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Hot Pot 101

How to hot pot.

Ten minutes of reading, a lifetime of dipping. Here’s how the table works at Lao Pot.

What’s on the table

Everything in front of you.

A burner in the middle, a pot on top of it, and a few tools that all have a job. Tap a number to see what each one is for.

  1. 1

    Induction burner电磁炉

    Sunk into the table under the pot. Your server sets the level; ask them to turn it up or down any time.

  2. 2

    The pot锅

    One broth, or a divider down the middle for two. It arrives cold and comes to a boil in a few minutes.

  3. 3

    Ladle汤勺

    For broth and for the things that sink. It stays in the pot — it is the table’s, not yours.

  4. 4

    Strainer漏勺

    The little basket. Use it to lower raw meat in and to sweep the pot clean between rounds.

  5. 5

    Sauce bowl料碗

    Yours alone. Build it at the sauce bar, taste it, go back and fix it as often as you like.

  6. 6

    Tongs and raw chopsticks夹子

    For handling raw meat and seafood so it never touches the chopsticks you eat with.

Step by step

How a meal goes.

Five steps, start to finish. It’s easier than it looks.

  1. Step 1

    Pick a broth.

    One base per pot; split it for two. Spicy bases come mild to super spicy.

  2. Step 2

    Set the heat.

    Your server sets the burner. When it boils, you’re cooking. Ask for a top-up any time the broth gets low.

  3. Step 3

    Order.

    Anything on the AYCE menu, in rounds. Start small — you can always get more.

  4. Step 4

    Cook.

    Thin meat: 10–15 seconds. Shrimp and fish: 2–3 minutes. Balls: 3–5. Greens: 30–60 seconds. Noodles last, so they don’t soak up the pot.

  5. Step 5

    Dip and eat.

    Build a sauce at the bar (start with sesame paste + garlic + cilantro). Scoop, dip, repeat.

Cook times

How long, roughly.

Tap a timer and put your phone on the table. Nothing beeps — the row just lights up when it’s time to fish something out.

How long each ingredient takes in the pot, with a timer for each one.
Thin-sliced beef or lamb肥牛 / 羊肉10–15 secSwish it through with chopsticks. The moment it loses its pink, it’s done.
Shrimp虾2–3 minDone when the shell turns orange and the tail curls.
Fish and beef balls丸子3–5 minThey float when they are ready.
Leafy greens青菜30 sec–1 minPush them under; pull them out while they still have colour.
Lotus root莲藕3–5 minCook until it bends without snapping but still bites back.
Tofu and tofu skin豆制品3–5 minFried tofu puffs soak up broth — the longer they sit, the better.
Quail eggs鹌鹑蛋3 minThey arrive peeled and cooked; three minutes just warms them through.
Noodles面2–4 minLast round, always — they thicken the broth.

Times are a guide, not a rule: a crowded pot cooks slower. Trust the pot before the clock.

Choosing a broth

Pick your broth.

Twelve bases. Four are spicy and you set the level; the other eight are not spicy at all. One base per pot — or split the pot and run two.

  • Spicy Tallowbear add-on

    川香麻辣牛油锅

    Super spicy: 4 of 4

    Good with sliced beef, tripe and lotus root.

  • Signature Spicy

    特色清油麻辣锅

    Spicy: 3 of 4

    Good with lamb slices, enoki and tofu skin.

  • Lao Pot Special

    捞天下经典锅

    Medium: 2 of 4

    Good with sliced beef, cabbage and noodles.

  • Tomato Ox Bone

    番茄牛尾锅

    Not spicy

    Good with beef balls, potato and noodles.

  • Clear

    清汤锅

    Not spicy

    Good with fresh fish, shrimp and greens.

  • Lamb Loin Bone

    羊蝎子汤

    Mild: 1 of 4

    Good with lamb slices, radish and wide vermicelli.

  • Tom Yum

    冬阴功汤锅

    Medium: 2 of 4

    Good with shrimp, squid and mushrooms.

