Chinatown's Little Sheep, or Hot Pot Hits the Spot

Can’t decide between fondue, Chinese food or a scalding winter soup? It’s time to stop by the all-you-can-eatery Little Sheep in Chinatown for Mongolian Hot Pot.

Never heard of it before?

Here’s the down low: gather two to four friends, each order a personal pot of broth, say yes when they ask if you want platters of raw lamb and beef, and then load up your plates at the buffet. When you get back to the table, bring your soup to a boil with the magnetized hot plate built into the tabletop and start cooking everything you can get your chopsticks on! It’s an outing of guaranteed amusement.

Happy hot potters cooking awesome things

(photo by Andrea Sun)

“It’s really fun, a lot different than what I expected,” said Robyn Barnes, first time hot-potter. “It’s like home economics but just the fun part of eating.”

For anyone terrible at cooking, there’s no need to fret. Sure it’s all about timing to get the perfectly tender slice of meat, but no matter how long something spends in this marvelous broth, it is bound to taste delicious.

The soup bases come in original herbal broth, spicy, half-and-half (with a divider down the middle of the pot to enjoy both original and spicy), and vegetarian mushroom to add a veggie-friendly option. Unless you are the blood of the dragon, it is highly recommended to get either original or half-and-half. The spicy alone has enough ladle-fulls of chili peppers to render your esophagus molten before a single bite reaches your stomach.

There’s a vast array of tastes to be tried at the buffet, from fresh greens (spinach, bok choy, watercress), mushrooms and root vegetables to tofu, dumplings and noodles. Dinner also includes seafood options like shrimp, fish and calamari. Two complaints would be that the plastic curtains hanging in front of the food to keep it “fresh” are a little on the sketchy side, and the labels on the containers rarely match what’s inside leaving a lot of mouthfuls up to guesswork.

There is a ridiculous amount of food to gorge yourself on

(photo by Andrea Sun)

The desserts are surprisingly good, so save some room if possible for their mini whipped-cream pies, macaroons and tubs of mysterious ice cream flavours.

In all, the place has a cute semi-formal, semi-kitsch look to it, with tall booths-for-four for privacy and tables-for-two with a single hot plate in the middle to share. K-Pop keeps the background beat lively and the matching music videos on strategically placed plasma screens provide entertainment when mouths are too full for conversation.

The ever-polite staff may not be the most talkative, but they are considerate and extremely quick, and will even top off your broth if they notice your soup level is too low.

Considering it’s an all-you-can-eat, the price is very reasonable. Lunch is $15, and though dinner is noticeably more expensive at $25, this is because of the seafood offered at this time. Soft drinks and juice are included in the price.

Little Sheep closes after lunch at 3pm and then reopens later for dinner. For anyone who doesn’t have cash on them, that’s fine – debit and credit are accepted.

While Little Sheep’s hot pot does deviate from its authentic Mongolian origins, this evolved Chinatown specialty is arguably the best of its kind in Montreal. Perfect for a casual date or a no-occasion outing with friends.