I was invited to this restaurant to meet up with some friends that I had come to know through our study abroad trip to Tianjin in 2009. I keep in touch rather regularly with Lisa using Gchat, but I had not seen or talked to Quincy since that trip. The setting for our reunion was a delightful place up near Sugarhouse at 21st South and 21st East. The owner knew Lisa since she was a regular visitor to this place.
We ordered the hotpot (火锅) without spicy, thus avoiding my lifelong war with 花椒*, or Sichuan peppercorns. We had both chicken and beef with assorted vegetables and tofu. I asked the owner if she had any 木耳, literally woodears or black tree fungus. She did not but did recommend some tasty shiitake (香菇) mushrooms.
When we received the bill, I was quite surprised to note that the experience only cost $19 for each of us. Lisa stated that the more people there are, the less the bill for each person. This so reminded me of China. All in all, this was a great restaurant where I was able to enjoy delicious food and practice my very poor Chinese.
*I do not hate huajiao but only the frequency that it is used, especially in Sichuan. Having lived in Chengdu for a year, I was inundated with the stuff. While most of my friends love it, I never quite caught the bug. I do like it in small portions, though.