Ginny Kolmar: Coriya Hot Pot

Want to hold a raucous party for kids over 10 or 11 years of age or for adults who want to have a good time? The Coriya Hot Pot Chinese restaurant might be perfect.

Customers gather raw meat and veggies from a huge, wrap-around buffet, then head back to an assigned table which has a hot pot over a gas fire. There's a place around the pot for grilling, or boiling or braising in the hot pot. There's another place to pick up rice and sauces and another for extra napkins and, should we need them, forks, spoons and knives.

Tables are very close together, and you may share a large table with other diners, which adds to the fun if you're not shy and ask questions, as we did. The aisles are narrow, which makes navigating dish carts difficult for the ever-present busboys.

On a Saturday night it took an hour to be seated, since reservations are taken only for large groups. The restaurant holds approximately 100 people and is very popular in the district with both young and old local diners. Not fancy, the décor is basic. Chairs are padded and formica tables hold paper mats and napkins (lots of extra napkins!).

The busboys circulate among the tables to remove used plates, since diners may go back to the buffet table as many times as desired.

Before eating our first course, we cruised the buffet table with our bare plates, just as though we were on a cruise, to see what was being offered.

One chose shrimp (larger than our Bay variety), tiny fish balls and a shishkabob (a small wooden stick with small pieces of green pepper, chicken and onion). Another picked the fish balls, tofu and shrimp.

I decided on shrimp and filled up the rest of the plate with bean sprouts, which I had been craving all week.

Back at the table, we popped everything except the chicken sticks into the boiling water. The sticks we placed on the aluminum foil covering the sides all around and below the pot so they could be grilled. Everything was delicious. It took a lot of work to peel the boiled shrimp but the taste was delicious.

It was after this that we discovered the rice area, which also holds several sauces. We made a special dipping sauce of sesame and garlic sauces, with a bit of soy sauce dropped in - a yummy combination to pour over rice and a dip vegetables.

Except for chicken, we picked different items for the second course. There were three kinds of mushrooms, Chinese parsley, two types of tofu and various foods we couldn't identify. We declined the one item we asked about - pig's intestines.

We enjoyed more chicken, little thin slices of grilled of lamb and beef and then I discovered my favorite spring vegetable pea sprouts!

We filled our plates with the raw sprouts and raced back to the table to drop them into the boiling hot pot. They are delightful by themselves.

Of course we refilled our rice bowl, using the rest of our original sauce to enhance the rice.

Desserts include fresh slices of orange and melon, as well as canned peaches, shaved ice and gelatin with canned fruits. Soft drinks, tea and water are available.

The prices for all this are remarkably reasonable. One warning is posted - which we all approved - that there is a charge for uneaten food. We finished all the foods on our plates!

The bill for our Saturday night dinner was about $13 each, plus tax and tip, the latter for the very efficient busboys. Had we gone for dinner Monday through Thursday, it would have been $10.99. If we could have held off until after 10 p.m., it only would have been $9.99 per person. Children under three-feet, three-inches tall eat for free and under four-foot, three-inches tall are charged $7.99 for dinner. There are different prices for lunch.

Other locations exist in Daly City and Richmond, but hours and prices may be different.

CORIYA HOT POT

852 Clement St. (corner 10th Avenue)

387-7888

Credit cards; reservations for groups; no wheelchairs

Hours: Lunch: noon - 4 p.m., Monday - Friday

Saturday and Sunday

Dinner: 5 p.m. - midnight

Atmosphere: ** (noisy and hot)

Service: ***

Food: *** 1/2 (fresh and good)

Price: **** (depending on how many times you go back for more!)

Overall: *** 1/2