Little Sheep
September 12, 2008
Healthy Simmering Soup
In the realm of Chinese food, soup is more than just a dish: It is known to heal and rejuvenate the body. Little Sheep, located on a leafy street just a block away from restaurant row on San Mateo’s Third Street, has developed a cult following of those addicted to their famous herbal broth concoction.
One step past the U-shaped bar, an army of black tables and vibrant bamboos along the walls create an elegant ambiance. Dressed in a Chinese-style black uniform, the waiters are attentive despite a busy lunch crowd. Glass-ceramic stovetops bring soup and water to a boil in two minutes flat.
Unlike most hot pot venues, the dipping sauce is not the “hit” of the dining experience; Little Sheep is known in Chinese culinary circles as producing an incredible soup broth.
Like mannah from heaven, the house soup base radiates multiple notes of flavors that pair in harmony with each other. It features ingredients—red dates, nutmeg and ginger—that not only have medicinal health effects but also soothe the body and restore the palate. Nutmeg stirs ups sweet tones while garlic and ginger provides spice.
On weekdays, Little Sheep offers a great $9.95 menu special includes a well-balanced dish of meat and vegetables. With the hot pot divided into two sections, the “half and half” soup option allows diners to contrast the full-bodied house broth with the house spicy soup.
Neatly assembled, a plate of beef and lamb arrived; each slice of meat displayed fat marbling that gave the meat a rich, buttery flavor. With a quick eight-second “swish” in the both, the meat pieces were tender and full of flavor. Alongside a beautiful basket of vibrant Napa cabbage are translucent vermicelli and spears of bok choy. Hot-pot dining is all about controlling texture, and the napa cabbage can either be cooked al dente or more on the mushy side, depending on cooking time. Another plate has an assortment of vegetables — enoki and shitake mushrooms, fish balls and tofu.
In 1999, Zhang Gang started the first Little Sheep in Mongolia. Nine years later, over 700 Little Sheep restaurants have opened in China. To keep food costs low, Gang started his own lamb ranches (for the United States market, Little Sheep uses lamb from New Zealand) and packaged the soup base. Trying to capture the American market are managers such as Daniel Huang, who oversees the Union City and San Mateo location and trains the staff to maintain service and food quality.
I asked Huang why Americans would be attracted to eating hot pot. “Hot pot is fresh and healthy,” he said, adding there are no trans fats or MSG. “For hot pot, you just put everything in the boiling soup.”
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LITTLE SHEEP HOT POT
215 S. Ellsworth Avenue,
San Mateo, CA
650-343-2566
Lunch: 11:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Dinner: 5:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
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34396 Alvarado Niles Road,
Union City, CA
510-675-9919
Lunch: 11:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Dinner: 5:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
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www.littlesheephotpot.com
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THIS PLACE IS STUPID