Hou Yi Hot Pot

Hou Yi Hot Pot operates on a first-come, first-served basis, so reservations aren't accepted, and there's often a wait. That said, this is a fantastic hot pot spot! The soup bases are exceptional--I tried the spicy pickled cabbage beef (HOT), and it lived up to its name. It's incredibly spicy and absolutely delicious, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you can handle serious heat.You can choose between a large shared pot or individual pots, and the menu features a wide variety of meats, seafood, vegetables, and drinks. The sauce station offers plenty of options to customize your flavors, and I appreciated the self-serve selection of soft drinks straight from the fridge. They also have a nice touch with ice cream options, including cups and cones, to cool down after your meal.All things considered, it offers excellent value. The only downside was feeling a bit rushed due to the crowd waiting for tables, but overall, it was a great experience. I'll definitely be back!

If I could give Hou Yi 100 stars, I would. This is the exact kind of no frills, hole in the wall hotpot place that I love -- and, even though it is a bit pricy (~$43/per person), I think it's 100% worth the cost.To start, the menu is extensive and there are multiple broth choices to choose from. PLUS their spicy broth is actually spicy, which is a huge bonus.That said, what I think really sets Hou Yi apart is the unlimited free (nonalcoholic) drinks. I usually go through at least 3-4 of these in one sitting, and I get to sample different drinks that I normally wouldn't buy for myself. There's also ice cream at the end, which is the perfect way to cap off any hotpot meal.TLDR: this is my favorite hotpot restaurant in Chinatown. Now that the weather is colder, definitely give it a try.

Tasty spicy broth, but bland nonspicy broth. Easily customizable tho since sauce station had full spread of soy sauce cilantro peppers fish sauce chili oil and etc. The bathroom is spacious but only one, the service was friendly and the ordering was easy going. Self drink service in fridge, no free appetizers to pick from but ice cream is also self pick. Unassuming place from the outside but comfy space inside.

Ambiance (4/5): Plenty of seating and we were spaced far enough apart from other patrons. The sauce station is tucked away in a cramped corner. It felt like a no-frills hot pot place.Service (5/5): We never felt rushed and felt like the service was on point. The time from when we order to delivery is definitely faster than competitors.Food (4/5): The shared pot has 2 flavors to choose from. Meats selection tasted great and there was a variety of veggies and noodles to pick from. The AYCE also includes soft drinks (loved the grass jelly) and an ice cream bar with like 12 different flavors with toppings like M&Ms and pocky sticks! Orders are placed via a paper menu. There were no premium meats and there was a lack of sauce options. We did not try any of the seafood.

Good service, ok food, extremely no-frills ambience. For about $43 per person pre-tax - which they don't disclose online - this is pretty pricey. And keep in mind that even though it's AYCE, they hold you to a 100 ish min time slot. After waiting for the pot to boil, waiting for the food to arrive, and waiting for the food to cook, you end up not getting much time to eat. So depending how efficient you are, YMMV in terms of how good a deal this is for you.This place truly is a hole in the wall; possibly every detail was spared in jazzing up the interior and power cords for the hot pots criss cross the floor. It gets crowded and lively later in the evening (we went around 6:30) so is still a vibe. It just may not be up everyone's alley. The ladies that served us were friendly and made sure our broth was filled and boiling at a good level. There is a fridge to help yourself to unlimited beverages (grass jelly and milkis included!), a sauce station, and an ice cream station with a good variety of flavors (matcha, red bean, birthday cake, chocolate, etc). The hot pot menu has a decent array of meat, seafood, veg, and noodle. The portion for each selection is pretty small and we regretted not ordering more our first time around. The meat is ok - it's thicker and tougher than what I'm used to. Overall the quality is fine; I didn't feel comfortable getting the seafood here based on a couple reviews but had no issues with what we got. If you're looking for a really casual, fun experience with your friends then this place could be for you. Just remember to inhale your food before time runs out!

