Tasty Pot — Restaurant in Rancho Cucamonga

Boiling point!?....But really hard to eat at this place & not also think about the ever popular Boiling Point.

ITEM'S ORDERED:

Beef Hot Soup (medium) Kimchi Dumpling Hot Soup (medium)

TASTE:

Couldn't take my first sip of the Beef Hot Soup without thinking & comparing it to the beef soup at Boiling Point. I've had it there many times but it has been a little while. I'd say in general this soup is a little less "beefy" & just a little more sour (tom yum?). It's good just different. Quality of the ingredients seemed pretty solid & it's a better sized portion of beef than I'm used to seeing at other places.

Kimchi Dumpling Hot Soup is a nice option especially if you like kimchi. Good heat element from the kimchi & not overly sour. I appreciate the different components they include with this pot like the egg & of course the dumplings. Also the pork seemed fresh & didn't have that "porky" smell I don't like.

Pretty sure it's a covid thing but they give you sauce in a little plastic container & you can mix in soy garlic & chili oil which are at the table. The oil is quite hot & does not hit you immediately.

SERVICE, LOCATION & PARKING:

Service was very good on a not too busy Saturday afternoon.

It's quite a spacious, clean & modern interior which I really liked. They were playing like top radio hits the whole time.

They are located across from Panera in a shopping center that includes TJ Maxx so there is plenty of parking.

FINAL (vs Boiling Point) NOTES:

I don't think I'd put this place below or steps above Boiling Point, but it's right there with it.

Quality of ingredients did seem better here.

Boiling Point sauces & options are better.

Much more comfortable eating at this spacious restaurant compared to the smaller Boiling Points I've been to.

First time here, but service was better than I usually see at Boiling Point.

They give you more meat here.

I'm very much open to going here again. Solid hot...

FOOD #9 Taiwanese Spicy (mild) I love that you can order different spice levels for this dish, so I got mild. I would have enjoyed this dish a bit more if it was spicier because there was this weird sour aftertaste (I think due to the sour mustards). Adding more broth made the dish more bearable. There were a lot of ingredients in this dish, which can explain the additional cost difference. However, the beef slices were a bit chewy, but the tendon was very soft (so soft some of the pieces almost melted in my mouth).

#2 Lamb Hotpot (mild) This dish had a bit more flavor than #9 but still had a weird sour aftertaste. I should have ordered this or one of the regular pots as this had similar ingredients from #9.

SERVICE We were greeted and seated immediately, and the female waitress brought us water right away (10/10 for this!). Service was a bit slower at the end for us.

PARKING Plenty of parking spots, even on a Saturday night.

RECOMMEND? As a hotpot lover, I was incredibly excited to try this place, given the high reviews from the Yelp community. Unfortunately, expectations fell short for me. I think if the restaurant spends a bit more time improving the soup bases, it can become a key (hotpot) restaurant...

Came for lunch around 1:30pm on a Sunday and were seated right away. Service was quick - we ordered the Mild Beef Hot Soup and Cajun Ramen. Both tasted very good and the hotpots included a complimentary iced black or green tea and a choice of rice or vermicelli noodles. The hotpot was filling but is probably only enough for one person unless you choose to keep refilling with their free broth. The hotpot is also kept very hot by the fire underneath it. Highly recommend turning it off eventually so you can better enjoy the broth’s delicious flavor. The Cajun Ramen was spicy but also very good. I’d actually go back for the Ramen as we enjoyed it and a plus that it was at a...