The Orion Hot Pot opened in October, 2024, in Arvada, Colorado.
My first impression of the restaurant and its atmosphere was surprisingly pleasant compared to the outside of the building. I was immediately greeted and seated by the host, with no wait. When I was handed the menu, they explained how the restaurant worked and how it was a buffet style restaurant. What they did not mention at the start, were the rules for the restaurant. Some of the rules may seem customary, but for new diners, it may come as a shock. Rules listed at the end of the menu included a 90 minute limit for dining in, an extra fee for any leftover food, and you are only allowed two orders of meat at a time per person.
Looking at the menu, there were eight different options to choose for my broth and nine different options to choose for the meat. The waitress suggested the most popular choice, which is the Tom Yum broth, and the beef brisket for my meat of choice. I picked out my other sides to go in my broth. They had a plentiful display of all the different types of sides of food and sauces, varying from different types of noodles, sea food, vegetables, and other traditional sides.
When I was handed my broth and meat, I first tried the broth on its own. The taste of the broth was unexpectedly sour, but not overpowering at all; it had hints of tomato and was slightly spicy. When you cook the meat inside the broth on its own, it picks up some flavors from the broth, but it stays rather bland.
For my sides, I put all of them in the broth, which included potatoes, rice cakes, noodles, and some lettuce. I let that all simmer in the broth for about 5-10 minutes. The noodles immediately picked up the broth’s flavor, especially the spiciness. When paired with the rest of the food, like the meat, the crunch of the lettuce, and the chewiness of the rice cakes, it all blended together nicely, creating a savory and salty taste. It wasn’t overpowering — all the textures made the dish pleasant and exciting to eat — but after my first or second bite, it seemed to be lacking some flavors, which disappointed me. After I tried all of my sides inside the broth, I was still delighted by the food and the slight flavors picked up from the broth.
Overall, the restaurant’s service, food, and ambiance were wonderful. As I think about the food and layout of the buffet style restaurant, I realize that the way everything tasted might have been a user-error, because when you go up to get all your food, there is a selection of different types of sauces, which I did not choose. I wanted the initial taste of the food’s quality and the broth, but I do think that if I had added any of the sauces, it might have added some flavors that the food was lacking. I might have liked a more potent broth so the food could pick up additional flavor, though.
In general, I honestly enjoyed my time at Orion Hot Pot, and I found the experience both exciting and memorable.
