On Monday, January 20th, a group of journalism students took a trip to HotPot 88 (2502 South 130th Avenue), which opened in west Omaha last October. There has been a lot of buzz and publicity about this restaurant since it opened, and we wanted to see what the hype was all about, especially since several of our reviewers have visited a number of similar serve-yourself style establishments.
When we first arrived, the restaurant was bustling with people, so we had to wait for a little bit. Despite the wait, we eventually found that HotPot 88 offers an interesting dining experience with a variety of broths and a lively atmosphere.
What follows is a recap, oral-history style, from the members of the Verbatim staff who met up for lunch at HotPot 88 on MLK Day.
Tanya: Hotpot 88 in Omaha was an interesting place to visit, but it wasn’t really my style. The crab rangoons were crispy and flavorful, but the rest of the meal didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I chose lamb as my meat and went with the spicy broth, but the flavor of the broth was pretty weak, which was disappointing. They had a great selection of things to cook, and I could see how others might enjoy experimenting with it, but I just wasn’t very good at cooking everything myself, and the taste didn’t wow me. After tip and tax, the total came to $43, which felt a bit steep for an experience I didn’t love. Even though I don’t see myself going back, it was a fun experience to try something different for the day.
Angel: I personally didn’t enjoy the food at HotPot 88. The experience and ambiance were new and fun, though. The restaurant had a chill atmosphere where you could pick whatever you wanted to eat, with a variety of side seafood dishes to mix into your meal. I tried the spicy broth, which, to be honest, had absolutely no flavor—just oily chili that burned my throat. I also ordered the lamb to cook in my broth, but it was underwhelming. The best part of the meal was the chicken skewers I got as an appetizer. They actually had flavor and came in a perfect portion of two skewers. For dessert, I tried the chocolate cake and ice cream. The cake tasted pasty and powdery, while the ice cream was served in self-serve plastic cups—nothing special. By the end of the meal, I was presented with a $43 bill. Definitely not worth it for me. I wouldn’t go there again willingly, but I’ll admit the ambiance was fun.
Olivia: I really enjoyed the process of this experience and the thought behind hotpot. However, for someone new to hotpot it can be challenging to know exactly what to do or how to do it. The taste of your food all depends on you. If you pick the wrong broth or make a weird sauce then everything you eat won’t taste very well. Hotpot is a restaurant that is better to have some background knowledge, so you can achieve the greatest outcome. I enjoyed my food a lot: I liked my miso soup broth, the chicken, my sauce, and the other add ons for your pot. The challenge that I encountered was knowing how long to cook things because I’m not a fan of raw or uncooked meat. The total of the meal was $33 plus the gratuity fee bumped it up to $43 and then I also added an 18% tip totaling to around $53. This payment was just for myself.
Christine: I found the experience at HotPot 88 very unique and exciting. It isn’t just a restaurant; it’s a fun activity to do with friends and family. It was very fun to try new foods, and the hot pot style allows you to customize your meal exactly how you would like. The wide variety of items to add to your soup and sauces to mix leaves no one without options. The uncommon Asian food was fun to taste test and it opened my eyes to different cuisines from all over the world. I would recommend HotPot 88 to adventurous eaters who enjoy tasting foods that look different from what one would normally eat. I would also be wary of the price, since it is pricey and you get charged for excessive leftovers. I think the price, although high, makes sense because it is an all you can eat style of restaurant. Overall, I would rank HotPot 88 a four out of five.
Jana: When I learned that I could go get hot pot with my friends and experience something new, I was incredibly excited. I made a reservation multiple days in advance. I originally expected to only pay around $20 for my meal since it was during lunch time but the hostess informed me that MLK Day would have prices for dinner all day, so $30. They also added an 18% gratuity which I can understand since we had a pretty big group. When I arrived, I still had to wait around 20 minutes although I made a reservation. I enjoyed the unlimited appetizers, meats, vegetables, and sauces, and thought the restaurant provided a nice variety. I ordered the spicy broth for maximum flavor but ended up disappointed at the lack of taste it provided. I found myself drowning the meat and vegetables in the sauce to provide any hint of flavor. The total ended up being $43, which is much more than I expected but it was understandable considering the unlimited food. I do believe that going to get hot pot can be a fun and new experience, and it’s something that everyone should try at least once, but I don’t see myself going again, especially for such a steep price.
William: HotPot 88 was a very interesting experience to say the least. We had made a reservation prior but when we arrived we were told that we still had to wait. The restaurant was so packed with customers that we ended up waiting 20 minutes to get seated. Once we finally got seated we were presented with a very confusing menu of just appetizers and different types of broth. Eventually a waiter came over and explained poorly how the menu worked. I was very confused and ordered miso broth with pork belly. We all eventually figured out that there was a buffet of different meats and veggies that you can add to your broth. I went up and got some crab, noodles, and broccoli. Eventually my broth came and I started warming it up over the stove built into the table. Then my platter of pork belly arrived and I wasted no time and dunked a strip in the broth. I didn’t know how to long cook it in the broth so I took it out and ate it after about 20 seconds. It tasted a little odd so I figured I didn’t cook it long enough and tried again but it still tasted funny. I moved on and dumped my noodle grab and broccoli into the pot. I let it all cook for about 5 minutes then attempted to take it all out. Without a strainer it was very hard to pull all of the noodles out, a few handles of noodles I just could not manage to pull out so they stayed cooking in the broth. I ate my noodles crab and broccoli which was just mediocre at best. I am a very bad chef and leaving the cooking up to me did not end well. The noodles seemed undercooked while the crab seemed overcooked. I pushed my plate to the side and got another one this time with different noodles and some squid. I went to put it in the broth but the food from my previous meal had tainted the broth. There was about half as much as before and there were bits and pieces of overcooked noodle and broccoli floating around in the broth. I hesitated but cooked my second batch of food to the same mediocre results. Overall, HotPot 88 was just alright, If I was more experienced on how to cook the food I feel like it would have definitely been better. But me and the majority of people that go to a hotpot-style restaurant aren’t gonna be experienced on how to cook the food so I feel this is a big flaw in the restaurant. Hot Pot 88 gets a 6/10 but I would like to go back again soon and try it again now that I know a little bit more about how the restaurant works.
That’s our take on HotPot 88. Would most of us go back? Sure. Maybe more transparency on pricing would be helpful, but to warm up on a cold MLK Day, there’s not much better than throwing a bunch of ingredients into a bowl of hot broth!