  • Mushroom

    养生菌王锅

    Not spicy

    Good with tofu, king oyster mushroom and pumpkin.

  • Three Delicacies

    上汤三鲜

    Not spicy

    Good with dumplings, fish balls and cabbage.

  • House Special Seafood

    本楼海鲜汤

    Not spicy

    Good with clams, crawfish and sliced fish.

  • Healthy Herbs

    药膳汤

    Not spicy

    Good with chicken, corn and sweet potato noodles.

  • Kimchi Seafood

    韩国泡菜海鲜汤

    Medium: 2 of 4

    Good with pork belly, tofu and rice cake.

The sauce bar

Build your dip.

Sixteen things in bowls, one bowl of your own, no rules. If you want a starting point, these five are what the regulars build.

  • Beijing Classic

    • Sesame Paste
    • Minced Garlic
    • Cilantro
    • House Chili Sauce

    The lamb-pot standard. Creamy, garlicky, a little heat.

  • Sichuan Oil

    • Minced Garlic
    • Soy Sauce
    • Cilantro
    • Hot Pepper Powder

    Thin, hot, fragrant. Made for tallow broth.

  • Seafood Bright

    • Seafood Hoisin Sauce
    • Minced Garlic
    • Cilantro

    Sweet-savory for shrimp, squid and fish balls.

  • Peanut Comfort

    • Peanut Sauce
    • Minced Peanut
    • Chinese BBQ Sauce

    Rich and nutty. Kids love it.

  • Umami Bomb

    • Oyster Sauce
    • Spicy Mushroom Sauce
    • Bean Curd Sauce
    • Spicy Beef Sauce

    Deep, salty, funky. For big flavor people.

Build one yourself

Thin sesame paste with a spoonful of broth — that is the trick nobody tells you.

Korean BBQ

The other half of the table.

Add both for $5 more per guest. The whole table picks the same option.

The grill runs alongside the pot.
Add Korean BBQ and a grill plate goes in next to your burner. The whole table has to be on the same option, so decide before you order.
Order fat first, then lean.
Start with pork belly or short rib: the fat seasons the plate for everything after it. Marinated meats go on later — the sugar in the marinade catches quickly.
Build a wrap.
Lettuce, a piece off the grill, a little sauce, something pickled. Eat it in one bite. Keep the grill moving — turn things once and take them off before they tighten up.
Skewers of sausage, lamb and rice cake cooking over a long charcoal grill.

Etiquette

Etiquette that isn’t scary.

Five things regulars do. None of them are rules, and nobody is watching.

  • Use the shared ladle and strainer for raw items, your own chopsticks for cooked.

  • Don’t crowd the pot — it stops boiling.

  • Meat cooks fast; fish it out early.

  • Order noodles at the end.

  • The last bowl of broth is the best one.

Dietary notes

Eating around something.

Vegetarian
Mushroom is our vegetarian base. Around it: vegetables, mushrooms, tofu and tofu skin, noodles, rice cakes and taro. Tell your server you are vegetarian and they will point out what is safe on the sauce bar.
No chili at all
6 bases have no chili in them: Tomato Ox Bone, Clear, Mushroom, Three Delicacies, House Special Seafood, Healthy Herbs. The four spicy bases come mild, medium, spicy or super spicy, so “spicy” at this table is a dial, not a decision.
Seafood in the broth
Three Delicacies, House Special Seafood, Kimchi Seafood are built on seafood stock. Every other base is not — and the pot is shared, so if seafood is an allergy rather than a preference, say so before you order and we will keep it out of the pot entirely.
Allergies
Tell your server before you order. Shared broth and a shared sauce bar mean cross-contact is possible; we will help you pick the safest options.Consuming raw or undercooked meats and seafood may increase your risk of foodborne illness. Tell your server about allergies before ordering.
More in the FAQ

Ready?

Walk in, or order the à-la-carte side of the menu to go. Either way you know how it works now.

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