A salad and burrito shop in Downtown Vancouver just made one of the more unexpected pivots we have seen in a while.
Hungry Guys Kitchen at 545 Granville Street, the downtown location near Holt Renfrew, has added self-serve malatang hot pot to its menu.
The signage out front now reads “HGK Hungry Guys Kitchen Hot Pot,” with an A-frame sign advertising the new offering at $3.98 per 100 grams.
Customers can choose from eight different broth options, including malatang, tom yum, coconut ginger, miso, spicy tomato, chicken, vegetable, and a coconut ginger dry pot.
The concept works the same way as most self-serve malatang spots in the city.
You pick your ingredients, weigh them, choose a broth, and they cook it for you.
Interestingly, the restaurant has not fully abandoned its original identity.
A window sign still advertises build-your-own salad bowls, also at $3.98, with dressing options like caesar, asian, balsamic vinegar, and fried sesame.
It is essentially a dual-concept spot now, offering both salad bowls and hot pot under the same roof.
Hungry Guys Kitchen originally opened back in 2016 and made its name serving healthy salads, burritos, bowls, and burgers across two Granville Street locations.
The second location at 988 Granville has since closed, leaving the 545 spot as the sole outpost.
The timing of this pivot is interesting for a few reasons.
Self-serve hot pot has been one of the trendiest food concepts in Metro Vancouver over the past couple of years, led largely by the rapid expansion of Big Way.
But the trend has also been brutal on smaller operators.
Grandjoy, which opened on Robson Street in April 2025, permanently closed in less than a year.
JoJo Pot in Burnaby quietly shuttered as well, with the space already being converted into something else.
The market has become saturated enough that some have started calling it the “malatang bubble.”
For Hungry Guys Kitchen, we’ll have to see whether this move works out or not.
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Address: 545 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC