My wife Jun has a chef friend who swears by a Chinese hot pot place in New York City. Little Sheep initially originated in Flushing, Queens, and the second location opened in Manhattan, on the Bowery between Chinatown and Lower East Side. During the 4th of July long weekend, we decided to check out this place with the chef friend and his wife, and it turned out to be quite a satisfying meal.
At Little Sheep, you need to start with half & half pot (divided into a spicy broth and a milder “original” broth), and liberally put in meats and vegetables. Our chef friend ordered various parts of lamb and beef as well as different vegetables like Napa cabbage, bok choy and pea sprouts. The broth of both pots was absolutely rich and hearty and the combination of meats and vegetables that we gladly dipped on the broth were also quite tasty. At some moments in our meal, I just remember going all-out at the broth which was a perfect antidote for daytime drinking that took place before the meal. Only after I was beyond full that I dropped my chopsticks, as did Jun.
The restaurant doesn’t take reservations but we had no problem getting in without a wait for early dinner. Little Sheep has probably one of the cleaner dining spaces in the Chinatown area, which seems to be a reason the restaurant was quite crowded with a lot of non-Chinese foreigners enjoying the decadent hot pot feast. Jun and I agree that this looks like a perfect place to be whenever we’re looking to have a casual meal with a large group of friends. We both know that our first visit certainly won’t be the last.
KenScale: 8.0/10
- Creativity: 7.0/10
- Execution: 8.0/10
- Ingredients: 8.0/10
- Flavor: 8.5/10
- Texture: 7.5/10
- Value: 8.5/10
Address: 105 Bowery, New York, NY 10002
Telephone: (646) 484-5707
Website: https://www.littlesheephotpot.com/
KenScale 