NEW YORK—On Orchard Street—a short walk from the smelly raw fish and overcrowding of Grand Street in Chinatown—the shops turn from dirt cheap and a bit dirty, to clean, compact and trendy. Fitting in perfectly with the trendy detour is Outlet Koca Lounge.

Inside the two-month-old restaurant are sleek floors and chairs and strategically placed candles. The ambience is so stylish and the music so American (or Western) that you almost don't even notice that your table can turn into a stove top.

As it turns out, the "Koca" in "Outlet Koca Lounge" derives from the Thai word "Coca," which is also known as "Shabu Shabu"—or to just put it in plain English, it means hot pot. It's the boiling hot pot of broth that you dip and cook vegetables and razor thin raw meat or fish in at your leisure. This is the custom, and it can be a lot of fun and very tasty.

The restaurant, which describes itself as "eclectic Asian" cuisine, successfully offers up the hot pot in four distinct flavors, cleverly named after the four seasons. For example, the Autumn broth is a velvety blend of rich curry and coconut milk that seems warm but not too heavy in flavor like a temperate Autumn day and is orange like falling leaves. Meanwhile, the Winter broth is dark and hearty, strongly spiced with Szechuan flavor—the perfect concoction if you have just escaped a serious snow storm.

Then again, maybe if you like the broths' taste you will come up with anything to justify their names. Regardless, the flavors are all outstanding and the most brilliant is a dark sauce called Sata, which you can dip your meat and vegetables in after they've simmered in the hot pot.

The hot pot with meat will run you about $26, or $35 for two people to enjoy it. Other main dishes are more affordably priced at $9, including bowls mixed with noodles, meat and vegetables.

A good appetizer to keep an eye out for is crispy dumplings. They are filled with mushrooms, onions, chives and a delicious lemon garlic sauce—not your typical soggy, pork-filled dumplings.

Outlet Koca Lounge offers some interesting juices worth trying like aloe, Asian pear and a refreshing watermelonade. However, watermelon season is drawing to a close and local watermelons aren't so fresh, so you might be better off waiting until next season to order one.

Finally, a must have at Outlet Koca Lounge, is the choco-nana roll. Basically a long fried spring roll filled with caramelized banana and chocolate that you dip in a coconut milk sauce. Is it Asian? Is it fusion? I don't know, but it's really really good.

Outlet Koca Lounge
76 Orchard Street (between Grand and Broome Streets)
New York, NY 10002
212-477-9977
All major credit cards accepted
Main courses: $9-$28