Yuan’s Chuan Chuan Xiang Hot Pot, Skewers in Hot Pot
We ordered some skewers. They were $10 per 10, so $1 per skewer. When I bite into it, the meat doesn’t break off easily. I think they were using the leftover part of the cow. The textures are not consistent. There are bits of pockets of meat among the webs of something really difficult to chew. I was not impressed.
Yuan's Hot Pot Skewers Hot Pot Cooking
Strength: Convenient location with in Aberdeen Centre
Weakness: Low quality ingredients, expensive bill
Other Hot Pot Restaurants
- Dolar Shop Richmond (4 Stars)
- Gokudo Shabu Shabu (4 Stars)
Cooking skewers in the hot pot seems like the most trendy way to eat skewers in China now.
This trend is so hot right now that even KFC in China followed suit. I know not everyone can read Chiense, but you can see KFC, and you can see the skewers in the Hot Pot.
Front view of Yuan’s Hot Pot
Yuan’s Chuan Chuan Xiang hot pot has been opened for a while. We came here because they were doing a promotion where they give you a gift card of the amount you’ve spent. This gift card can only be used for the next visit. Meaning, you will be visiting this place twice if you want to use this promotion. Yuan’s Chuan Chuan Xiang Hot Pot is located in the furthest corner on the second floor of Aberdeen Centre, Richmond.
Panda Bear Family tells you this is a Cheng-Du restaurant.
Panda Bear is the signature of Cheng-Du, even among the Chinese. To emphasize they are authentic Cheng-Du cuisine to the Chinese, they placed a family of Panda bear outside their restaurant. They also loop Panda Bear habitat in Cheng-Du, China on the TV inside.
$10 for 10 Skewers, but you better not order anything else.
They placed a large sign to the right side of their store entrance. The sign has big bold writing saying $10 for 10 skewers. Yes, it is correct, but everything else here is expensive. Also, the skewers we got had cheap ingredients. The textures and freshness are not up to par.
Bright interior with proper fire-extinguishing hood vent
Upon entering Yuan’s Chuan Chuan Xiang Restaurant, we realized space is very bright. The aluminum fire extinguishing hood vent tells us this has gone through the proper city inspections. The open-concept space is pleasant to be in.
Self Serve Condiment Table is lacking
For $2.45 per person, this 9-items self-serve condiment table is really not worth it. They have crushed peanuts, sesame, cilantro, green onion, red pepper, garlic, oyster sauce, celery. That is it. Compared to the $3.99 extensive sauce bar at the Dolar Shop that includes appetizers and fruit, this condiment table feels like robbery.
Everyone gets a can of sesame oil
We arrived at our table and the staff gave each of us a can of sesame oil. They do this in China too because this tells the customers the sesame oil came straight from the factory. If you don’t pay for the $2.45 condiment bar access, this can of sesame oil is all you have to dip your food with.
I poured my sesame oil into my sauce, then my friends told me I shouldn’t pour the whole bottle. Well… I’ll know next time.
One time soup base for sanitary reasons
The spicy soup base is in the one-time package because there are too many restaurants in China that would re-use the soup base from the previous customer. I don’t normally think about these kinds of things because we live in Vancouver. Seeing this makes me wonder, can’t they still re-package the used soup base if they really want to re-use them.
The soup base is okay
The soup base is not bad, but it really isn’t anything special. We have been to other hot pot restaurants where the soup is very flavourful and complex in the layers of flavour. The soup base here is very one-directional. The mushroom soup tastes like a mushroom, and the spicy soup base is spicy. They do what they’re supposed to, but nothing really exciting.
The skewers you order are not going to be grilled. They are served raw for you to rinse in your hot pot. I can see this being a more sanitized way to eat hot pot with people you don’t know. If personal hot pots are not conveniently available to you, these skewers are kind of like communal utensils.
Low-Quality Ingredients
We ordered some skewers. They were $10 per 10, so $1 per skewer. When I bite into it, the meat doesn’t break off easily. I think they were using the leftover part of the cow. The textures are not consistent. There are bits of pockets of meat among the webs of something really difficult to chew. I was not impressed.
Bamboo skewer disposal looks sturdy
Every table has a little wooden trolly with a bamboo skewer disposal. The wooden trolly can be used to hold overflowing raw ingredients. The bamboo disposal looks sturdy.
Pork Crisps are not crispy
I was very disappointed at the Pork Crisps. They are not crispy. It feels like they have been deep-fried a while ago.
You don’t have to order skewers
Like how we did it here, you can also enjoy this restaurant like a normal hot pot place without ordering skewers.
Lamb can use a lot of improvment
This plate of approximately 20 slices of lamb cost $22.90. The lambs have a decent thickness, but I think this is overpriced. They don’t have a good presentation and the frozen rolled lamb even rolled out of the plate. This dish needs improvement.
604 Food Critic Assessment
Yuan’s Chuan Chuan Xiang’s skewers are cheap but have low food quality. If you want to enjoy this as a normal hot pot, the dishes are expensive. We tried both, and our bill came to $40 per person. I think the skewers brought our price down a little. If you want to spend $40 per hot pot meal, there are many other restaurants that offer a much better hot pot experience. Not recommended, but unfortunately, I have to go again because of the promotion.
Menu
Yuan’s Hot Pot Skewers Menu 1 Yuan’s Hot Pot Skewers Menu 2
How to get in touch
- Phone: (604) 285-9266
- Address: #2792 – 4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond
- Hours: 11:00 am – 10:30 pm
