The Fashionably-Forward Foodie: Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot

The first thing I have to say about this place? I'm addicted! There are some pretty good AND bad reviews on Yelp about this place, but after having gone just a day ago, I've already planned my next visit. Little Sheep is new to Hawaii, but not to SF, LA, San Diego or Asia. There are a number of restaurants in Hong Kong Island and Macau, and according to our waiter, 14 different locations in Japan. I posted an Instagram picture of our hot pot, and many of my friends (living in LA) commented about how much they loved Little Sheep! It's a popular place!

They just recently opened, having their Grand Opening just last Friday in the old KA Nightclub in the Victoria Ward Centers. Ample parking, and the restaurant is huge so waiting for a table wasn't a problem at all. They also have a full bar and a menu stock full of different cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks on the menu.

Brandon and I started with Apple and Peach Green Tea with Popping Balls, which was so refreshing and tasty that I had to stop myself from drinking the whole thing before the meal came! Brandon didn't have the self control I did, and finished his before the broth came! We looked over the menu, and were tempted to order the lunch special for $12 something (get it everyday before 3pm!)- pretty good deal, and our waiter said there's a lot of food to fill you up. From what I remember, it comes with one meat of your picking, noodles and a variety of different veggies. But knowing me and how I like to try a lot of things on the menu, we skipped the lunch special.

There are only three soups to pick from- Original and Spicy are the most popular, and then there's also a Vegetarian Mushroom with the original herbal with shiitake stock. You may get one whole pot of either the Original, Spicy, or Vegetarian, OR Spicy Original which is a spiced up version of the Original OR Half and Half (a split pot of Original and Spicy). Brandon and I got the Original because we don't do well with spicy foods, but our waiter suggested we try the Half and Half next time as the Spicy broth changes the flavor or the food you put in it. Sounds delicious! And he said it may look super spicy, but the broth is mild. We'll see about that!!

Service was awesome. We were seated promptly, water brought immediately, and our waiter Kit came to take our drink order right away. All of the staff seems to have been brought straight from the motherland, and some don't speak fluent English. Kit seemed to have been the "go-to" guy for any and ALL questions!! He was pretty cool! We had a few snafus with our order and check in the end, but all was taken care of, and we walked out so full and ready for a nap!!

Must tries- Apple or Peach Green Tea with Popping Balls, Sesame Pancake, Supreme Lamb Shoulder (not game-y at all!), Supreme Beef, Homemade Mixed Meatball platter (good to try once, but it wasn't one of our favorites), and Fish ball with Roe (this was awesome!!). Bite into the center of the fish ball and there is an orange center filled with little tobiko! They were also sold out of the Pork Belly that I wanted to try and also the Yam Mochi with Red Bean for dessert. Apparently they had sold 140 orders of the dessert the night before!

As a side note, I don't care too much for Lamb in general, but the Lamb here is a must-get. It is very delicate in taste and texture.

Next time I will definitely trying the Mongolian Beef Pie which a friend highly recommended to me!

The bill came out to about $75 for two, and if we hadn't ordered the Meatball platter for $14, then that would've brought our bill down to $50. Not bad for all the food we ate, PLUS we had 3 doggy bags! Highly, highly recommend, folks!!

PS- Rice doesn't come with this, so you need to order ala carte!