Lately, I’ve been writing about and talking a lot about soup dumplings, with their recent arrival in Omaha. This week, I’m taking a look at another ancient Chinese dish (like, two millennia ancient) that’s making a splash in west Omaha.
Hot Pot 88, which opened in October off 132nd and West Center, isn’t the first restaurant in Omaha to serve the dish, which features a pot of simmering broth and a variety of meat, seafood and vegetables that the diner herself cooks in the hot broth.
But, to my count, it’s only the second hot pot restaurant in Omaha – China Garden is the other – and definitely the first that boasts an all-you-can-eat style menu.
After two recent visits to Hot Pot 88, one for lunch and a second for dinner, I appreciated its varied selection of both spicy and savory broths and its wide expanse of vegetables, meat, seafood, sauces and other add-ons any time of the day. When you get right down to it, hot pot is a lot of fun to eat. This new Omaha version of it is no exception.
Hot pot has been a staple of Chinese cuisine for around 2,000 years longer than the United States has been a country. Royal diners ate theirs out of bronze pots, and later, around 200 to 280 A.D., a copper pot became the new vessel of choice. There are both Northern and Southern Chinese styles of hot pot; in the north, the dish is simpler and more focused more on the meat. In the South, the dish is spicier, and more focused on dipping sauces and seafood, vegetables and mushrooms.
At Hot Pot 88, you can find and try all of the above in pretty much whatever combination you wish. Inside, the restaurant is brightly lit and has a bit of an industrial vibe, with a variety of tables and booths, each one set up for several people to have the hot pot experience.
Most hot pot I have had before has been with a large shared pot of broth, sometimes divided in half to include two flavors, but at Hot Pot 88, each diner orders their own broth pot, appetizer and drink, all of which is included in the all you can eat price: $19.99 for lunch and $33.99 for dinner, excluding alcohol.
During the dinner hour, manager Melanie Chen told me, the price is higher because it also includes a variety of sushi appetizers, grilled fish, short ribs and pork bao buns, along with additional seafood selections on the buffet. There’s also the option to order crab legs by the pound.
I sampled three of the broth lineups: savory bone broth made with ginger and onion, spicy Sichuan style and coconut chicken, which is closer to a Thai-style broth. There are several other choices, including two vegan options. I most enjoyed the bone, with its hints of warm spice and clean, neutral flavor. If you like spice, the spicy broth, with floating Sichuan peppercorns, is the one you should try.
The all-you-can-eat price also includes one appetizer per diner, which can include steamed or fried dumplings, spring rolls or egg rolls, crab rangoon, sesame balls, meat skewers or chicken wings and fried calamari, among other choices. For me, the appetizers were fine – I probably most enjoyed the sesame balls – but ultimately forgettable.
I recommend saving room for the main event. My two dining partners agreed.
You start the main hot pot event by choosing your meat of choice: pork or pork belly, beef, chicken, lamb or oxtail (available only in the evening). I tried them all, and the rolls of beef, which cook in mere seconds once dropped in the broth, were my favorite, followed by the meaty oxtail.
The menu is huge, and it can take a few minutes to narrow the selections, but on both visits, our broth pots arrived quickly, and the staff turned the individual heaters on high; the broth came up to a boil in just a few minutes, which means it is ready for the diner to cook.
While the broth warmed, we perused the restaurant’s extensive buffet of vegetables, seafoods, sauces and desserts, which are far too many to name here. Among my favorites were crisp winter melon, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, bok choy, various types of tofu, shrimp and both fish and meatballs. There’s a whole section of noodles, with both ramen and udon, and some noodles that will be lesser known to many Omaha diners, too.
The sauce bar boasts broth enhancers like chopped raw garlic and peppers, along with fresh herbs and a thoughtfully curated selection of all kinds of sauces. A combination of hoisin and chili oil is a can’t miss for me. I also liked the sweet seaweed salad and kicky fermented kimchi so much that I got bowls of both on each visit.
My friend said the whole experience felt thoughtfully arranged.
“It’s all-you-can-eat, but it’s not buffet vibes,” he said.
On each visit, we didn’t experience an ingredient that wasn’t fresh or tasty. Several times, I saw the restaurant’s staff patiently explaining some of the more unusual ingredients on the buffet to unfamiliar diners, a kind detail.
My friend who dined with me at lunch did note that while some ingredients are labeled, not everything is. A few more labels might be a good idea, because even he – a restaurant industry veteran – and I had a hard time identifying some of the vegetables. With so many selections, we also thought a printed menu might make the experience easier than scanning a tableside QR code.
Chen told me later that what makes hot pot special for Omaha diners isn’t necessarily the ingredients.
“The cultural significance of hotpot and the social bonds it forms make hotpot a special meal,” she said.
I think so, too, and I’m glad Omaha has one more place to experience it.
The Skinny
Name: Hot Pot 88
Website: www.hotpot88.com/
Address: 2502 S. 130th Ave.
Phone: 531-999-3131
Hours: Open Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Friday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
