Love this little hotpot restaurant that serves self help hotpot and all types of Chinese night market scewers. We come visit almoat weekly when.the weather getting cold. The owner and server always with their warm friendly smile.I normally started with the basic non spicy bone broth as the plhotpot soup base and an order of BBQ squid scewers as appetizer. They have big variety of scewers choices in the commercial cooler so you can just grab a plate and pick whatever you like.
Jessi Edmunds
Absolutely delicious Chinese hot pot! Has all sorts of food options from octopus to pig brain to wood ear mushroom. Definitely will go again!
Andee Chieu
The food here is great with varieties of soup base. Many options for skewers and vegetables. The owners are super nice and accommodating. I will definitely visit when I come back to San Diego.
Jean S.
Wonderful hotpot spot! Pop in here on a weekday afternoon. Parking is easy and you'll be sure to get a table! The restaurant is always bright and clean too. After choosing your broth by placing a checkmark on the menu, you get to choose all the toppings you want. Beef, chicken, lamb, fish, tofu, veggies - they have it all. You pay based on the number of skewers or the type of plate that your toppings come on. I love the ability to eat as much or as little as you want. Service is attentive and they top up your water and broth for your hotpot as needed. Tip: Unless you are a PRO with spice, do NOT risk getting even the mild level of spice. Go for "No Spicy". I can handle my spice, and the mild level had me gulping endless cups of water and basically crying into my soup. It's veryyy strong... Save yourself, don't be a hero!
Tiffany T.
Our go to place for some yummy hot pot. The pricing is reasonable and friendly staff.
Adi K.
So much fun here. Highly recommend them . I love the variety of the options and the self service.
Diane P.
My husband loves this place. Affordable. He gets his own hot pot so he can do whatever to the broth. And the food is delicious. My parents who don't normally eat hot pot food loved it as well. Parking can be limited in this plaza. Service is okay. Here's how it works: * Once you get to your table, you will see a laminated menu and a whiteboard marker. You will encircle the broth you want and how spicy it is. Then a staff will go to you to double check your selection. * Now, stand up and go to the fridge. Get whatever you want from the fridge. Note they come up with your bill depending on the amount of sticks or dishes you stack on your table. * You can also get soup spoons and small bowls on the other end of the restaurant. You can also get sauces for the meat. I highly suggest sauces for the meat. * Once you come back to your table, the broth will be there starting to boil. You can the food you got in the fridge and cook it to your satisfaction. * Once you're done with the sticks, you dump it in a metal container. Don't compare it to Hai Di Lao. I like this because it's chill and no frills. And no long wait. Come and try it!
Erica Z.
My favorite place for personal hot pot. There was a point when my husband and I came here every week for 3 months straight. I usually get the tomato broth medium and my husband gets the mala one. In colder wintertime, I recommend their special lamb soup base, it's so flavorful and will warm you right up. Besides the hot pot stuff, we've also tried the cooked dry skewers and the lamb as well as the chicke cartilage are both delicious. I love saving the leftover seasonings from them to dip my hot pot meats. For the skewers, I recommend the fresh shrimp, spam, potato, spicy beef, fish ball with roe, little sausage, and sometimes the spicy pork belly (I've had two different versions even though it's the same item of this several times one is very good one is not that good). In the plates, I recommend the beef belly enoki, shrimp paste ball, fresh noodle, and thin tofu skin. If you're eating the spicy mala broth the duck blood is very good too. I have to have Napa cabbage every time but theirs is not the best qualitied ones so take at your own risk. Service is always good, and I love that they play karaoke cpop music videos of my generation.
Grace C.
Boiling Passion in San Diego Ate at this self-serve Taiwanese styled hot pot restaurant where they charge by number and color of proteins on skewers and baskets of sliced meats, noodles, and vegetables. There's also a dipping sauce bar. They have several broths and degrees of spice for each. We cooked our own meals on individual stoves at our table. It was a fun experience though only more affordable than the AYCE hot pot places if you don't plan to eat much. Otherwise, all the ingredients can add up $$. Pro Tip: Go for lunch to avoid crowds. For more SoCal eats: @grace.loves.adventures
Bo K.
