The best hot pot in Chicago.

Duck Duck Goat on West Fulton Market is a modern, shareable take on Chinese dishes, and diners come for a night out rather than a Chinatown meal. The room is large and well designed, with a strong cocktail menu and desserts such as a banana dessert and a soft serve matcha finish.

Duck fried rice is the dish named most, followed by xiao long bao with a good ratio of filling to broth, spicy sticky wings, scallion pancakes, jiaozi potstickers and the goat and duck spring rolls. Goat slap noodles and mapo tofu also appear in diner orders. Portions are large, so ordering in stages avoids waste.

Practical notes: reservations are recommended, and weeknight walk-ins are easier than weekends. The noise level is lively, but conversation is possible. A percentage fee is added to bills, and a few diners say that surprised them, so it helps to check the menu note. Diners who want traditional Chinese cooking will find Chinatown closer to that.

Qing Xiang Yuan Dumplings sits on South Wentworth Avenue across from the Chinatown train station, and the menu stays narrow on purpose. Dumplings are the meal, with salads, wings and tea around them. Diners describe thin, delicate wrappers and fillings that run juicy, and the lamb with coriander is the one named most often as a favorite.

Steamed is the usual choice, though the fried versions have fans, including the wagyu and onion. Cucumber salad and wood ear mushroom salad cut through the richness. The tea list is its own draw, and staff keep the pot filled. The juice inside the dumplings is generous, so the first bite should be taken with care.

Practical notes: the dining room is modern and warm, and parties give a phone number and get updates on their place in line. Peak weekend hours can mean a long wait, while a weekday visit can mean none. Anyone wanting noodle soup or a large main course will need to look elsewhere on the block.

Haidilao HotPot on East Cermak Road is on the second floor, near McCormick Place and across from Wintrust Arena. Diners treat it as the service-first hot pot, where staff hand out aprons, hair ties and phone pouches, answer a flood of first-timer questions, and sing for birthdays. Birthdays and group dinners are the usual occasions.

Tomato and mushroom broths get repeated praise, and many tables split the pot, pairing a mild base with a spicy one. Fresh meats and vegetables, a sauce bar, and free snacks at the entrance round things out. Noodles are stretched and pulled at the table on request, a show that can delay the order a little.

Practical notes: reservations are advised, especially for groups and weekends. Street parking is metered and can be tight. A few diners found the bill high for two people, so ordering to the size of the table matters. Takeout items are less praised than the dine-in pot, so the experience is best enjoyed at the table.

Qiao Lin Hotpot on South Jefferson Street lets each table build a meal around up to three broths at one price. Diners praise the golden chicken broth for its collagen richness and yellow color, a base that carries meats and seafood well. The Chongqing spicy broth has devoted fans, though the heat is strong even at a low level.

Tomato and mushroom pots soften the spice, and a mix of two or three is the pattern many tables follow. The sauce bar is a draw, with plenty of dips, dessert items and a mango lassi. Favorite orders include long sliced beef, pork meatballs, black fish fillet and shrimp paste. Servers walk first-timers through the process kindly.

Practical notes: reservations are strongly encouraged, because dinner waits can pass an hour. Lunch right at opening is calmer. The sauce bar line grows at peak times, so visiting at a quiet hour saves minutes. Clothes will smell of hot pot afterward, so plan the rest of the day around that.

MingHin Cuisine in Lakeshore East, on East Benton Place, serves an extensive dim sum list alongside Cantonese dishes and Sichuan style appetizers. Diners who come from other big dim sum cities say they were surprised, and one called it the best dim sum they had in America. The room is modern, and tea arrives without asking.

Crispy pork belly from the barbecue selection is a standout, and the dumplings are well made with flavorful fillings, some seared for crisp edges. Hot and sour soup is called tangy and among the best some diners have had. Orange chicken, crab rangoon and beef and broccoli are the familiar orders, and opinions on them vary.

Practical notes: finding the restaurant takes a few turns through the complex, so allow time. The reservation request goes through a web form, and a line can form at opening. Kitchen timing can run slow because dishes are made fresh. Some diners prefer the central dining room to the window seats.