Tack Hsin Restaurant

This review is based on having a hotpot dinner at this restaurant. At over $ 170 HK dollars per person for hotpot (which is a high price for dinner by Hong Kong standards), you would expect something special. In reality, I was far from impressed.
The options on the menu seemed limited (enough to fit on one A5 page) and a little peculiar. It is great that there is variety and choices that I have not seen before for hotpot such as crab’s leg meat, ostrich meat, pig skin, pumpkin slice and shredded taro. But they have foregone common favourites such as normal beef balls, rice (or sweet potato) noodles or bamboo slices and they charge an extra $ 68 for prawns.
In any case, overlooking the veering from the norm in terms of the menu, the food to be cooked is rather quickly provided and you are offered a free soft drink included in the hotpot price. On the downside, the service seems very sour-​pussed with frowns all round and there is a 2hr limit for dining after which they say you will automatically be penalised $ 20 HKD per person if you go overtime.

I was craving hot pot and this place was close by, so I decided to check it out. The place is busy and service is almost non-​existent.
The menu isn’t very clear and they don’t really explain all the options to you. There is all you can eat, which includes a choice of several soup bases (and some additional ones for an extra fee), and a list of items you can order. But upon looking at the list of items closely, you will notice that beef (and almost all their meats) is not included. If you want sliced beef in hot pot, then you have to order it separately. Instead, the list includes veggies, dumplings and meatballs, and random animal parts.
Also, sauces are not included either. You can pay an extra fee per person to get a tray of sauces. But the table is so small, they take it away (even though they say its unlimited refills). And because service is so bad, it’ll be almost impossible to flag someone down to bring you more sauce.
And for the all-​you-​can-​eat, it is timed. You only get 2 hours from the time you get seated. Every 15 mins you don’t leave the table after the 2 hours gets you additional charges.
But what really bothered me is that this is not an all-​you-​can-​eat only place. There is the choice to reject the all-​you-​can-​eat and just pay a la carte. But of course, they don’t tell you this. Also, there are some other special soup bases that are not listed on the paper but only inside the menu. And they also have special combos that include beef with the soup base. I don’t understand why they don’t have everything on the paper menu when that is the place where we are marking our orders.
Besides all the hidden items, the quality is ok (hence 2 stars instead of 1). This place seems quite popular and the wait is pretty ridiculous. But they seem to have the wait down to a system.

Tack Hsin is a solid chain that I always come back to when I’m craving a normal hotpot. What I mean by that is that I’m not trying to have a high class meal or a unique version of hotpot, just normal hotpot.
Their all you can eat hotpot ranges from $ 150-​$ 190. It’s also cheaper if you go in after 9pm. Be aware that you have to pay extra ($ 9) if you want sauces.
Overall, I find that Tack Hsin’s food is good. There have been times when some of their stuff was off (soggy fried fish skin, wilting veggies) but the vast majority of the time their food is solid. One of my favorite things to eat there is their mushroom and pork balls. It has really good flavor and texture. Another unique thing they offer is crystal custard and BBQ pork dumplings. Even though it’s weird to have a custard dumpling in the middle of dinner, I still enjoy them. Another things that I’m always impressed with is their sliced fish. It’s fresh and well textured.
Aside from the food, I enjoy this branch in East TST the most because it consistently has good service and it’s comfily spacious.

Of the various Tack Hsin chains, this would be my favorite. Roomy, service generally okay, and because it really is two restaurants in one, the wait for seats usually isn’t too long.
At night, all-​you-​can-​eat hotpot. They price from 2 hours. Make sure you pay your bill at the 2 hour mark or they will charge you for staying longer, I believe in 15 minute increments. After 9pm they also have even cheaper deals.
The fried fish skin is generally pretty good, and the BBQ pork/​custard bun crystal buns (a semi-​see through skin that has a mochi-​like texture that is stuffed with BBQ pork or custard) are yummy and unique.
They have a set of soup bases you can pick from and if you want any special ones, you pay additional on top of your all-​you-​can-​eat price.
There are sheets of paper where you tick off which foods you want and you can submit the sheet for multiple rounds. If you ask they also have the sheets in Japanese and English. There may be other languages, but I’m not sure.
Overall, a good deal for hotpot.
I’ve had dim sum here during the day and also happy hour dim sum around 2ish (pm) and they were also fine.
Tip: On the first floor of this building, there is also an Octopus Faresaver so you can save $ 2 if you are taking MTR from East TST or TST station on the same day.