Great staff! Very attentive and polite. Food was amazing. Highly recommend. It was a very calming and relaxed atmosphere.

One of the best AYCE hot pot places in NYC. Not only is it AYCE hot pot, but it's also AYCE drinks (non-alcoholic) and ice cream! Not only do they serve unlimited soft drinks, but they also have a variety of Asian drinks like tea and soy milk (the soy milk is SO GOOD). Aside from the amazing AYCE options, the menu also offers more meat options than other AYCE places. The outside does look somewhat questionable, but it's clean inside. The food quality was great - no complaints aside from the time limit. It does get pretty crowded inside (especially when people are lining up for the sauce bar), but they also offer outdoor seating. Definitely recommend this place if you are looking for a good AYCE place in Manhattan.

Why was this one of the best hot pots I've had in the US. For some reason, I was able to call ahead of time and make a reservation on Lunar New Year Eve which was pretty incredible. We got seated immediately when we came and just FYI, the clock starts ticking the reservation begins so if you arrive at 6:15 but your reservation time is 6, 15 minutes has already gone by.Here's my favorite things about the place:- There are so many side items that were included in the price including all of these different Asian beverages and so many different flavors of ice cream. I couldn't believe you could get as many grass jelly drinks AND 王老吉 as you wanted which I definitely capitalized on. Not sure if that's the best of use of stomach space, but oh well. The free ice cream also included wafers and you can just take it to go. Honestly, it was incredible.- The hot pot itself had so many ingredient options. I think there was 5+ leafy vegetables which was already very notable as I feel like in most places, they only have napa cabbage and that's about it. I love that they also had daikon which is such an underrated hot pot ingredient.- The meat cuts here were also amazing. All the meat was incredibly tender, especially the lamb, and dipping it into the sauce you can make by yourself is just wow.- The service was incredibly quick. You order and within 5 minutes they have all the food brought to your table. I literally cannot rave about this place enough and I will definitely come back for more hot pot in the future. You will definitely feel extremely full after coming here and it's fun to come with more friends so you can try out all their different things they have to offer. Ugh, I'm already dreaming about this place.

Excellent hot pot, great service (thank you Sandy!), and comfortable setting. Love this place, go when you are hungry ($40+ pp all you can eat in 100 minutes). On a cold and rainy day, go early, otherwise, be prepare to wait.We went at about 6pm on a rainy Saturday, it was quite busy but we only had to wait about 15 minutes. But afterwards, I think people had to wait quite a long time.We were quite happy with the very extensive selections of spicy and non-spicy soup base. We tried a beef based and a vegetarian based, both were very good. There is also a large selection of meat, tofu, balls, vegetables. Try a bit of many things and they are very prompt in getting seconds and adding soup when we needed. Alcohol drinks are extra, but all the soft drinks and ice creams (!) are part of the deal, including coconut drinks, lychee drinks, and yogurt juices! There are also many different flavors of ice creams after you are fully satisfied from the hot pot, so be sure to save just a little bit of room.Excellent Service: several servers were all pretty friendly, our waitress Sandy was particularly warm and helpful. She offered us to the drinks while we were waiting for our table, and she was prompt, courteous, and patient during our meal. I know the servers are pretty busy and stressed in these types of busy hot pot places, so I think it's worth noting.The other thing about the service was: I think they set up their processes very well. As we walked in, we can see all the vegetables were organized neatly in the front, so when they get our orders, they can quickly get everything for us in a few minutes.Tips: the shrimp pastes were pretty special, you can put it in with the tofu dishes as soon as they start heating the soups. They should be ready once the soup boils.Restroom: just one unisex room, they kept it pretty clean.

The non spicy broths were extremely bland and the sauce bar was not as extensive as other locations I've been. A lot of the food was frozen which made it taste not fresh and took very long to cook. The only pro for me is the complimentary drinks and ice cream. But for about $40 each person, there are other places in the area that are similar in price or lower and much better. I probably won't return.