!
–The meat were all fresh and you can tell it wasn’t frozen
-$ 2 soda = unlimited refill and large variety of beverages options and alcohol beverages
–You can choose to single/​solo hot pot or join the big group.
–Soup base you can choose up to 3 soup base (they have this unique curry flavor soup base)
–All You Can Eat Hotpot or BBQ or both combined.
–After Hotpot and BBQ they have Malaysian style desserts: Buboh Chacha & Pulut Hitam: surprisingly tasted pretty good
Overall recommended, I would come back a few more times to update my review in the near future! Great for large parties and celebrations!