A new option for hot pot

It was a sad day in 2019 when Aunty’s Ramen closed its doors. “Aunty” is Susend Tran, whom many had followed for decades from the time she opened Sweet Home Café, streamlining and speeding the process of putting the Taiwanese hot pot on the table by stocking refrigerators with an array of self-serve ingredients.

Regulars affectionately dubbed the hard-working, people-pleasing restaurateur “aunty,” so after selling Sweet Home Café, she opened a new restaurant in McCully in 2016, naming it Aunty’s Ramen.

While we fretted that we had enjoyed our last of Aunty’s hot pots, Tran was living her best life at the beach every day, basking in the life of a retiree. She had no intention of entering the fray again until, she explained, the owners of Kickin’ Kajun came calling.

About to move into a bigger venue at Kapolei’s Ka Makana Alii, they had a proposal involving their soon-to-be-empty space. If she brought her expertise in food and hospitality, they would take care of all the business aspects of running a restaurant, the part she didn’t like. And just like that, Aunty’s Hotpot House was born, opening in July.

And her old regulars came back in droves, even if they complained about the long drive west. Scanning the room, she blurts with genuine surprise, “People love me,” placing her hand over her heart without a touch of ego, only awe, appreciation and humility.

The restaurant brings back the refrigerator cases full of ingredients to add to individual hot pots, and what’s new are a number of Taiwanese street-style dishes such as a giant fried pork chop ($13.99) and three-cup chicken ($11.99), which typically refers to a sauce comprising equal parts soy sauce, rice wine and sesame oil, but here, entails sake, soy sauce and rock sugar, which turns out to be more balanced than expected.

Taiwanese fried chicken is listed as salt and pepper chicken ($11.99), and the white pepper flavor and addition of garlic chips and fried basil separate it from its Cantonese counterpart. It also comes with a house chili mayo sauce.

There is also a trio of pork belly bao ($10.99), and beef and cheese gau gee ($9.99) which must be eaten while still hot. If left sitting, the wonton wrap starts getting soggy and mozzarella congeals, making it more rubbery than melty, oozy goodness.

If you’re ordering these extras, it’s best to finish before you start your hot pot because chances are, you won’t have room for all the ingredients you might pull out of the refrigerators.

Ordering your hot pot is straight-forward. Everyone gets their own pot so germaphobes don’t have to worry where everyone else’s chopsticks have been. There are eight broths priced at $2 with beef, chicken, seafood or vegetable bases. The beef-based broths will give you spicy and Vietnamese sweet-sour options. You can get a combination pumpkin-and-tomato flavor with either chicken or vegetable broths. Because I would be adding meat to my pot anyway, I went with the pumpkin tomato vegetable broth which had a sweet pumpkin flavor, accented with diced tomatoes. The other vegetable broth option is a house special featuring cilantro and five-spice.

Next, choose from five proteins at $8 each: beef brisket, rib-eye, beef tongue, pork belly or pork shoulder. Wagyu is also available at market price. I wish they offered lamb, but brisket was fine.

At this point, you can walk over to the refrigerators and take your pick of greens, fresh seafood and dumplings to add to your pot. Plates are color-coded by price so yellow plates of veggies are $4 and the highest price ($8) black plates feature such ingredients as a single lobster tail, crab legs, scallops and whole shrimp.

The last step is to pour yourself some sauce. There are nine options and you can try as many as you want, from ginger-garlic to ponzu to tomato oyster. I was sad that there was no sesame sauce, but sensitive Aunty said Japanese clientele complain when seeing it, and she’s tired of hearing it.

Also missing are the additional ingredients that might enhance a sauce, such as chopped cilantro and green onions. This is the part that made me miss Little Sheep Hot Pot. Perhaps more options can be added down the line, but even with these oversights, Aunty has no problem filling seats.

Save room for the eatery’s signature free dessert, featuring the shave ice of the day. One day it might be pineapple and black sugar; the next day, a refreshing brown sugar boba shave ice with almond pudding and black grass jelly. Even if you were full before dessert, you might end up drinking every last drop of the melting shave ice.

Aunty’s Hot Pot House

Ka Makana Alii,
91-5431 Kapolei Pkwy., Kapolei
Food: ***
Service: ***
Ambiance: ***
Value: ****
Call: 808-670-2813
Hours: Noon-8 p.m. Sunday-Monday, Noon-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, and Noon-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays
Prices: About $60-$70 for two without alcohol

Nadine Kam’s restaurant visits are unannounced and paid for by Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Follow Nadine on Instagram (@nadinekam) or on YouTube (youtube.com/nadinekam).