South Bay: Hot Pot Palace

When I found out that the dim sum place by my house had been replaced by a hot pot buffet, I was devastated. I love dim sum. I dislike hot pot. During my visit back home, my parents informed me that they avoided Hot Pot Palace because one of my relatives told them that the food was gross. Fine by me.

So imagine my distaste when a family friend suggested that we eat at Hot Pot Palace instead of getting pho for lunch as we'd originally planned. I couldn't say no...so in we went:

First you're asked what kind of soup base you want:

I went for the original meat stock:

There were two separate counters, one for hot pot ingredients and the other for dim sum:

I think I would've appreciated the entire experience more if I actually liked hot pot. The dim sum was passable but not incredible. The most fun I had was mixing my own sauce from the wide array of condiments available.

$11.99 per person for lunch and $14.99 for dinner. Not too bad. You can definitely eat enough to make it worth it.

Hot Pot Palace Buffet
1628 Hostetter Rd
San Jose, CA 95131
(408) 392-0566