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Richmond hot pot restaurant has soup for the soul

The hot pot scene in Richmond is not rare, but this new restaurant is offering soup broths described as the soul for the cuisine.
hot pot
Philip Wang, manager at Happy Lamb Hot Pot, shows off the restaurant's soup and lamb specialties.

The hot pot scene in Richmond is not rare, but this new restaurant is offering soup broths described as the soul for the cuisine.

Happy Lamb Hot Pot, which opened its doors last November, has taken over Little Sheep Mongolian’s old spot at Lansdowne Centre.

Philip Wang, manager at Happy Lamb Hot Pot, describes the soup as the most important part of the meal.

“The soup broth is the soul in hot pot where people can put various types of food they like into the soup,” said Wang, adding that food added to the soup is like adding personality to the soul.

The two most popular broths, said Wang, is the “house original” milky-looking broth and the “house spicy,” which is dried Sichuan peppers and house-made chili oil added to the house original soup.

“The (house original) soup is very rich and is as white as milk from the simmering chicken bones.”

He added that both broths contain longan, goji berries, black cardamom pods and angelica root – ingredients that have health benefits.

The Inner Mongolia-based restaurant offers more than 20 different styles of meat including lamb, beef and seafood.

Because Inner Mongolia is famous for their lamb, said Wang, the restaurant offers “one-of-its-kind” lamb meat that is imported from various countries.

“Our lamb meat has different flavours depending on where they come from. Some are from New Zealand and Australia, while others come from Canada.

“We also have special lamb dishes offered only at the Richmond location such as fresh lamb cuts as opposed to frozen.”

The restaurant opened with hopes to bring together the community and provide a welcoming and comfortable meal to its customers, said Wang.

“Hot pot is made for sharing and we decided to open in Richmond because of (the city’s) inclusiveness and different cultures.”