No wool over the eyes here: My Hot Pot evening at Little Sheep

When it comes to Chinese hot pot restaurants in Cambodia, the leading brand at play is the Little Sheep chain. I ate at the Phnom Penh location this week and am ready to share how it compared to the many hot pot restauarants I’ve been to in China. For that answer, read on.

For anyone who has lived in China you know what a big deal hot pot is. If there is a significant event coming up on your calendar there, whether date, birthday, business meeting, wedding or even funeral, an evening of hot pot is probably on the cards. And if you are leaning to a night of hot pot here in Cambodia, you will probably end up at a Little Sheep location. 

To read about the best dumplings in Phnom Penh click here.

What is Hot Pot then?

I’ll assume you didn’t just land from Mars so I will keep this brief. Quite literally it is a heated pot, or metal bowl that is usually on top of some heat source, often an open flame, but depending on the restaurant you’re at that might be a hot-plate built into the table. And of course that hot pot is filled with your choice of a broth (spicy or not or..both!)) to cook a selection of raw meats, seafood, tofu, veg and mushrooms in.

The dish originates from Mongolia. Soldiers under the leadership of that “great man of the people” Ghengis Khan used their helmets to cook meat veg and the like, giving birth to, you guessed it, the aptly named hot pot.

And Little Sheep?

Despite 14 years in China and god knows how many trips I’ve made to Little Sheep locations there, I’d never actually looked into the story of the chain. But conveniently the Phnom Penh location’s English menu had a little story at the front to let me know it began in Baotou, Inner-Mongolia.

To read about difference between Inner and Outer Mongolia click here.

Wikipedia told me this. The Little Sheep Group has 300+ restaurants in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, the United States, Japan and Canada. Notice the lack of mention of locations in Cambodia? Never fully trust Wikipedia.

To read why there are no McDonalds locations in Cambodia click here.

Little Sheep Phnom Penh

So enough hot pot based story telling and foreplay, what is Little Sheep Phnom Penh like? 

The huge two-floor franchise is located on Samdech Pan Street (Street 214) and is one of those places that I have looked at longingly when passing by as a reminder of my years in China. Last night I finally decided to take the plunge and indulge myself.

The set up then goes a little something like this! First you pick your “soup” with the classic choice being to have a 50/50 ying and yang split between spicy and not spicy. Having just had my booster shot I was advised to not have spicy, but alas, I like to live dangerously.

You then select your dishes from the menu. They consist of uncooked meats, meat balls, fish, tofu and vegetables among other things that you are then required to cook yourselves.

You will see hordes of people up at what looks like a buffet table, but in fact it is the sauce station. It holds all manor of spicy, non-spicy and most importantly, peanut based sauces that you can then add stuff like chilis, garlic and spring onion to. Pick your favourites or maybe have a proper mash up to blend your own concoction like i did. This is probably the most exciting bit.

And finally you sit down, throw in what you want and cook it, the order of what you throw in being of paramount importance if you don’t want to get the squirts. When stuff is ready by your judgement you eat it. Following so far? 

Is Little Sheep Phnom Penh any good then?

Food and quality-wise I found it very comparable to China, although the sauce station had perhaps half the ingredients you would find in the Middle Kingdom. As for how everything tasted?

I’ll go all out and compare this to meeting up with an ex you’ve had thoughts about. You remember all the good times only to meet and remember why you broke up. This in a nutshell was my trip to Little Sheep. Chinese hot pot is actually really overrated, but alas this was not something I realised until last night. Seems I had conveniently decided to forget that in some China nostalgia filled state or another. 

Yes you make your own sauce and yes you cook it how you want, but in the end it is thin small bits of meat that mostly taste bland, or overly spicy. And then there is the price. Clearly the work of evil geniuses. 

You basically cook the food yourself, so no need for much kitchen staff. The wait staff’s main task is to bring your dishes of raw ingredients to the table. As for drinks? Those are plunked on the table, unopened. And here’s the real kicker. You pay through the nose for all this. 

Small plates of beef, or pork cost $10 a pop at Little Sheep Phnom Penh and even without drinks, two of you dining will run $50+ for a meal that was OK, not mind blowing. And to add insult to injury, you had to cook yourself.

So there, I’ll say it, Chinese hot pot is overrated and overpriced. And I mean everywhere, as opposed to accusing Little Sheep of unnecessary “fleecing”. I will say though that if you have an urge for hot pot, Little Sheep is at least authentic and a nice room.

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