Pau Hana Patrol: Little Sheep makes hot-pot tasty, fun

In China, hot pot is a mainstay during cold weather. For the often-frigid Chinese New Year period, a household might keep one going for days on end, so when family or friends come by, fresh, hot soup is waiting for them. In my family, it was always an occasion when we got the hot pot out. It meant tender slivers of meat, cooked to your own personal taste, great soup and fun at the table.

The problem was the preparation is rather complicated. A traditional pot is heated by charcoal, so you have to get those started. Place the charcoal in a bottom pan, put the bundt-cake-like hot pot with a center smokestack on top of that, putting water in the pan to heat it. If the water cools, throw some more charcoal into the fire via the smokestack. Then you either have to special-order the meat to make sure it’s sliced thin enough, or get a fancy slicer yourself.

THE EXPERIENCE

Restaurants like Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot, an elegant spot in Ward Village, take care of all that trouble for you. Instead of a charcoal-heated pot, there’s simply a hot plate-like burner on the table that keeps a shallow pan of broth hot enough to cook. There’s no charcoal to emit noxious CO2 into the dining room (although I admit to liking that hint of smoke in the air). The meat comes in great variety, from lamb to beef and pork to seafood, all presliced and attractively presented on elegant platters.

Little Sheep’s decor combines industrial-tech with contemporary chic. While pipes and ducts cover the ceiling, the walls are clad in horizontal wooden slats, giving it a Danish-modern look. There are plenty of tables; a banquet room is available for larger gatherings.

THE FOOD

For many, the attraction of hot pot is the DIY aspect. You cook the meat and veggies to your own taste, although the meat is sliced so thin that it usually cooks within seconds. Then there are the dipping sauces. People have their own preferences, usually blending soy sauce with things like sesame oil, garlic, hot oil or vinegar to one’s own taste.

This is where Little Sheep stands out. Although a sauce bar offers all manner of different ingredients, manager Johnny You told us that Little Sheep simmers its broth for at least eight hours before it even reaches the table.

“We actually tell people not to use sauce,” he said. That’s advice well-taken. I went the entire meal without using any extra sauce and was completely satisfied with how the broth flavored items.

Little Sheep offers two kinds of broth: a “milky” bone marrow broth and a spicy bone marrow broth. You can order both; they’ll come in a divided pan to make sure they don’t mix. Both offer a wonderful, rich flavor to the meat, with the chili peppers adding zing to things cooked in the spicy broth.

No food items are offered for happy hour, but prices are reasonable. We ordered the prime-aged lamb from New Zealand ($9.95), pork belly ($7.95) and tiger prawns ($9.95), all of which cooked up wonderfully tender and tasty. Along with veggies like baby bok choi ($4.95), baby bamboo shoots ($4.50) and watercress ($6.95), it was plenty for two people.

Little Sheep also offers a $25.99 “all you can eat” special every day, lunch and dinner.

THE DRINK

Happy-hour discounts are offered on several beverages. A nice variety of cocktails is offered at $6 ($7.50 regularly), from margaritas to daiquiris, a traditional mai tai and various coladas. We had an Orange Cassis and a Blue Hawaii. Both were very refreshing; the Blue Hawaii, which comes whipped and creamy, was particularly attractive.

Beers are $3 a pint (that’s $1 or $2 off during happy hour) and $8 a pitcher (regularly $12) for a variety of drafts: Bud Lite, Coors Lite, Stella Artois, Kirin, Sapporo, Goose Island IPA, Kona Big Wave and Shock Top. Sake warm and cold can be had for $4 (regularly $6-$12).

THE VERDICT

Little Sheep is part of a chain that, while based in China, has spread to 39 locations in the U.S. and Canada and another dozen in Japan. It’s succeeded at taking the muss and fuss out of hot pot — with regular hot pot, you have to wait several hours for the charcoal to cool down before you can safely move it — and leaving the fun in.

The taste can be up to you and your sauce-making availability, although relying on Little Sheep’s hard-earned broth works well enough, too. There’s nothing quite like taking those fine, wonderfully delicate meat slices and popping them directly from soup to mouth.