Little Sheep Hot Pot – Ward Center, Hawaii

Little Sheep Hot Pot opened up in Ward Center about two months ago. It’s located on the second floor right next to the old Borders (Boy do I miss Borders guys). I was excited to see another hot pot place open up but the reviews soon after opening was not great. I definitely held off of going because of it…bad reviews and long wait times are not my cup of tea. Well I was off during a weekday and decided to check them out for lunch since they are known for having a pretty good lunch deal. It was an okay experience overall with a very bumpy start. We were the second ones in the door and there were a lot of people there. We were one of the first ones to order and can you guess? I watched as every table starting getting their food and my anger grew. Hello. We all order the same thing. Raw sides and a pot of soup, no tell me my soup takes longer to boil. The waiter apologized profusely and said there was a mistake. Okay, fine. Even after the apologies, it took a long while to get my pot of soup and sides. His English wasn’t that great so he kept saying, give me a minute….which sounds rather rude the way he said it. Well, service was pretty good after the food arrived though. The waiter was constantly walking up and down to check in. He could tell I was plenty steamed and when the food got there, I ordered rice. It’s $1.00 per bowl of rice…but they were pretty generous with it. He said, okay I got it. Like insinuating he was giving us the rice on the house because of the crazy slow service (he didn’t – why am I not surprised?). Anyhow, Let’s check out the food!

140725-01If you’re looking for a classy decor for hot pots, this place would be it.

140725-02Watermelon Juice is worth all the money in the land. This carafe costs $6.95. Incredibly refreshing and tastes like the perfect fresh and sweet watermelon. You can’t beat it!!

140725-03My sauces. They have one sauce bar, and it has nothing on Sweet Home Cafe. It’s very simple but do-able. They also have raw cilantro, green onion and garlic. I love that.

140725-04$12.95 for the lunch set. It comes with this and a soup of your choice for hot potting. We definitely over ordered…we got two sets so it was two of these!

140725-051/2 order Bean Curd Knots – $2.95
Do you see the texture of this by looking at it? Doesn’t it look like…rubber gloves cut and tied into knots? It looked and felt that way a bit. It didn’t taste like rubber gloves but I gotta say the look and texture threw me off. I wouldn’t order it again.

140725-061/2 Order Watercress – $3.95
A bit pricey but these greens went perfect with the soups we got!

140725-071/2 Order Sausages – $3.75
Pretty good! Tasted a bit like a Chinese version of Longanisa. I enjoyed it.

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140725-09Pork Belly – $7.95
Look at the presentation of the pork belly. I think that’s included in the price…hehe. Thinly sliced, you gotta really hold onto the meat as you put it in the soup because it shrivels fast and you can lose it real quick.

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House Spicy Pot / House Original Pot

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Take a look at the spicy pot…can you see what caused our faces to melt?

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We ordered extra spicy…do you see it??

140725-13This soup was like ALL CHILI PEPPERS. I mean look at it! It was crazy hot! We were dying by the end…I’m surprised I never get a stomachache later that night. Was spicy but good!

I just reviewed my receipt and realized they charged us for a child’s meal too. So I think what they do is they charge your party based on your the number of people…and not just the pots of soup you order. I think that’s pretty junk. We had already ordered two sets that easily could feed 3-4 people, so why did they have to tack on the child’s rate? It wasn’t a big fee ($1.98) but gosh, that was unnecessary. So while the food was alright, I’m not exactly rushing back. Well, maybe they could open a juice bar and sell the watermelon juice…