POTTSTOWN PA – The new HiPot Restaurant, located in Pottstown Center at 223 Shoemaker Rd., opened for business Tuesday (Jan. 9, 2024). Advance promotional advertising (at right) said it features a menu of Asian barbeque, Chinese hotpot dishes, seafoods, meats, vegetables, and a variety of beverages that include bubble teas.
HiPot’s owners invested in a thorough renovation of the interior, according to borough documents. The work took about five months to complete, its permits show.
The remodeling involved extensive electrical re-wiring, installations of new interior partition walls, a new vestibule, and comfortable dining accommodations in a deep red color accented with complimenting trims. The interior design differs significantly, and somewhat luxuriously, from what past patrons experienced when the space was occupied by the former King Buffet.
“There is tons of seating with a neat way of decorating the walls with projectors,” one Google reviewer wrote, who like other reviewers gave the restaurant a five-stars of five rating for its opening day service. “We enjoyed the atmosphere, decor and cleanliness,” a second reviewer added separately. “The decoration style is unique, the service is very good, and the taste is good,” a third reviewer also said.
The restaurant’s website gallery of its menu items displays an appetizing array of photos of thin-sliced rolled and cooked meat, shrimp dishes, shellfish, fresh vegetables, appetizers, sauces, and specialty dishes. Online ordering is available for both hot pot and barbeque meals for adults and children.
HiPot is open daily, Monday through Sunday, beginning at 11:30 a.m., its website states. Although the website on Wednesday reported its daily closing time as 9 p.m., a HiPot representative contacted Wednesday (Jan. 10) by phone said the closing hour had been extended to 10:30 p.m. More information is offered by phone at 484-644-3236.
The hot pot dining ‘experience’
Thrillist, a Vox Media Network national online publication that specializes in dining and travel, refers to hot pot as a “communal dining” experience. Diners at the same table “cook an array of ingredients … in a single pot of simmering seasoned broth, heated on an induction burner or electric range,” until ready to dip into accompanying sauces and be eaten.
Volunteer advisors at the Quora knowledge database generally agree that hot pot dining offers health benefits due to both its ingredients and preparation. Its dishes, they wrote, often rely on lean proteins like chicken and seafood, accompanied by a plentiful and nutrient-dense variety of vegetables, and cooking using flavorful and low-sodium broths.
Photo by Travels With The Post
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