Lunch with Lauren: J’s Mini Hot Pot Deluxe

By Lauren Townsend for The Aha! Connection

My new favorite place to lunch. I’m not sure why I haven’t tried this place sooner; probably because the idea of my child with selective hearing cooking her own food in a pot of boiling broth makes my eye twitch. Spoiler alert…it went really well. Hot pot is a Chinese method of cooking a variety of foods in broth at the table. At J’s, induction style burners are at each seat, so each person cooks their own meal. You select your broth, proteins and add- ons like ramen, dumplings, vegetables, eggs, you get the point. Then you mix up your own sauce to kick up your broth. I mixed together everything that looked spicy, like chili paste, Korean bbq sauce, and jalapenos while my kids mixed together ponzu and sesame sauce. Everything comes to the table, you crank up your burner and cook your meal. It looks like a lot of food, and it is, but it’s also a pretty healthy lunch. Both my girls love to cook, so they thought this was the best thing EVER. I prepared myself for catastrophe and they did so well. The lunch portion is generous and comes with a protein, Napa cabbage, Spinach, carrots, tomato, corn, fish cakes, tofu skin, fried tofu, chicken hotdog, potato, tofu, fried tofu, taro root, sweet potato and I added ramen and dumplings for everyone. The kids bowls also came with all that and udon noodles. The restaurant is clean and modern and the staff is super helpful and ready to answer any questions of bring you lots of extra napkins. The offer typical drink options as well as fruit smoothies and shaved ice for dessert. I definitely recommend the lunch combo or mixed protein combo and the squid salad. J’s shares a parking lot with other businesses so the lot is pretty big and the restaurant doesn’t have tables for more than 6 people, so plan accordingly and enjoy!

J’s Mini Hot Pot Deluxe

4897 Buford Hwy NE #160

Chamblee, GA 30341

Contact:

lauren@theahaconnection.com