Hou Yi Hot Pot

Like many other Chinese restaurants in Manhattan, this place is really not that good, but somehow still enjoys such rave reviews.
The wait staff understood virtually no English and wasn’t able to answer our questions. I could’ve tried speaking to them in Mandarin, but it didn’t seem necessary since this didn’t significantly affect the entire dining experience.
The «broth» that came out was basically water and bouillon. It was hardly spicy for something that’s supposed to be Sichuan style. The whole point of boiling your food in flavorful broth is to have FLAVORFUL BROTH. A truly well made broth is thick and made of beef bones! Having had amazing hot pot experiences in Flushing, I can’t tell you how upset this made me.
Let’s just say that the next day, my digestive system felt equally upset.

So delicious! Their selection is great, all the dishes are super fresh. The portions they bring u are kind of small but i get it, since it’s a buffet hotpot. U just have to ask for more. What stood out most to me were the servers. Oh gollies how friendly they are! They kept adding soup base to our pot, asked us if we wanted anything more, and recommended desserts for us. Keep up the good work Hou Yi!

Officially completed the Manhattan all you can eat hot pot tri fecta: 99 Favor Taste, Hometown, and now the brand new Hou Yi in East Village. Hou Yi’s value prop (different from its two major competitors) is all you can eat (including ice cream but I guess other hot pot places also have desserts/​ice cream) AND all you can drink. The drinks include a variety of Asian delights (guava juice, special apple juice) and YAKULT (I think this alone got me because I LOVE that yogurt stuff) but they also allow Hou Yi to tack on a premium to their price: the post tip and tax total came out to $ 37.50 per person. Well played Hou Yi, well played. For the option of drinking everything you want, you pretty much pay $ 10 more than other ACYE hot pot places. The only problem is, you probably can’t drink $ 10 worth of liquids. Or if you did, you would probably end up doing less of the eating. Not exactly a fan of such a large price hike, but gotta hand it to them for knowing how to do business.
This place has a fantastic location: right smack in the middle of East Village. Make a reservation or you’ll definitely have to wait. There’s a fair amount of space but definitely not as much either 99 Favor or Hometown. It was especially crowded for us because we went on Lunar New Year day. The thing that kind of frustrated me when we finally sat down was that the tables were very small (seriously barely enough room to fit everything) and you have to share a pot (so not as convenient/​personalized as the other two hot pot places). However, the latter actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we got one side extremely spicy (you can adjust spiciness level and we chose the highest) and the other side plain beef. The plain side was a saving grace because the spicy side was insane. We could barely talk to each other through the pain. It was DELICIOUS and absolutely worth it, but definitely SERIOUSLY spicy, so choose wisely.
And now for the most important part: the food itself. I thought the quality was excellent. Everything was cut well and there was a great selection. I especially enjoyed the Hong Kong fish balls, fish fillet, and lotus. The staff is fairly quick at bringing you things but you have to constantly ask for them.
So overall pros: fresh food, great selection, convenient location, YAKULT (and other drinks I guess), and a non-​spicy broth actually worth eating. Cons: somewhat questionable service (we were slow to get seated and waitresses weren’t great about bringing basic things like water) but that may improve over time, small tables, fairly crowded, and definitely somewhat overpriced. I am not opposed to coming back but for now don’t really see a reason why I would go here especially instead of just sticking with 99 Favor.

By now, I’ve tried three AYCE hot pot places in the city: 99 Favor Taste, Hometown Hot Pot, and this. Out of the three, Hou Yi definitely WINS on broth.
For the broths, you can customize the spiciness level. My friend and I decided to do half non-​spicy beef broth and half super-​spicy beef broth. My goodness, heed the waiter’s warnings because this spice is NO JOKE. I could not stop coughing during this meal, but nonetheless, I have zero regrets. Just make sure you get the non-​spicy beef broth as well to counter the spiciness of the other one. Plus, the non-​spicy broth is super savory and delicious, great for drinking! Most other places tend to have very bland non-​spicy broths, so I was really impressed at how excellent this tasted.
Overall, the items on the menu are of very good quality. Standouts for me included the meats, crab, fish filet, mushrooms, and the HONG KONG FISH BALLS! I can’t imagine going wrong with anything on the menu.
The price here is definitely higher than standard ($ 37 including tip and tax), but given the unlimited ice cream and Asian beverages (#blesstheYakult), Hou Yi definitely has the most comprehensive selection. Personally, I was far too full to eat any ice cream, and I definitely did not drink $ 10 worth of beverages, but I still managed to force down 4 Yakults (aka BEST DRINK EVER!)
Where Hou Yi really misses the spot is the service. Our estimated 5-​min wait for a table turned into half an hour. The waiter didn’t bring us any water, didn’t refill our glasses, didn’t replace our dirty plates without us asking first. If you’re one with low patience, you will be easily annoyed here.

I’ve been to a lot of hot pot places in nyc and Hou Yi has the most flavorful soup base. Highly recommended! The price per person is a little more than other places like 99 Favor Taste but it is well worth it.

Seriously concern on food security!!! I have tried all hot pot places in nyc! And this is the only one that got me stomach sick all times!!! Really bad sickkkk!!! Questioning what kinda materials they use to make spicy sauce and others!!!

If you are staying or traveling in New York, do not miss Hou Yi Hot Pot. The base for the hotpot is delish as well, with fresh selections of ingredients. Besides, if you are a vege eater, Hou Yi Hot Pot, has also great selections of garden vegs. It is a place to be recommended.

