Jo Ju Tofu Hotpot - Burnaby

Although the name may suggest otherwise, it is important to clarify that this restaurant is not a hot pot where you cook your own ingredients. Jo Ju is comparable to Kim Bo Ting in Metrotown, but is superior in many aspects. Initially, I was planning to try Hakkaku Ramen located nearby, but since it was closed on Mondays, I opted to give Jo Ju a try instead.

My wife and I came to this restaurant to fulfill her craving for seafood. We arrived between meal times at around 3pm. The service was friendly and the food was delicious. The total cost of $24 for two appetizers (soup and rice dish) and two bubble teas was reasonable. We left feeling satisfied and happy.

Having moved from Guangzhou, China to Vancouver for study, I often find myself missing the food from my hometown. Despite being a relatively new restaurant, Jo Ju was bustling with customers, instantly raising my expectations. The interior was clean and resembled the design of a modern small Hong Kong restaurant, which I appreciated. I ordered the pork cutlet rice dish, which had a perfect breaded ratio, and the passion fruit black tea, which was perfectly sweetened. The taste truly reminded me of home in China. For that reason alone, it was worth every penny.

Not so much a hot pot spot, but more of a big bowl restaurant. There are rice based dishes and soup dishes. We ordered the spicy and the laksa, the same soup base was used for both, laksa just had the addition of curry. Not traditional laksa with coconut milk just the curried broth. The spicy was that same base with addition of heat. Both bowls were served piping hot, and had the same contents: glass noodles, 2 large prawns, 1 mussel, an egg, couple of meat balls, tofu, some greens and other decorative vegetables. Served on the side was a bowl of rice. For the price point, there is a reasonable amount of food, and overall it was ok. We also ordered the steamed buns assuming them to be a dumpling of some kind but turned out to be bread, served with sweetened condensed milk on the side. Not what we expected. Doubt we would return.

This restaurant has only opened for half a year. I always meant to try it and yet just kept on delaying. On an rainy and cold Friday evening, we decided to give it a try. We were quite satisfied and decided to be repeat customers.Interior: Beautifully renovated with contemporary feel, well lit and clean-lined tables and chairs. Three chandeliers made the restaurant look quite nice. The place is very clean.Food: Served in beautiful containers and foods look even more appetizing. Presentation is great as the different ingredients are nicely arranged. Large portion size. We all came out full.Ingredients: We could taste the freshness of the food. They are generous in the amount of food. Their hotpot (personal size) is large and loaded with abut 10 different ingredients. For example, the Seafood Kimchi Pot $(7.75) I ordered include two good sized prawns, one mussels, squid rings, two fish ball, two slices of fish cakes, tofu, onion, napa, Korean mushroom and Kimchi. All ingredients tasted fresh to me. Service: Attentive service. Multilingual staff who speak English, Mandarin and Cantonese. Smilingly greeted us upon entering the restaurant, brought us tea and menu. While we were there for 40 minutes, the waiter and waitress came to refill tea/water twice. My family ordered rice entress