We’ve always enjoyed the shabu at Jazz Cat over the years - their ingredients never fail to be fresh and good quality, and the portions are generous with tasty sauces and a wide variety of broths to choose from.
You start by choosing your meat option, then the broth and sauce - and you can also add sides and snacks from the decent sized menu. I almost always go with either the Angus beef or premium pork selection. I also like to make sure I add an egg to my order - I love the creamy yolk when it’s been poached in the broth and broken over the rice - YUM!
You have two options when it comes to your meat/veggie ratios in the portions - regular or “T-rex”. The “regular” option gives you more veggies and a “regular” serving of the meat while the T-rex option gives you quite a bit more meat. I can’t say I see a difference in how much veggies you get with the T-rex - it almost looks the same as the regular and for the same price so it’s a good deal imo.
The meats are consistent in their quality and always taste great to me with soft, delicate textures - sliced so thin they cook up fast in the boiling broths. I love to dip them in the satay sesame sauce (my fave one here). The veggies come in a surprisingly wide variety - cabbage, bok choy, some type of squash/gourd, zucchini, broccoli, baby corns, onions, and you even get a fish ball and imitation crab piece!
For the broth, I pretty much stick to either the pork bone broth (my usual) or the Japanese creamy miso if I’m feeling something lighter. I’ve also tried the tomato broth and the creamy milk/corn broth and they were good but not ones I’d get regularly (personal preference). The broths are all tasty but rather light and mild and could definitely stand to be a bit stronger in flavor. I almost always find myself wishing for a little salt or soy sauce.
The satay sesame sauce is complex and sooo flavorful with the peanutty satay complimenting the umami sesame profile and adding that much needed boost of flavor that’s missing from the broths. The Japanese sesame and thai satay are also solid sauce choices.
The meals come with a bowl of rice but you can sub vermicelli noodles if you want. They also include a little portion of the noodles with veggies so you get both either way.
The vibes are sleek and modern with very swanky jazz-club style decor and intimate seating for your party. I love the cat theme too - even their hotpots have paws and ears - it’s so fun!
Service is often a tad lacking - they’re nice but inattentive and go long stretches without checking on you (even when they aren’t busy). You almost always have to flag someone down for the check or just make your way to the front to pay. That’s the main reason for my four star rating as opposed to five.
Prices are decent for the quality and portions. And they also have an AYCE option! There’s a decent sized parking lot in back of the building but when it’s busy parking gets challenging - especially since they closed their San Gabriel location.
All in all this is a solid choice for shabu - we’ve been coming for years (my review is long overdue lol) and definitely will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Ryan Chiu
Way too much money for too little food of no note.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Arthur Liu
Waiter attitude is bad. Food is bad. It’s the worst I’ve had in my life.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Jia Mao
I have a mild peanut allergy, so it's not really visible or dangerous. I ordered the Japanese sesame dipping sauce because it was one of the few without peanuts on the menu. After tasting it, I had a feeling it had peanuts, and sure enough, my throat started getting itchy after a couple of minutes. I asked the waitress and they were adamant that there wasn't any peanuts in the sauce despite my allergic reaction... I'm not sure if they thought I was faking, but it ruined the rest of the meal for me personally.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 2
Shawn Sheng
The best AYCE shabu shabu restaurant in the area. There are not many AYCE places around anymore, but this one is the most worth it and most affordable. At only $40/person you get all of the meat options, vegetables, noodles, and others hot pot essentials. The quality of the ingredients is great and the sauces are also very delicious. The staff are super friendly and helpful and the interior is huge. The AYCE option is super worth it, but they also have a la carte options.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
LeeLee On
They are getting very busy now of course they tried to kick us out after we have done eating but the reason we want to eat there is a quiet place to talk 😔 but it is different now.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Peter Bonamici
Large Venue for All You Can Eat Hot Pot
Staff was very friendly and everything came out quickly. I’ve never had hot pot before so I think that’s why I wasn’t blown away because I did not know how to make it, tried to ask staff whats good but there might have been a language barrier so they weren’t too helpful in that regard.
But sure, if you love AYCE hot soup, this is probably the place for you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Regina Velducea
So disappointed with the service and the food here!! They serve small amount of meat, not worth the money. Used to really like this spot but not interested in coming back!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
David
The food was great and the staff was good. Will come back soon.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Kien Lam
An odd name for a hot pot place, but a good all-you-can-eat (AYCE) place for hot pot nonetheless. Importantly, each person gets her own burner and pot for independent eating, something that not all nearby hotpot places offer. You jave the option of a standard AYCE with meats and various sides OR upgrade for an option that includes seafood like shrimp and squid and more sides. I wanna say that we were pleased with the service -h they were very careful about my daughter's food allergies and came often to check whether we needed more food. Recommended.
VERY BAD SERVICE! Made us wait for 20 minutes for a table, when the restaurant was empty. We sat down to order and they made us wait an extra 20 minutes. Staff was rude and not welcoming at all. Decided to leave before they made us wait another 20 minutes just to get the food. There are better restaurants in Arcadia, avoid this poorly lit and overly priced restaurant with rude staff. Once we got up to leave the waitress decided to walk to our table. Treat your customers better.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Mo Ni Ka C
Great food presentation. Ordered a lamb slices set either more veggies or meat. Chose more meat... Finally consumed everything. Lamb slices were fresh. Portion was ok for a lady with normal appetite. If you are really hungry or meat eater .. you really need extra orders.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Amara
I used to love coming here, but now I absolutely do not. The food quality seems to have declined a little bit. The sauces don’t taste great and I wish they had more variety like hai do lao Service is great and attentive.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Nguyen Phoi Ly Sam
I'm a vegetarian, and they really nail me with their veggie menu.
