This week I tried something for the first time called Chinese Hot Pot.
I had been hearing a lot of buzz about Chubby Cattle located at 3400 S. Jones Blvd. I had to find out what all the buzz was about. On this visit there were four of us, my wife Lori and our friends Nok and Cris. I can tell you this is an experience that’s better with a group.
Chinese Hot Pot, also referred to as Chinese Fondue, is a metal pot filled with a flavored broth or soup. You get to pick what broth you would like to start with as your base. They have six different flavors including a spicy one that comes in three separate degrees of spiciness.
What’s nice is everyone gets their own Hot Pot just how they want it. Three of us went with the assorted Mushroom pot broth while Cris had the House Hellishly Spicy Pot. Once you have decided on a broth you then get to pick what you want to cook in your Hot Pot.
Both Cris and I went with the Beef Combo, which is a huge platter of thinly sliced Beef Brisket, Prime Beef Short Rib and Choice Angus Chuck. The beef is thinly sliced so when you put it in your Hot Pot to cook it only takes about 30 seconds. Lori and Nok enjoyed chicken and seafood for their Hot Pots.
In addition to the meats or seafood you also can add extra vegetables and noodles to your Hot Pot. I added their thick noodle to mine, which worked with the broth. You can order directly either from the menu or from a moving conveyor belt. A really fun way.
It’s a chilled glass-enclosed conveyor belt that has different side dishes you can get in different colored bowls. The color-coded bowls is how your waiter knows what you ordered and how much to charge you.
One of the fun parts of dining there is creating your own dipping sauces to dip your meats, chicken and seafood in. They have 15 to 20 different ingredients for you to create your own custom dipping sauce or you can use theirs. You like it spicy go for it; if you prefer soy with some ginger and garlic, no problem. This adds to the whole overall experience.
One of my favorite add-on items from the conveyor belt was the House Pork Dumplings that cook very well in the Hot Pot. When done cooking all your meats you have a very tasty soup that, with noodles added to it, becomes a hearty soup with all the vegetables and such that are in your Hot Pot.
I can understand what all the buzz is about, as we were there on a Monday night when they first opened at 5. By the time we finished our meal the place was packed.
Chubby Cattle is a fun experience, and the food is good plus reasonably priced, as the bill for the four of us was just $102. I give Chubby Cattle a rating of 3.75 Forks.