Fennel Bistro clay pot rice — Restaurant in City of Industry

Maybe we came on and off day, but the experience was not great. Restaurant was full when we came in, we were seated pretty quickly. Noticed 2 food delivery drivers waiting for their deliveries to be finished.

Ordered our food and noticed they seemed way behind. the 2 drivers kept asking for their food and the server kept on giving them 10-15 minutes. Ordered a chicken with rice combo and pork rib combo. Chicken took so long to come out and its basically just steamed and reheated. However, it was barely lukewarm when it came out. One of the cooks told the only server that the pork rib was out, why couldn't the kitchen tell them earlier?? My wife was already extremely annoyed at this point and we almost left, but we ended up switching to the braised pork combo-红烧肉 instead this took like another 10 minutes to get ready and was warm but not hot enough. The soups that came with the combos were barely warm too. Probably served at an unsafe temperature which could be a health code violation. They were also refilling the water bottles given to each table without washing them between giving them to each table as we could see them filling from our seat.

Overall it was one of the more terrible dining experiences I've had in awhile. Server was apologetic and gave us 10% off with a free dessert, however they need better training, kitchen needs to notify front when dishes are out. Reading other review, it seems like they sell out pretty easily out certain stuff, this needs to be communicated between their teams better. I doubt we will come back to give them another chance.

A lot of these reviews seem sketch, with reviewers only having reviewed this place only. I'm a...

This place is good if you’d like to try clay pot rice. They have a nice selection of items for you to try.

The place is small, seating is pretty much set for 4 people per table with their bench seating. They can bring a chair if you have 5, but you tend to be blocking the walkway. it can be difficult to come with a larger party, but they do also have a bigger outdoor space. Parking is easy.

Service is good, staff is friendly. Limited English, but luckily the menu ordering is on the iPad and you can swap between Chinese and English (though some of the English translations are a bit weird)

We ordered the pork belly appetizer but it wasn’t the normal pork belly you may be thinking of. It was chewy, good spicy powder and dip. Probably wouldn’t order again but it was good.

If you order a clamor dish, it comes with a soup or dessert. We got the black bean sauce short rib and the braised brisket short rib. Both delicious and good amount of protein. Tender meats, and full of flavor. The pork ribs are more savory while the braised brisket is on the sweeter. Portions are definitely more for individual, order multiple if you plan to share. For the price, I think it’s good value and fair. Rice is good, mix it well, I love the crispy rice from the pot.

Desserts were fine, depending on what you prefer. The hot dessert is nice with a touch of sweetness. If you like sweet desserts, get the cold one as it’s more refreshing, lots of fruits and sweetness. I liked both.

We’ll be back again when we’re craving clay pot rice and I’ll try something...

This was the first time I was able to try this place in this plaza. It is located right next to Starbucks. If you want to eat Clay Pot, this is a really good place to have it. I wish the bowls were bigger for the price that you pay, but it actually also comes with a bowl of soup which is really good. They only have 1 or 2 people working, and just a heads up if you have more then 4 people, plan ahead, because most of the seats are usually for 4 people, unless you want to sit outside in their patio.

The table comes with a bottle of filtered cold water, and they do have high chairs if you have kids. What is nice is that they have packets of napkins at the table, so you wouldn’t have to keep asking for it. We ordered the Crispy Beef Noodle Soup, The Dry Noodles, Unagi, Sweet and Sour Pork Clay Pot, and the Appetizer with cold noodles and chili oil. I didnt get a picture of the menu due to their tablet/ phone ordering service which also makes the experience more convenient.

If you like clay pots and herbal soup, I would definitely recommend giving this place a try! ...