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The Chinese city of Chongqing is home to the world’s largest hot pot
restaurant, a massive eatery that covers an entire hillside, features
nearly 900 tables and can seat around 5,800 people at a time.
Chongqing is famous for its hot pot. There are literally tens of
thousands of restaurants specializing in the hot, spicy dish to choose
from, but if you’re looking for the most impressive one, look no further
than Pipa Yuan (枇杷园), a giant eatery terraced on a large hill. Located
in the Nan’an district, on the outskirts of Chongqing, covers an area of
3,300 square meters, and most diners require directions to locate
their reserved table among the hundreds of tables available. Pipa Yuan
had long been praised as the largest hot pot restaurant in the world,
but last year Guinness Records made the title official.
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Because of the sheer size of Pipa Yuan (‘Loquat Garden‘ in Chinese), and
the fact that it is located on a steep hillside, diners can take up to
30 minutes from the parking lot at the bottom of the hill to one of the
888 tables currently available at the restaurant. However, that doesn’t
seem to affect the popularity of this place. In fact, despite the
massive capacity of the restaurant finding a table without a
reservation, especially during spring and summer, is almost impossible.
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People from all over China come to experience the world’s largest hot
pot restaurant in person, and it is said that one a busy day Pipa Yuan
serves more people than the inhabitants of a small county.
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As you can imagine, cooking several tonnes of hot pot every day and
serving it to thousands of patrons requires a massive staff. Pipaa Yuan
reportedly employs hundreds of waiters, tens of cooks, and dozens of
kitchen staff, as well as over 25 cashiers.
Interestingly, Pipa Yuan is just as busy at night as in the daytime, as
many tourists come to experience at night, because of all the colorful
light fixtures that bring the entire hillside to life.
As for the hot pot, according to online reviews, it’s surprisingly good
for such a large restaurant. Serving times can be a bit long, especially
at the busiest hours of the day, but the fresh ingredients, the mild
spices, and the view from the hill apparently make up for it.
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