Ju Ju Hokkaido Hotpot

We always love a place that’s cheap and good, and Ju Ju is exactly that. This stark and unassuming little eatery doesn’t look like it has much to offer from the outside—this is not a place where they’ve put a lot of time into the interior decoration or the ambiance. But all the better to focus on the food, which is tasty, homely and delicious. And they even go one up on that: The servers are friendly and extremely helpful. Despite their lack of English, they went out of their way to make us feel welcome by explaining (by gesticulating) the various sauces and the contraption that would cook our hot pots (the house special). Our executive lunch set came with a mini hot pot with a choice of meat, soup (konbu or spicy Ma La) and a dessert of green tea ice cream. The hot pot was chockfull of veggies, tofu and a gorgeous broth which we slurped up with delight. Add to that their Ju Ju Golden Egg (a semi-boiled egg with tangy sauce) and rainbow dumplings (a variety of dumplings perfect for sampling), these were more than enough. With such warm staff and simple but delicious food, Ju Ju will leave you smiling.