Rainy season is hotpot season. When the skies open up and the traffic crawls, half of Metro Manila seems to end up huddled around a simmering pot, dropping in paper-thin beef and watching it curl and cook in seconds. It is comfort food and dinner theatre at once -- inexpensive if you know where to go, indulgent if you are in the mood, and almost always better with a crowd. Whether you want a P600 all-you-can-eat marathon or a refined Japanese shabu-shabu, this is where to warm up.
Pick your broth
Most places let you split the pot -- a fiery Sichuan mala on one side, a mild pork, chicken, or tomato broth on the other. Mala numbs and tingles; the clear broths keep things gentle.
Build your plate
Thinly sliced beef and pork, seafood, tofu, mushrooms, leafy greens, noodles, and dumplings. Unlimited spots let you keep ordering rounds until you tap out.
Cook and dip
Beef needs only a few seconds of a swish; vegetables and dumplings take longer. Fish it out, dunk it in sauce, repeat. Half the fun is finding your rhythm.
Own the sauce bar
The condiment station is where regulars separate from rookies. Build your own dip from sesame paste, chili oil, minced garlic, calamansi, soy, and sha cha for a different bite every time.
Chinese hotpot vs. Japanese shabu-shabu
The two get lumped together, but they are different traditions. Chinese hotpot is loud, generous, and spice-forward -- a bubbling cauldron meant to be attacked with abandon. Japanese shabu-shabu is quieter and more precise, named for the gentle 'swish-swish' of beef through a light kombu broth. Manila does both exceptionally well, and knowing which mood you are in helps you choose.
Chinese Hot Pot
- Bold, often numbing-spicy mala broths
- Deep, aromatic soup bases you can sip
- Heavier dips: sesame paste, sha cha, chili oil
- Shared communal pot, order-till-you-drop energy
- Best for: big groups, spice lovers, budget unli
Japanese Shabu-Shabu
- Light, clean kombu or dashi broth
- Premium, delicately marbled beef is the star
- Lighter dips: ponzu (citrus-soy) and sesame goma
- Often a personal pot per diner
- Best for: quality cuts, calmer meals, date nights
The best hotpot & shabu-shabu spots in Metro Manila
These six span the full range -- neighborhood unlimited legends, mall-based buffets, and a themed spot where you shop for your own ingredients. All were verified as operating; prices shift often, so treat any figures as ballpark and confirm the current rate when you book.
Jiang Nan Hotpot
The Banawe favorite that turned unlimited Chinese hotpot into a pilgrimage. Freshness is the whole game here -- crisp vegetables, glossy meats, and a famous house dipping sauce regulars swear by. Unlimited sets land in the affordable range (roughly P600 on weekdays, a touch more on weekends), with an optional unli-grill add-on, and the free bottomless halo-halo at the end has become a beloved ritual. It runs late into the night; expect queues on weekend evenings.
Shaburi & Kintan Buffet
A cut above the budget crowd, this polished Japanese buffet pairs Shaburi shabu-shabu with Kintan yakiniku BBQ under one roof, so you can swish beef in a personal pot and grill it in the same sitting. Each diner builds their own broth, the cuts are noticeably better than the unlimited norm, and the sauce and dessert stations are generous. It is the pick when you want the quality of Japanese shabu-shabu without going full fine-dining.
Tong Yang
The household name that taught a generation of Filipinos to cook at the table. Tong Yang's unlimited grill-and-shabu-shabu buffet lets you toss pork belly, seafood, and vegetables into your choice of broth or onto the griddle, with sets starting around the high P600s. It is dependable, family-friendly, and endlessly customizable -- and the newer 'Tong Yang Plus' branches widen the spread even further. A safe, satisfying default almost anywhere you find a branch.
Healthy Shabu-Shabu
Proof that hotpot need not be a gut-buster. This long-running local chain builds its identity around light, clean broths and mountains of fresh vegetables, so you can eat well and still feel good afterward. Load up on the seafood and leafy-green platters, keep the soup mild and collagen-rich, and take your time. There is a second branch at Robinsons Manila (Pedro Gil, Ermita) if Ortigas is out of the way.
Four Seasons Buffet & Hotpot
When you want hotpot and everything else, this Vikings-run eat-all-you-can pairs a personal pot with a sprawling international buffet -- sushi, sashimi, grill stations, and a dessert spread that includes churros. Weekday lunch is the most affordable seating, with dinner and weekends climbing higher. Come genuinely hungry: the move is to alternate salmon sashimi, a few rounds of hotpot, and a lap of the dessert bar until you surrender.
Lan Hot Pot
The most fun you will have with unlimited hotpot. Lan leans into a space-and-aerospace theme, but the real draw is the self-selection area: instead of ordering rounds, you roam a market-style spread and pick your own fresh ingredients, including an unusually deep lineup of leafy greens and a buffet ice-cream station to close. Unlimited runs in the P800 to P900 range depending on the day, plus a small service fee. A reliable celebrity-spotting corner of Greenhills.
Hotpot is the rare meal where the cooking is the entertainment -- nobody checks their phone when there is beef to rescue from the broth.
Hotpot tips: how to do it right
Come hungry, pace yourself, and mind the mala
At unlimited spots, most places charge for heavy leftovers -- so order in rounds rather than burying the pot. Cook beef in seconds and pull it before it toughens; give root vegetables, dumplings, and tofu more time. If you split the pot, keep the mala side to your neighbors' taste and remember it only gets spicier as it reduces. Rainy day? This is exactly what a hotpot night is for.
However you like it -- fiery and communal or clean and precise -- hotpot rewards the unhurried. Gather a few people, split a pot, argue over the sauce ratios, and let dinner stretch on. In a city that rarely slows down, a bubbling broth is one of the best excuses to.