I usually don’t like hotpot very much. It’s pricy and doesn’t fill you up and takes forever etc. My friends have enlightened me to the fact that the appeal of hotpot is the long slow communal process because it allows for conversation. Luckily this is AYCE hotpot, albeit slightly pricy but what do you expect in the middle of East Village? I do have to say that you get what you pay for. It felt like staying at a luxury hotel with all expenses paid for. Think about the drinks and room service you could pay for at a hotel, now imagine they were complementary to your room. Chances are as a young’un you had some of these Yakult «yogurt fermented probiotic soft drinks.» I know I wished I could drink as many as I wanted as a child. Well now you can! You probably shouldn’t but you can! The free drinks selection is substantial. They have free soda (soda dispenser to be implemented) but they have classic Asian drink varieties. A fellow table adopted the same strategy we had of trying all the options (beware it leaves less room for food :().
tl;dr bountiful drink options;Yakult heaven
As of this review, the location is rather new so it’s a reasonably filled house but not packed. The entire place is warm and on the verge of humid, understandable from the evaporation from hotpot. Entering from cold, my friend’s glasses fogged up. The service is attentive and very friendly. They will ask if you’d like to restock and refill your soup when appropriate. They even provided raw eggs for my friend upon request! (Apparently it’s a thing to mix in the yolk into the primarily shacha sauce labeled bbq sauce and let the whites cook in the soup) If the place becomes packed we’ll have to see if they hold up.
tl;dr attentive service
The waiters and waitresses will probably warn you if you choose a spicy base soup. It’s legitimate spicy. My dad enjoys straight peppers and knows his spices. He wouldn’t settle for spice catered to the masses so I wouldn’t recommend this place to him if it wasn’t up to par and I’m taking him here; the spice level are no joke. The mild spicy is probably medium spicy at other places and the medium is probably just under the extra spicy option. You’ll realize your mistake when it comes out and you’re coughing, tearing up, and sneezing from the fumes. It’s good and will trap you into trying all the options of drinks. The meat is quality and fresh, what more can you ask for? Ice cream? All you can eat self serve.
tl;dr quality meat. spicy is spicy. AYCE ice cream
Tip: if you want straight water as the drinks are all sugary the soda fountain has cups and water and ice available. If you want tea they have green tea instant and bags

What a place. 730PM Friday night and I asked for a table for two. The restaurant was 90% empty on a Friday night. There were two tables with a couple customers each, perhaps 20 empty tables. The host said «There is a 27 dollar minimum per person and you can only stay for two hours.» I blinked. Did I look like a homeless person? Mental check. no. OK, I said, table for two please. The host repeated that there was a 27 $ minimum per person and a maximum table stay of two hours. An old friend whom I had not seen in almost a year and I were going to have a long, leisurely dinner that would no doubt involve spending rather more than 27 $ per person. But the host repeated his admonitions a third time. I asked to speak with a manager. The host said there was no manager. I told the host, politely, I am trying to have dinner at your restaurant, which is empty, with an old friend, who is on his way now. He repeated the minimum charge requirement. I walked in and, addressing a group of three waiters standing with nothing to do, asked politely if I could please speak with a manager. One of them said, gesturing toward the host, «He is the manager.» I walked back, asked him if he was in fact the manager, and he replied «No, there is no manager.» I left. We went to Porsena, around the corner, where we spent about 240 $ on dinner.

This place has the BEST hotpot. It’s very clean. I love their music. I really love hotpot, especially buffet. I’m so exciting they open one at this location.

Not bad. Expensive but since you get unlimited soda and ice cream I can’t complain. Their variety of Asian drinks was nice. The Hot Pot came quick and so did the meats. Their broth is definitely different from Little sheep in Flushing. Definitely hotter and saltier but not necessarily better. The meat was somewhat frozen when we got it but it was still flexible and the meat that came after was more thawed. (probably since we were the only ones in the restaurant) Ice cream selection was decent but it was lacking Green Tea ice cream which honestly is kinda a big deal for spending 30+ a person for AYCE. The only issue I had with Hou Yi was the fact that one of the girls working was clipping her nails in a trash bin where the self serve ice cream was. There’s no excuse for that honestly. It was gross and distracting but she was fobby so it kinda made sense. I would be less surprised if it happened at their Hester Street location in Chinatown but it happening at their East Village location boggles my mind especially since they just opened.
Also they refill the pot with water instead of broth :/​I don’t understand since you pay so much…

Love this place and was so excited when I learned that they opened a new location that was a lot closer to me. I was also super stoked to find out that no one has added the business to Unilocal yet. This new location is a lot more spacious and nicely decorated than their Chinatown one. They offer the same menu — choose your broth and unlimited assortment of meats, veggies, seafood etc. One of the major differences though was the level of spiciness of their broths. I usually get the hottest level but when I got it here, it was too much for me to stomach and I had to ask them to make it less spicy. Meaning that they are pretty truthful according to their spice levels. They had the same unlimited Asian non-​alcoholic drinks, ice cream and sauces to accompany your meal which is absolutely fantastic. Definitely worth the $ 30 pp that you’re spending on all the food and drinks! The waiters were also super attentive here, but I also came where there was barely anyone due it being Sunday and cause it’s a new location.

Had hotpot here with a group of 8. They were very accommodating and the food was really good!
It’s a little on the pricier end for hotpot at ~$ 28 but it is AYCE; however, it does include all the drinks (nonalcoholic — no liquor license yet) and ice cream you want.
They had a great selection of food including blue shell crab and shrimp! Meat seemed fresh as did the vegetables. They had a good selection of broths and the ones we got (beef broth and spicy beef broth) were delicious!
Service was very attentive and quick to get us more food when we were running low!
Overall, a little pricy but good food and good service!