50 | FEBRUARY 6 • 2020 

W

ith its eye-catching 
murals and hang-
ing colored lights, 
Lao Pot is a decidedly pretti-
er Asian food restaurant than 
others concentrated along 
John R Road 
in Madison 
Heights. The 
area is noted 
for offering this 
healthy style 
of cuisine at 
affordable pric-
es. 
Located just 
south of 14 Mile Road, Lao 
Pot is unique locally for its 
concept as a hot pot restau-
rant. Hot Pot Chen in Ann 
Arbor is one of the few oth-
ers I’
m aware of. 
So, what exactly are “hot 
pot” restaurants? They’
re 
similar and yet different from 
Mongolian barbecue-style 
restaurants, where grilling 
chefs make stir-fries from the 
diners’
 choices of meat, sea-
food, vegetables, sauces and 
seasonings. Hot pot restau-
rants put diners in the driv-
er’
s seat, letting them choose 
the ingredients for a soup 
they will cook themselves. 
At Lao Pot, a small burner 
lies beneath each place-set-
ting at the table. The controls 
are under the table — choose 
“5” to start cooking. The first 
choice to make is the soup 

base. One or two (in a divid-
ed bowl) may be selected 
from a group of eight soups, 
including Tomato Ox Bone, 
Signature Spicy, Tom Yum 
and a vegetarian mushroom. 
I went with the latter two on 
my visits at dinner and lunch.
Other headings on the 
paper menu, with item boxes 
to check off, include meat 
balls, meat, vegetables, sea-
food, live seafood (stored in 
tanks), staple food (noodles 
and rice) and soy products. 
The meat selections 
include items not typically 
desired by Western diners, 
such as boneless chicken feet. 
I played it safe and ordered 
certified Angus beef slices at 
both of my visits. 
The vegetables list, also 
with some unusual varieties, 
is highlighted by a vegetarian 
platter that includes any five 
vegetables and soy products, 
and a mushroom platter. I 
went for spinach, sweet corn, 
Chinese white cabbage and a 
few more. Everything arrived 
in huge quantities in pails or 
on platters. Here’
s my sug-
gestion: Share your stuff. You 
don’
t need two orders of the 
same things, just order two 
soups. Also, visit the bar with 
myriad dipping sauces, cilan-
tro and garlic to make your 
soup even more individual 
and delicious.

I preferred the lunch 
special with its set menu: 
one soup base, pre-select-
ed veggies, limited meat 
and seafood choices and a 
starch. The categories are 
Vegetarian, 1 Meat, 2 Meat, 
Surf & Turf and Seafood 
Combo. Prices increase a bit 
for the Regular Combo, from 
3-9 p.m. You’
ll likely bring 
soup home.
Egg dumplings are 
among the specialty items. 
Appetizers range from 
Sesame Ball to Tempura 
Green Tea Ice Cream. 
Seven varieties of raw Hot 
Pot skewers are available. 
Besides offering a full bar, 
non-alcoholic drinks include 
bubble tea and smoothies. 
Open since Dec. 6, Lao 
Pot has seating for 250. Ricky 
Dong, co-owner of 168 Asian 
Mart on John R, designed 
the contemporary restaurant, 
incorporating traditional and 
modern elements. 

Lao Pot

Esther 
Allweiss 
Ingber 
Contributing 
Writer

dining around the d
Nosh

Lao Pot

32707 John R Road
Madison Heights, MI 48071
(248) 689-9888
laopot.com
$$½ out of $$$$

PHOTOS VIA YELP

LAO POT FACEBOOK

