Back in March, we told you OG HK noodle chain Deer Garden Signatures seems to be getting into the hot pot game with a new store called Deer One.
Fast forward to now: Deer One Hotpot quietly soft opened inside the One Park complex (across from CF Richmond Centre) earlier this week.
We stopped by (anonymously as usual) to see what’s going on.
And surprise surprise – it turns out it’s another self-serve, weighted malatang hot pot spot.
If you’ve been to Big Way, Datang, or Meat Up, you know the drill.
Grab a bowl, pick your ingredients from a wall of seafood, meat, and veg, then get your haul weighed and cooked in a broth of your choice.
But here’s where Deer One tries to stand out.
Even though the ingredient wall was relatively sparse during our visit (they’re still in soft launch/testing mode), they’re offering certain ingredients you won’t usually find elsewhere.
Some notable ones like beef brisket, pork skin, halibut belly, beef lung, pork liver, and beef spleen.
It’s priced at $2.15 per 50g, which is a bit above the average in Richmond, but the ingredient variety may justify it for some.
Once you’ve scooped your bowl, you’ll head to the checkout counter to pick from 12 broth options, including Pork Bone, Sichuan Spicy, Tomato, Malay Laksa, and more.
Then you’ll be seated, and your cooked hot pot bowl will be brought to your table by staff with your number sign.
The space is sleek, bright, and decked out in orange and white tones, with comfy modern chairs, wall art spelling out HOT POT with illustrations, and natural lighting pouring in from floor-to-ceiling windows.
Deer One also has a pretty broad drink menu, including lemon teas, sparkling teas, green teas, and milk teas.
During our visit, they were offering 50% off six drinks with any hot pot order.
There’s also fried snacks like milk buns, Korean seaweed wraps, tofu, chicken wings, and more.
While their soft serve machine was temporarily down during our visit, we were given a ramune vanilla popsicle and a black sesame egg dessert instead.
When asked why they opened this new hot pot concept, the Deer One manager shared that not only did they want to try out this new trendy concept, but they already had all the ingredients on hand.
This self-serve model just gives customers more control, compared to the usual “tick-off” menu style they used at Deer Garden Signatures.
For now, they’re still testing the waters, but the official grand opening could be later this month.
The restaurant will be open 7 days a week from 11AM to 7PM. Many will also be happy that there is 2 hour free parking at the attached parking lot as well.
Deer One now joins Big Way, Datang, Piping Hot, Grandma Liu, and Meat Up in Richmond’s ever-growing malatang scene.
Let us know if you’ll be checking it out or if you’re loyal to your usual hot pot spot.
For more new and upcoming food spots in Metro Vancouver, take a peek at our tracker here, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
Address: #120 Unit 8119 Park Road, Richmond BC