The Lunar New Year begins this weekend, and many families will be celebrating by eating symbolic foods.
Noodles for long life; vegetables for wealth; whole fish for abundance. says you’ll find all of the above at any hot pot restaurant in town.
The majority of hot pots are in or around Chinatown, but there are differences in broth, as well as the ingredients used for cooking and even variations on dipping sauces. Here are two spots where you can take the gang for a lively night out.
One such spot is, the 88 Marketplace, a massive Asian supermarket just west of Chinatown, housed within a beguiling list of eating options. There, the keyword is "variety."
Barbecue… bakery… even dim sum. But at Qiao Lin – the first U.S. location of a Chinese franchise on the first floor – you’ll be faced with a variety of options everywhere you look: at the salad bar-like table where you assemble your dipping sauce; on the menu, where you choose from thinly-sliced beef, vegetables, like trumpet mushrooms; and on the table, where you select the type of broth you want: spicy with chiles or more mild featuring tomato or mushroom. Cooking takes just seconds, then you dip into your customizable sauce and move on, because there’s likely something waiting to be fished out of the boiling broth.
A half-mile east, at Chinatown’s historic nexus of Cermak and Wentworth, the new Shoo Loong Kan has spruced up the corner. The Chinese franchise also has locations in Los Angeles and New York City. The owners say there’s a difference between their hot pots and the competition.
“Our broth tastes very different. The spiced broth tastes very different from the other locations,” said Ting Ting Zheng, the manager of Shoo Loong Kan.
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Broths also vary widely.
“We have the pork broth, tomato and mushroom.”
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But first, head to the sauce section, where you customize what you’ll be dipping into. There’s herbs, chile pastes and oils; peanuts and sesame seeds for crunch and lots of garlic.
“Everybody’s taste is different so they can create their own taste.”
Beef is sliced thin when frozen, so that it’s easier to cook quickly. Vegetables are also cut small.
“We have a lot of vegetables – fresh vegetables – A5 Wagyu beef.”
That highly-marbled beef is full of flavor, as is the tiny sausage. Quail eggs and fish cakes are worth trying, but so is the fresh fish. Each item requires a slightly different cooking method.
“The vegetables you can just leave it in there and some of the meat. But some of the specialty ones you do just dip it in for like five seconds or so.”
Zheng says one thing they pride themselves on is the freshness of their product.
“Our display with our dishes, you can tell how fresh they are," the manager added.
Here are the restaurants mentioned above:
1st floor of 88 Marketplace
2105 S. Jefferson St.
312-600-9779
Shoo Loong Kan
2201 S. Wentworth Ave.
312-526-3242
Several other hot pot options also exist in the greater Chicago area, including:
Mrs. Gu Skewers
2407 S. Wentworth Ave.
312-291-9058
1147 S. Delano Ct East
312-585-8655
1343 W. 18th St.
312-877-5009
Happy Lamb
2342 S. Wentworth Ave.
312-929-3224