We’ve always enjoyed the shabu at Jazz Cat over the years - their ingredients never fail to be fresh and good quality, and the portions are generous with tasty sauces and a wide variety of broths to choose from.
You start by choosing your meat option, then the broth and sauce - and you can also add sides and snacks from the decent sized menu. I almost always go with either the Angus beef or premium pork selection. I also like to make sure I add an egg to my order - I love the creamy yolk when it’s been poached in the broth and broken over the rice - YUM!
You have two options when it comes to your meat/veggie ratios in the portions - regular or “T-rex”. The “regular” option gives you more veggies and a “regular” serving of the meat while the T-rex option gives you quite a bit more meat. I can’t say I see a difference in how much veggies you get with the T-rex - it almost looks the same as the regular and for the same price so it’s a good deal imo.
The meats are consistent in their quality and always taste great to me with soft, delicate textures - sliced so thin they cook up fast in the boiling broths. I love to dip them in the satay sesame sauce (my fave one here). The veggies come in a surprisingly wide variety - cabbage, bok choy, some type of squash/gourd, zucchini, broccoli, baby corns, onions, and you even get a fish ball and imitation crab piece!
For the broth, I pretty much stick to either the pork bone broth (my usual) or the Japanese creamy miso if I’m feeling something lighter. I’ve also tried the tomato broth and the creamy milk/corn broth and they were good but not ones I’d get regularly (personal preference). The broths are all tasty but rather light and mild and could definitely stand to be a bit stronger in flavor. I almost always find myself wishing for a little salt or soy sauce.
The satay sesame sauce is complex and sooo flavorful with the peanutty satay complimenting the umami sesame profile and adding that much needed boost of flavor that’s missing from the broths. The Japanese sesame and thai satay are also solid sauce choices.
The meals come with a bowl of rice but you can sub vermicelli noodles if you want. They also include a little portion of the noodles with veggies so you get both either way.
The vibes are sleek and modern with very swanky jazz-club style decor and intimate seating for your party. I love the cat theme too - even their hotpots have paws and ears - it’s so fun!
Service is often a tad lacking - they’re nice but inattentive and go long stretches without checking on you (even when they aren’t busy). You almost always have to flag someone down for the check or just make your way to the front to pay. That’s the main reason for my four star rating as opposed to five.
Prices are decent for the quality and portions. And they also have an AYCE option! There’s a decent sized parking lot in back of the building but when it’s busy parking gets challenging - especially since they closed their San Gabriel location.
All in all this is a solid choice for shabu - we’ve been coming for years (my review is long overdue lol) and definitely will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Way too much money for too little food of no note.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Waiter attitude is bad. Food is bad. It’s the worst I’ve had in my life.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
I have a mild peanut allergy, so it's not really visible or dangerous. I ordered the Japanese sesame dipping sauce because it was one of the few without peanuts on the menu. After tasting it, I had a feeling it had peanuts, and sure enough, my throat started getting itchy after a couple of minutes. I asked the waitress and they were adamant that there wasn't any peanuts in the sauce despite my allergic reaction... I'm not sure if they thought I was faking, but it ruined the rest of the meal for me personally.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 2
The best AYCE shabu shabu restaurant in the area. There are not many AYCE places around anymore, but this one is the most worth it and most affordable. At only $40/person you get all of the meat options, vegetables, noodles, and others hot pot essentials. The quality of the ingredients is great and the sauces are also very delicious. The staff are super friendly and helpful and the interior is huge. The AYCE option is super worth it, but they also have a la carte options.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
They are getting very busy now of course they tried to kick us out after we have done eating but the reason we want to eat there is a quiet place to talk 😔 but it is different now.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Large Venue for All You Can Eat Hot Pot
Staff was very friendly and everything came out quickly. I’ve never had hot pot before so I think that’s why I wasn’t blown away because I did not know how to make it, tried to ask staff whats good but there might have been a language barrier so they weren’t too helpful in that regard.
But sure, if you love AYCE hot soup, this is probably the place for you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
So disappointed with the service and the food here!! They serve small amount of meat, not worth the money. Used to really like this spot but not interested in coming back!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
The food was great and the staff was good. Will come back soon.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
An odd name for a hot pot place, but a good all-you-can-eat (AYCE) place for hot pot nonetheless. Importantly, each person gets her own burner and pot for independent eating, something that not all nearby hotpot places offer. You jave the option of a standard AYCE with meats and various sides OR upgrade for an option that includes seafood like shrimp and squid and more sides. I wanna say that we were pleased with the service -h they were very careful about my daughter's food allergies and came often to check whether we needed more food. Recommended.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
VERY BAD SERVICE! Made us wait for 20 minutes for a table, when the restaurant was empty. We sat down to order and they made us wait an extra 20 minutes. Staff was rude and not welcoming at all. Decided to leave before they made us wait another 20 minutes just to get the food. There are better restaurants in Arcadia, avoid this poorly lit and overly priced restaurant with rude staff.
Once we got up to leave the waitress decided to walk to our table. Treat your customers better.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Great food presentation. Ordered a lamb slices set either more veggies or meat. Chose more meat... Finally consumed everything. Lamb slices were fresh. Portion was ok for a lady with normal appetite. If you are really hungry or meat eater .. you really need extra orders.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
I used to love coming here, but now I absolutely do not. The food quality seems to have declined a little bit. The sauces don’t taste great and I wish they had more variety like hai do lao
Service is great and attentive.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
I'm a vegetarian, and they really nail me with their veggie menu.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hot Pot
Delish.
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