The Hot Pot/Shabu Shabu LA thread

Americas - USA West Los Angeles
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I didn’t know we had so many hot pot lovers on FTC so started a general hot pot/shabu shabu thread as new ones (and old classics) are a plenty all over LA.

RIP to the goat Shabu Shabu House closing a couple months ago after a legendary 32 year run.

I eat a dumb amount of Hot Pot/Shabu Shabu cause it’s my daughter’s favorite style of cuisine and we made it our mission last year to try a new place each week in the SGV.

My Personal Rankings - all non all you can eat.

  1. Wagyu House by X pot in Rowland Heights - portions are generous, pricing is actually pretty fair considering the quality and portion size, service is attentive. Private rooms are fun too but there are minimums. The widest beef selection I’ve seen. My daughter has now become a beef connoisseur and she ranks Wagyu House the highest.

  2. Hai Di Lao - but the hacienda heights location. For some reason each Hai Di Lao is slightly different in LA. Pricing seems a little different, service is definitely different but the menu also caters to each area. I don’t really like individual pots cause they get so messy and with the huge lines at the Arcadia one it loses to the Hacienda Heights location.

  3. Yuan’s hot pot in Rosemead - probably the best QPR. Quality is above average, pricing is fair and service is attentive. A nice assortment of broths/appetizers.

One that gets good reviews that I wasn’t a huge fan of was Xiao Long Kan - everything felt a little old tasting food wise. Will have to try again but with Yuan’s so close to it, it’s tough to go.

I do want to go to Mikya Wagyu - but hard to justify since I don’t eat meat and it’s basically $70 for me to get some fish and veggies.

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This is great. I love closest to your top 2 recs.

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That’s funny, I really, really love having my own individual hotpot at the Arcadia Hai Di Lao! I just don’t like sharing the broth space, losing track of what I’ve put in, etc. But i didn’t grow up with hotpot, so any cultural context regarding the communal experience is missing.

Never made it to Shabu-Shabu House, unfortunately. I liked Kagaya the couple of times I was there. Has anyone been to Tensho? The prices look insane.

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at hai Di lao you can ask for separators! so you have your own quadrants. I just feel like the small ones cook slower when you initially load it cause there’s less liquid in there

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Ah. That makes sense, thanks for the info.

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If you have hungry kids, Mo-Mo Paradise seems to be an AYCE option. Not only does it have different broths like curry, but the proteins are in good quality and there’s an unlimited drink bar that includes milk teas and boba.

My siblings took the chowpups and they (the chowpups) had a great time.

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Made it to Yuan’s tonight. Agree with your recommendation. A step up on AYCE and reasonably priced. I left feeling full but not completely bloated like I do after AYCE.

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Went to Mo Mo for christmas eve - solid choice for meat eaters. I just wish their “buffet” bar had more stuff like the competition in the AYCE space

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