- Mike Sula
- Special hot & spicy (ma la) and Mongolian herbal, Little Lamb Hot Pot
Amid Chinatown’s recent restaurant boom, hot-pot joints in particular have proliferated. The city’s army of young Chinese students and professionals can’t seem to get enough of this communal feed. Some have come and gone, but many have endured, and there doesn’t seem to be much sign they’re slowing down. In fact, chains from mainland China have gotten in the game, the latest being Little Lamb Hot Pot, located in the long-vacant former Penang space, the first midwestern outpost of an international franchise with close to 600 locations across the globe. Little Lamb started 14 years ago in Inner Mongolia, and its shtick is that it specializes in an herbal lamb broth developed by a monk that was supposed to beef up the soldiers he looked after. It’s said to be infused with stuff like astragalus, licorice, desert cistanche, and sand-shallot seeds, and there are indeed a few hard, inedible things bobbing around in it. But that particular broth is fairly mild, which is a good reason to order a couple of varieties. They’ll arrive at the table in separate compartments in the same pot, and set on a burner at the center of the table.
- Mike Sula
- Little Lamb Hot Pot
Little Lamb Hot Pot, 2201 S. Wentworth, 312-225-0600, littlelambchicago.com
