Lao Sze Chaun



The 2 sides to our hot pot (yes red is spicy)

Ok so this is going to be our last experience going to Chinatown for a while.  It really is just kind of a pain for us to get there and find parking at a reasonable cost. But we ventured there this time for Lao Sze Chaun.

Plate of veggies, tofu and seafood

Now Natalie didn't tell Nick until we were there that this place is affiliated with Lao Beijing where we went in January (because we really didn't have good service there). The reason Natalie wanted to come to Lao Sze Chaun is because they offer hot pot.

Crab Rangoon

Hot pot is pretty much a Chinese version of fondue where you have raw meats, fishes and vegetables and you cook them in hot liquid until they are ready.  Then you eat the cooked items with various dipping sauces.  It was a neat experience (and since they brought out all of the food at once we didn't have a weird service issue either like we had at Lao Beijing).  The pot had 2 sides to it - one side had non-spicy liquid and the other side had spicy liquid.  We stuck more with the non-spicy side but did try the spicy one a few times. 

We did the deluxe package ($18.95 per person) so we could try a lot of items.  It came with a huge plate of beef. Then there was another plate with 4 kinds of seafood, tofu, and veggies and then another bowl with noodles. (We didn't know what all of the seafood was but we were adventurous and tried it all.) We had 7 different dipping sauces to come up with quite unique flavors. It was a fun experience and we definitely felt like we got our money's worth.

Plate of beef - so much we couldn't quite finish it all

Various dipping sauces, noodles, seafood and veggies

We had also ordered a crab rangoon appetizer just in case we weren't going to like any of the food.  Although hot pot was fun and unique we probably don't need to do this again because it is a pain to get to or park in Chinatown.  Also if we want a similar type of experience we'll just go to a fondue restaurant where there is a much more subdued/romantic atmosphere.  But Natalie has wanted to do this for a while.  When she was in Beijing many years ago she didn't get to try it there.

We were glad service wasn't too much of an issue like at Lao Beijing, but we did have to wait 25 minutes to get a table (even at 2pm on a Friday). The restaurant has a relatively small interior. 

If we were to go back to Chinatown we would probably go to Triple Crown for Dim Sum - the only problem is that dim sum is only available until about 2pm every day so it would be difficult for us to find a time to get there together.

Lao Sze Chaun has a location in the suburbs so we could go there if we really wanted to - but that location doesn't have hot pot so that is why we went to Chinatown for it.


Final thoughts on Lao Sze Chaun:
Food - the hot pot was a different experience for a Chinese restaurant.  A lot of people walked by our table staring because they didn't know what it was
Service - aside from the wait to get a table, the service was good.  But remember once all the hot pot items were on the table we were pretty self sufficient for a long time.
Atmosphere - it is in the heart of Chinatown. The space inside the restaurant is very small so fortunately it was an okay day outside because that is where we waited until a table was ready.