CHINATOWN — Just in time for the long winter, a new Chinese "hot pot" restaurant has opened at a prime corner in the neighborhood's bustling business district.
"Some hot pots are spicy or some focus on seafood. We focus on herbal broths and Mongolian cuisine," said Kecheng Liu, co-owner of Little Lamb, 2201 S. Wentworth Ave. "When you eat hot pot, it keeps you warm."
Located just under the iconic red Chinatown gate, the restaurant opened in mid-December. It's part of an international chain rooted in China but with several outposts in America. The Chinatown location is the first in the Midwest.
The sleek interior dining room has seating for 110. An upstairs karaoke lounge will open sometime next month.
Despite the large menu featuring hundreds of options, ordering at Little Lamb is relatively easy. Diners pick their broth base — chicken and beef, lamb, herbal, tomato and super-spicy Mal La are among the choices — and add a variety of meats, seafood, tofu, vegetables of mushrooms.
A small cauldron of broth will soon be placed atop the tables built-in induction stove, where it will begin boiling and steaming. Plates of thinly sliced raw meats, plates of seafood or vegetables soon follow, and diners drop the raw food into the bubbling broth to cook for a bit.
Also on the menu are house specials, including the cold "wheat jelly" noodles and northwestern China pork meat pies, as well as Mongolian barbecue specialties like grilled chicken wings and the restaurant's showcase dish, a $30 rack of lamb ribs carved tableside by a server.
The average tab without drinks is about $30 per person.
The key to the new restaurant's success, said Liu and partner Chao Huang, will be consistency.
Different Chinese restaurants have chefs specializing in regional cuisines. With hot pot, a chef focuses on the broth and lets diners do the rest.
"The most important thing is to focus on the food quality," Huang said. "Our consistency will have to be high."
Little Lamb, 2201 S. Wentworth Ave., is open 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. weekends. Parking in a nearby lot can be validated at rate of $2 for three hours. Call 312-225-0600 for details.
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