Datang Hot Pot: New individual hot pot restaurant in Richmond
It feels like there are so many individual hot pot restaurants in the Lower Mainland now.
Recently, we were invited to try Datang Hot Pot in Richmond. Like Big Way, Datang also has a pay-by-weight model with a selection of broths for you to choose from. The big question for me always remains 🤔: is this place better than Big Way Hot Pot?
In this blog post, I will write about our experience and how it compares to its competitors.
Datang Hot Pot
8140 Leslie Rd, Richmond, BC V6X 4A8
The vibe
We arrived at 4:30pm on a weekend for our media tasting. This means we are not dining during their peak dinner time, but almost every table was taken in their primary dining room (they have a second dining room that they opened for the dinner rush).
First stepping in, you are in I will call it a “shopping/payment” zone. Think of it like you are at the grocery store. Grab a bowl and tongs and pick all the toppings and ingredients you want in your hot pot.
In terms of ingredient selection, this is very similar to Big Way and also all other individual hot pot places we have been to. They have a great variety of fish balls, tofu, veggies, meat, noodles, and seafood. I will say that the ingredients were well-stocked and did look really fresh 👍. Again, we didn’t come at a peak time so maybe that is a factor, but sometimes at hot pot places, there will be ingredients that look like they have been left out for awhile.
Next, you line up to pay at the counter and choose your broth. They have an interesting menu where you have 5 broth bases plus another 8 flavours to choose from. This means you can make 66+ different combinations 😳 if you include the dry mixes.
My husband and I both got the HK chicken broth but I added laksa flavouring while he kept his original broth.
The dining room has a spacious, airy and warm vibe. I really like the decor and colour palette but with all the beige and golden furniture, I do wonder how red splatters don’t get everywhere 😅. Overall, I think the space is much more modern and pretty than many of the Big Way hot pot locations.
They also have a DIY sauce bar that was well stocked with all the ingredients you need to make your sauce. This is next to the self-serve ice-cream machine.
Food and drinks review
Disclaimer: As part of an Instagram collaboration, everything featured in this post was free. Since it was pay-by-weight, I don’t actually know how expensive our bowls were, but since we came at 4:30pm, we were not that hungry and put less in our bowls than usual.
🔈 Promotion: Spend $15, Get a Free Chinese Crispy Burger or Daily Tea Drink
Lemon green tea + Osmanthus peach sparkling
With the current opening promotion, you can get a daily tea drink if you spend $15+. They have a pretty robust bubble tea/drink menu.
We were both feeling something fruity so we ordered the lemon green tea with aloe and this osmanthus peach sparkling. Both were citrusy and had fizzy or chewy texture. You can also customize your sugar and ice levels.
Chinese burger ($6) + Beef/lamb skewers ($2.50/pc) + Chicken wings
As side dishes to your hot pot, Datang offers several options: a Chinese crispy burger, beef or lamb skewers, and new to the menu – chicken wings.
We got to try all of these side dishes and they were all decently good!
I found the Chinese burger to be very crispy and quite big. The bread was so flaky and the inside had saucy and yummy meat. The beef and lamb skewers were also quite juicy. I also quite liked the seasoning on the chicken wings.
Hot pot
We actually really liked our broths 😚. I found the laksa x HK chicken broth to be spicy and creamy. My husband found the HK chicken broth to be flavourful and comforting. We both also tested how thirsty we got later that night 😂 (we always get thirsty after hot pot), and it wasn’t that bad.
This is probably what would help Datang stand out among its competitors – their selection of broth is more unique with things like the HK chicken broth, Vietnamese beef broth, fish broth, etc.
Ice cream
We helped ourselves to some ice-cream, which was easy to self serve. Unfortunately, the flavour of the day was strawberry rose 😬. We don’t really like floral flavours in our ice cream.
Final thoughts
Loewe’s rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
We really liked our meal at Datang despite already being full when we arrived. My husband likes it more than Big Way, actually!
As mentioned before, we think the broths and the freshness of the ingredients is what helps Datang stand out among so many different hot pot restaurants.
In terms of price point, we are looking at $1.99 per 50 grams, which is definitely reasonable. It is definitely worth a visit if you are in the Richmond area.
Sincerely, Loewe