Dining out doesn’t usually require much thought. The steam-filled windows of this den of Chinese huoguo (“hot pot”) cuisine, however, camouflage a sometimes rigorous affair, although the payoff is almost always delicious. Begin by choosing one of seven broths, from savory beef to spicy Thai. After it’s been set to simmer over an electric burner at your table, visit the buffet, laden with raw meats, seafood, and vegetables to toss into the pot. Then the study session begins: Solicit pointers from the waitstaff, and you’ll learn that it takes mere seconds to cook marinated chicken, whereas cabbage needs to be simmered for five minutes. And be sure to bear in mind basic hot-pot math: Each morsel you add helps flavor the broth, making it hard to resist ladling the liquid into bowls over noodles—the secret to earning high honors in huoguo.