We happened to be in the plaza and the restaurant we wanted to dine at was fully booked, so we walked by here and it smelled good. Chinese style hot pot with individual pots and it's mostly self-serve. It feels very AYCE-like but they charge by the skewer. Be careful with the spice. Although my soup was not spicy at all, the marinated meats have quite the kick. We had a fun meal picking out our individual items in the fridges. There is also a sauce bar you can utilize for a surcharge, we did not use it because the soups and meats were flavorful enough on their own. If you're here for a light meal, I think it's fine but since our party was hungry, our bill ended up costing more than if we had gone to an AYCE hotpot, for meat quality about the same if not lesser. It's also very wasteful because everything is on a skewer, which produces a lot of waste. My larger concern was that I had a massive stomach ache for two days afterwards. Everyone in my party had an upset stomach later that evening but mine persisted. This leads me to question their sanitary practices, but also my stomach is sensitive to spice so could be attributed to that too.
Loved everything here. I hadn't eaten 串串香, whereby you go and choose your own skewers and cook them in a hot pot on your table, since I was last in Chengdu, China. You are charged per skewer, so you can try lots of different ingredients. Plus they have small boxes of meats and fish you can also retrieve from the refrigerator. You pay a few bucks more for access to the sauce bar. I love the chili/sesame/garlic concoction I made, and wish I could bottle it and take it home. The 桂花冰粉 dessert was also excellent! Historical note: the first time I had 串串香 was in Chengdu in 2002 and each skewer was 1 mao (1.2¢ US at that time). The two of us ate 98 skewers (they didn't hold much)! The whole meal, including the soup, came to about US$3. Your meal at Boiling Passion will not be as cheap, but it _will_ be as good.
Selena B.
Yum! I'll definitely be back! Perfect on a cold day! The food was great! I'll definitely be adding this to me "go to" list!
Lillian W.
Coming here - I can feel the mission is to eat. They don't mess around with too many frills or chit chat here. You order your soup (beware: mild spicy is HOT. Don't get it confused for spice levels on original.....my body was feeling it several days later lol). Then you're off to pick out your own favs! As a bit of a hot pot novice (esp compared to my family), I was a little overwhelmed by the choices in skewers, so if I went back - I'd get the baskets of your classic thinly sliced meats. Still, I like knowing I have options in all types. Great veggie & sauce selection too. For anyone who has choice paralysis in ordering, you can always go for the premade pots too!
Luz S.
This was my first time at a hot pot restaurant and I had a great experience! The staff was very helpful and they explained everything to us, they had different options of soup base, sauces and skewers. I like the fact that you get your own individual soup base and you can put whatever you want in it. I'll definitely be coming back!
Karla M.
My best friend & I had dinner here the other night & definitely enjoyed the food. We aren't too familiar with the hot pot process, but the owners were kind & walked us through it. We both got the the original soup base with a medium spice level (if you're sensitive to spice, definitely level down. I'm a spice gal, but felt how the medium could be painful to anyone who had low tolerance. I'd probably would have suffered a bit if I ordered a level higher lol). There's a big fridge with a variety of labeled meats & vegetables to choose from to add to your soup. Each selection was placed on either 1 or 2 skewers, with each skewer costing 39¢ each. There are also different plates of meat & vegetables that you could share with each other if you prefer. Pricing depends on the types of plates you get & the amount of skewers you've racked up at your table. Our meals that night were priced pretty reasonable I couldn't understand parts of the menu, but we were also told that the other selections on the menu weren't just for customized soup. They have bbq options & premade bowls of soup as well. I definitely enjoyed dinner & would go again!
Love this little hotpot restaurant that serves self help hotpot and all types of Chinese night market scewers. We come visit almoat weekly when.the weather getting cold. The owner and server always with their warm friendly smile.I normally started with the basic non spicy bone broth as the plhotpot soup base and an order of BBQ squid scewers as appetizer. They have big variety of scewers choices in the commercial cooler so you can just grab a plate and pick whatever you like.
Absolutely delicious Chinese hot pot! Has all sorts of food options from octopus to pig brain to wood ear mushroom. Definitely will go again!
The food here is great with varieties of soup base. Many options for skewers and vegetables. The owners are super nice and accommodating. I will definitely visit when I come back to San Diego.
