Boston Restaurant Blog -- June, 2008

I have been trying to get to Quincy's Little Q Hotpot for ages it seems, finally having a chance to try it last week. And it was well worth the wait, although I am kicking myself for not having gone there sooner. This rather plain-looking Mongolian restaurant has a lot going for it--tasty and healthy food, "interactive" dining, helpful servers, plenty of seating, and decent prices--and although I made a big mess from start to finish (and probably ruined some of my clothes), it was a truly memorable experience.

When we first sat down, we were a bit confused as to what we should actually be doing, but the server helped explain everything to us. You start by choosing a broth (or in our case, two broths using a partitioned pot), then you choose your meats and vegetables as well as what type of noodles you want. Then it is just a matter of heating the broth in the pot that is placed within the table, and placing the food in the pot. For us, the tricky part was knowing how long to put each item in (for instance, veggies might take a few minutes, while meat can take as little as 15 seconds). We did get the hang out it pretty quickly, though as I said earlier, I must have splashed about a pint of broth all over the table and chairs.

The broths we chose at Little Q Hotpot were spicy and herbal, with spicy having much more flavor than the herbal, though the herbal did have a wonderful aroma. For meats, we chose chicken and rib eye, both of which were sliced very thin, making them cook extremely quickly. We also chose clear cellophane noodles, and for veggies, we tried the veggie platter, which had watercress, cabbage, and several other items. Everything was delicious, though the spicy broth continued to heat up (spice-wise) with each minute that passed, and by the end of the meal, it was too hot to use, forcing me to combine it with the herbal broth. Both the chicken and the rib eye were outstanding, though the rib eye had more fat than I was used to, and the watercress made for a nice addition to the herbal broth side of the pot.

As many folks have heard, Little Q Hotpot may be closing at some point over the next few years, as the Burgin Parkway is due to be extended into downtown Quincy. I really hope that they will be able to find a place to move to somewhere in the Boston area, as it is perhaps one of the five best restaurants I have been to this year. In the meantime, I'll be going there until the parkway barrels its way into Quincy, and then I'll keep my fingers crossed that Little Q Hotpot turns up somewhere else as soon as possible.

If you would like the address for Little Q Hotpot, here it is: Little Q Hotpot, 1585 Hancock Street, Quincy, MA, 02169. Phone: (617) 773-5888.

Related Blog Entries: Quincy restaurants

Posted by MH, Boston's Hidden Restaurants, on June 12, 2008.
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3 COMMENTS:
A Satisfied Customer said:
We just had Christmas dinner at Little Q. It was our first visit to the restaurant and we went - with an open mind - despite of a few negative reviews of the restaurant we found on the Internet. We indeed were struck by the strong aroma of Chinese herbal medicine as we walked into the restaurant; however, we were not offended by it. Our waitress was very helpful and explained to us in great detail as to how to order our food. We opted for a lobster combination, among other things. With the exception of the fish balls and shrimp balls, which were quite ordinary, we thoroughly enjoyed our food and had a lot of fun cooking it. We didn't know until we received our bill that the restaurant is due to close in a few months. What a shame it is! We wish we'd discovered the restaurant sooner!
Posted on 12/25/08
MH said:
We got back to Little Q a couple of weeks ago. I thought that the food was even better this time around, as the boneless short rib strips and the miso broth were absolutely fantastic. The mushroom platter also added a lot to the hot pot, as did the clear glass noodles. Also, the word is that Little Q probably won't close until later this year--if at all. Stay tuned...
Posted on 1/20/09
Danielle said:
Absolutely the best dining experience you will ever have. Fabulous and friendly staff, comforting, soothing and delicious broths. The absolute freshest meats, seafood and vegetables in Massachusetts! 5 Stars all the way.
Posted on 8/28/09

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