Hot pot News
New Fort Worth restaurant serves hard-to-find Vietnamese hot pot

Anh Long Kitchen offers three types of Vietnamese hot pot varieties.
An authentic Vietnamese restaurant with a special twist just opened in northeast Fort Worth: Called Anh Long Kitchen, it's located in a small shopping center at 3789 N. Beach St #201, taking over the former Famous George's Cafe with a menu that includes a Vietnamese rendition of hot pot.
Anh Long was founded by Khris Tran, a first-time restaurateur who created a menu with Vietnamese classics, but additionally introduced hot pot to the concept.
Hot pot is the popular Asian dish where diners cook raw meats and vegetables at their table in a pot of hot broth. As Eater notes, hot pot originally was a Mongolian invention, but nearly every Asian culture has its own version.
“Back in Vietnam, hot pot is a very popular street food. People will eat it as a group,” Tran says.
There are more than 15 hot pot restaurants in the DFW area, but finding a Vietnamese version is rare. Chinese and Korean hot pot versions tend to bring forward bold and deep flavors, while Vietnamese hot pot (or Lau) is all about the balance between the sweet, salty and spicy ingredients, resulting in a clear, fragrant and tangy broth.
The broth also tends to be less greasy than other types of hot pot, as the flavor comes from the herbs and acidity of the ingredients - lemongrass, ginger, tomato, pineapple, and tamarind.
Anh Long Kitchen offers three types of protein: Goat Hotpot, Oxtail Hotpot, simmered with herbs and spices; and Catfish Hotpot, which is simmered in a tamarind-infused tangy broth. The pot is $60-$65 and it serves 4 to 5 people.
Other popular items include spring rolls, pot stickers, beef or chicken pho, pork, chicken or beef vermicelli, fried rice, shaken beef and Koren BBQ ribs.
They also offer Vietnamese coffee and an assortment of non-alcoholic teas and sodas.
"We are offering something you cannot get anywhere around here, plus the popular Vietnamese dishes, so the response has been great,” Tran says.
