The Mid Hudson Valley will soon have a new all-you-can-eat option, with a unique concept and multiple locations.
KPOT, a small chain of Korean barbecue and Asian hot pot cooking restaurants, has plans to open in Wappinger Plaza on Route 9 and the Newburgh Mall on Route 300.
In Wappinger, KPOT will become the latest restaurant to fill a storefront that for years housed Hometown Buffet and, up until roughly a year ago, Chen Young chinese buffet. Scott Meshil, of Royal Properties retail brokerage company, confirmed KPOT signed a lease on the spot recently, and the company is in the process of designing the interior to apply for the proper permits from the town.
Representatives from the Newburgh Mall could not immediately specify where KPOT will go in its facility, though its address is listed on KPOT’s site. Representatives from KPOT also did not return inquiries.
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It’s unclear when either location would be ready to open, which is not unique for the chain. Established in 2018 and based in Flushing, Queens, KPOT has just six locations open across the country – all in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland – but 29 listed on its website as “coming soon.” That includes spots as far west as Utah and as far south as Florida. In addition to the two Mid Hudson spots, KPOT is also planning to open a location in Westbury on Long Island.
However, the six existing restaurants offer a glimpse at what diners can expect. And though it’s technically an all-you-can-eat Asian food restaurant, it appears to be a departure from the traditional Chinese buffet.
How KPOT works
An experiential restaurant, KPOT blends elements of hibachi and fondue dining, and offers both Korean barbecue and Asian hot pot options. Cooking is done at the table; there are no buffet lines and communal trays of food.
The center of each table includes a circular grill on which diners cook their own meats, seafood and vegetables, mixing in various spices and sauces. Meats range from beef bulgogi and short ribs to garlic chicken and pork belly; seafood from calamari and shrimp to spicy tuna and baby octopus; and vegetables from eggplant and sweet potato to shiitake mushrooms and pumpkin.
Each place at the table includes a burner on which a pot of Asian soup – there are seven flavors – simmers throughout the meal. The items diners can order to cook in the soup is a wide-ranging list including:
- sliced meats
- crab meat
- dumplings
- tripe
- quail eggs
- lobster balls
- fish balls
- shumai
- squid
- tofu
- bean curd
- mushrooms
- daikon
- black fungus
- and other uncommon and common foods
According to its website, “KPOT is for both the food adventurers and the social eaters. It’s about tasting the global spices and seasonings all while feeling a sense of community.”
According to its online menu, items are ordered by the table, and each dining experience is limited to two hours. Pricing was not listed on its general menu, but the prices listed at its Philadelphia locations included $18.99 per adult for lunch and $28.99 for dinner, choosing either Korean barbecue or hot pot, and an additional $5 for choosing both. Children’s prices were reduced.
In addition to the food, which the website claims can be experienced by a group of any size, two to 20, KPOT says it offers a “nightlife atmosphere” with a full bar.