Tasty Pot is cool: Hot pot restaurant in east Vancouver offers variety of steaming brothsSubscriber Exclusive

Traditionally, people savor hot pot by gathering around a kettle of steaming broth ringed by plates of thinly sliced beef and lamb, seafood, tofu, leafy greens and potatoes. Diners grab food with their chopsticks, cook it, and then dip it into customized sauces.

San Jose, Calif.-based chain Tasty Pot takes a different approach by serving pots designed for individual consumption. Servers bring everything to the table pre-cooked in a large bowl placed over a flaming pedestal. This seems to be meant to appease customers unfamiliar with the communal hot-pot tradition who don’t expect to cook their own food at a restaurant.

Tasty Pot’s menu includes 14 signature combinations, including beef ($16.99), lamb ($16.99), veggie ($16.99), and seafood with a large lobster tail ($21.99). Each pot comes with a long list of ingredients, as well as a variety of extra sides including shrimp ($5.95), cabbage ($4.95) and quail egg ($3). To order, simply pick a pot, a spice level ranging from nonspicy to flaming spicy, and choice of rice, vermicelli or noodles. I didn’t order extra sides because each pot came with plenty of items offering a variety of flavors and textures.

On my first visit I ordered the kimchi dumpling pot ($16.99) with a medium spicy broth. It came with cabbage, pork slices, kimchi, dumplings, rice cake, sausage, shrimp, enoki mushrooms, kamaboko (Japanese fish cake), tempura, clam, fishball, soft tofu, fried tofu, zucchini, imitation crab, egg and scallions. I paid $1.50 extra to get a brick of instant ramen noodles instead of rice or vermicelli.

The sizzling sound of the hot broth and the steam wafting off it brought comfort. The range of ingredients made it fun to poke around with my chopsticks in the broth to see what I would find. The medium spicy broth was spicy but not overly so. The shrimp came with the shell and head on which kept the delicate meat tender and flavorful. I enjoyed pulling it apart and eating it with my hands. I tossed chunks of the ramen noodles into the broth to boil.

When the broth began to evaporate, my server turned off the flame by flicking a little metal switch on the pedestal so that the ingredients wouldn’t burn. She also poured more broth into the bowl from a pitcher. I noticed other diners using small bowls for cooked foods and broth. I asked for one. I used the small bowl to gather broth and cooked food to let it cool before eating. After watching videos about hot pot, I think the others had dipping sauces in their small bowls. As the dish cooked, the flavors from the pork slices, seafood and vegetables seeped into the broth.

On a second visit, I got the healthy veggie soup with a side of rice. It came with a choice of original, tomato or Thai broth. I got the original, a clear, light broth. My server said it was vegan. It came with cabbage, clear thin noodles, enoki mushrooms, tomato, chunks of corn on the cob, sliced lotus root, fried tofu skin, oyster mushroom, broccoli, brown beech mushroom, wood ear mushrooms, taro and soft tofu. This was a lighter dish and easier to finish by myself. I liked the variety of tofu offered: soft, fried and tofu skin. Every type of fermented soybean cake soaked up the veggie-flavored broth like a sponge while offering a variety of textures.

I enjoyed both dishes that I tried. Despite the fact that these are individual pots, they are large enough for more than one diner. I think it would be fun to go with a group and share a couple of pots. The experience still feels hands-on even though the food is brought out cooked. But watching videos of various hot pot places on YouTube made me interested in seeking out a full hot pot experience where I could cook my food and gather around a large pot with friends.

Tasty Pot also serves a long menu of teas, milk teas, boba drinks, and smoothies from A-CHA ($5.50-$5.99), including popular drinks like layered rose matcha latte with boba ($5.50) and Thai iced tea ($5.50). A cool creamy drink offers a counterpoint to the boiling hot soup, especially the spicier versions. I plan on trying one on my next visit.