Big Way (2024-11-01)

Big Way is a pay-by-weight hot pot place with a New West location.

I met up with [ENW regular] and her partner yesterday for a Halloween meetup dinner at the newly-opened Big Way (where The Hub was). It’s not my first time at Big Way. It was, however, for [ENW regular] and her partner.

My bowl

Knowing pay-by-weight places such as Big Way (TMI: don’t get me started on what I get from hot bars), I prioritized the meat rolls, non-shiitake mushrooms, spinach, black fungus, and vermicelli, as they’re all light items without any inedible parts. I also added a few pieces of mussel, bay scallop, lobster balls, and OK-tasting smoked duck breast, as I like seafood and am curious about that duck breast.

I chose the sukiyaki (Japanese sweet soy) broth, since it goes super well with my items. And it did! However, I’d omit the scallops and mussels next time, as they were (unsurprisingly) rubbery when cooked.

Total was $23.50 for 588 grams of ingredients. Better than my previous visit ($32), but let’s see if I can get that cost down to $20.50 (what [ENW regular]’s partner paid) at most during a future visit.

The other things

• We e-joined the waitlist at 5:34 PM and got off at 7:07 PM (about 90 minutes long).
• While unpictured, I paired my soup with a tapioca pearl mango sparkling tea. It was average for $7. I also received it 10 minutes after we got our respective bowl, which was…odd.
• Service was friendly and honestly quick for our bowls. We got them in less than 10 minutes.
• We enjoyed the free soft serve, but in bubble gum flavour rather than green tea. I thought the cone’s black colour came from charcoal. [ENW regular] thought it came from squid ink. But when [ENW regular] asked the staff about that colour, no one (not even the manager) knew!

Conclusion

I’d return back just for the bone broth, as it takes more effort to make, unlike sukiyaki. I can also recommend this place to anyone here, but be mindful of what goes into your bowl before paying!