Fodor's Expert Review Ding Ding Xiang

Hotpot restaurants are plentiful in northern China, but few do it better than Ding Ding Xiang, a self-proclaimed "hotpot paradise." Diners order a variety of meats, sliced paper thin, as well as seafood, mushrooms, tofu and vegetables to be cooked at the table in a wide selection of broths (the wild mushroom broth is a must for mycophiles), or, better yet, order a partitioned pot to accommodate multiple soup varieties. The dipping sauces, used in the final stage of eating, are thick and delicious. Despite the surly service and gaudy decor, this place is perennially crowded.