Bangkok Restaurant - HOTPOT!

Front entrance to Bangkok Restaurant

There are only a handful of good hotpot restaurants in Edmonton, and Bangkok Restaurant is easily one of the better ones. Granted, the location and the decor leave something to be desired, but anybody who has tried their Satay soup base cannot argue that it is hands down, THE BEST. It's spicy, peanuty, coconutty and just has that je ne sais quoi that makes it stand out.


Most hotpot places in Edmonton offer ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT, and Bangkok offers theirs for $17.95, in a buffet style.






The Low Down on HOTPOT!
(Also known as steam boat, shabu shabu, any other names?)


If you have never tried hotpot, it is basically Oriental style fondue, except that different types of broth are used in place of oil, chocolate, cheese, etc. As well, the ingredients used are much more diverse, and although there are a number of essential items, many of the ingredients are selected on the basis of personal preference. In general, expect assorted sliced meat (beef being the most popular), assorted meat balls (fish, squid, beef, you name it!), seafood, noodles, and veggies. Depending on the type of soup base, you will also have a flavorful dip used to dip cooked items before nomming.

Table set up ^___^ // nom nom nom!

Most restaurants will offer a pot with two sides, so that you can choose two different soup broths. As far as I know, Bangkok Restaurant only offers regular chicken broth and their Satay, so of course we got both. Most people tend to like each type of broth for cooking different items, so it's uncommon to only have one type of broth.

All the sauces for you to play with :3

Unless you goto a hotpot restaurant where the soup base is intended to be salty and flavorful enough, there will always be an area for you to create your own dipping sauce.


Bangkok has a good selection, and their house made XO  sauce (an oil based sauce containing dried scallop, dried Chinese ham, and fried garlic) is actually so popular that they sell it by the jar. Their satay sauce is also a must try, and I believe they make it in house as well, but I'm not sure on that. The fried garlic oil is also made in house, and incredibly good. Every other sauce is fairly common in any hotpot restaurant, however, since Bangkok is Vietnamese owned, the sauces are skewed toward Vietnamese flavors, which I personally like alot. ^__^V Play around until you get the right mix!


All the ingredients offered in their buffet are as follows. Everything is usually very fresh, however, due to the popularity of the sliced beef, you might have to wait for refills on it.

Apparently tong ho choi is also known as "edible Chrysanthemum" (the flower!). Who knew! Unfortunately, I only know that choi sum directly translates to "vegetable heart", and usually refers to this specific vegetable, which my friend actually grows in the summer time :3


Bangkok also serves an assortment of Asian beverages that go well with hotpot, and are meant to be "cooling'' in contrast to the heat of the hotpot. Beer is probably my favorite drink with hotpot, which they also offer a large variety of. I like sticking with the beers native to South Eastern Asia, as they're usually made to be enjoyed with spicy food.

Dessert table! <3 <3 <3

And who could forget about dessert?! Don't skip it, they're worth trying. Most are of Vietnamese and Thai origin, and taste good mixed together.


Bangkok is definitely one of my favorite go-to's when I'm too lazy to get all the ingredients for hotpot, and the fact that they're open late is definitely a plus! Til midnight daily and til 2am on Friday and Saturday.


The only other advice I will offer is, DO NOT GO IF YOU HAVE TO GO SOMEWHERE IMPORTANT AFTER!!! Hotpot is generally a smelly endeavor since you are basically cooking while you eat, but I find that Bangkok in particular has a really poor ventilation system. You will smell like meat and broth and all sorts of tasty things, but that might not be what you're going for if you're about to hit a party or the bar...