Wonderful hotpot spot! Pop in here on a weekday afternoon. Parking is easy and you'll be sure to get a table! The restaurant is always bright and clean too. After choosing your broth by placing a checkmark on the menu, you get to choose all the toppings you want. Beef, chicken, lamb, fish, tofu, veggies - they have it all. You pay based on the number of skewers or the type of plate that your toppings come on. I love the ability to eat as much or as little as you want. Service is attentive and they top up your water and broth for your hotpot as needed. Tip: Unless you are a PRO with spice, do NOT risk getting even the mild level of spice. Go for "No Spicy". I can handle my spice, and the mild level had me gulping endless cups of water and basically crying into my soup. It's veryyy strong... Save yourself, don't be a hero!
Our go to place for some yummy hot pot. The pricing is reasonable and friendly staff.
So much fun here. Highly recommend them . I love the variety of the options and the self service.
My husband loves this place. Affordable. He gets his own hot pot so he can do whatever to the broth. And the food is delicious. My parents who don't normally eat hot pot food loved it as well. Parking can be limited in this plaza. Service is okay. Here's how it works: * Once you get to your table, you will see a laminated menu and a whiteboard marker. You will encircle the broth you want and how spicy it is. Then a staff will go to you to double check your selection. * Now, stand up and go to the fridge. Get whatever you want from the fridge. Note they come up with your bill depending on the amount of sticks or dishes you stack on your table. * You can also get soup spoons and small bowls on the other end of the restaurant. You can also get sauces for the meat. I highly suggest sauces for the meat. * Once you come back to your table, the broth will be there starting to boil. You can the food you got in the fridge and cook it to your satisfaction. * Once you're done with the sticks, you dump it in a metal container. Don't compare it to Hai Di Lao. I like this because it's chill and no frills. And no long wait. Come and try it!
My favorite place for personal hot pot. There was a point when my husband and I came here every week for 3 months straight. I usually get the tomato broth medium and my husband gets the mala one. In colder wintertime, I recommend their special lamb soup base, it's so flavorful and will warm you right up. Besides the hot pot stuff, we've also tried the cooked dry skewers and the lamb as well as the chicke cartilage are both delicious. I love saving the leftover seasonings from them to dip my hot pot meats. For the skewers, I recommend the fresh shrimp, spam, potato, spicy beef, fish ball with roe, little sausage, and sometimes the spicy pork belly (I've had two different versions even though it's the same item of this several times one is very good one is not that good). In the plates, I recommend the beef belly enoki, shrimp paste ball, fresh noodle, and thin tofu skin. If you're eating the spicy mala broth the duck blood is very good too. I have to have Napa cabbage every time but theirs is not the best qualitied ones so take at your own risk. Service is always good, and I love that they play karaoke cpop music videos of my generation.
Boiling Passion in San Diego Ate at this self-serve Taiwanese styled hot pot restaurant where they charge by number and color of proteins on skewers and baskets of sliced meats, noodles, and vegetables. There's also a dipping sauce bar. They have several broths and degrees of spice for each. We cooked our own meals on individual stoves at our table. It was a fun experience though only more affordable than the AYCE hot pot places if you don't plan to eat much. Otherwise, all the ingredients can add up $$. Pro Tip: Go for lunch to avoid crowds. For more SoCal eats: @grace.loves.adventures
We happened to be in the plaza and the restaurant we wanted to dine at was fully booked, so we walked by here and it smelled good. Chinese style hot pot with individual pots and it's mostly self-serve. It feels very AYCE-like but they charge by the skewer. Be careful with the spice. Although my soup was not spicy at all, the marinated meats have quite the kick. We had a fun meal picking out our individual items in the fridges. There is also a sauce bar you can utilize for a surcharge, we did not use it because the soups and meats were flavorful enough on their own. If you're here for a light meal, I think it's fine but since our party was hungry, our bill ended up costing more than if we had gone to an AYCE hotpot, for meat quality about the same if not lesser. It's also very wasteful because everything is on a skewer, which produces a lot of waste. My larger concern was that I had a massive stomach ache for two days afterwards. Everyone in my party had an upset stomach later that evening but mine persisted. This leads me to question their sanitary practices, but also my stomach is sensitive to spice so could be attributed to that too.
Restaurantji Recommends
Loved everything here. I hadn't eaten 串串香, whereby you go and choose your own skewers and cook them in a hot pot on your table, since I was last in Chengdu, China. You are charged per skewer, so you can try lots of different ingredients. Plus they have small boxes of meats and fish you can also retrieve from the refrigerator. You pay a few bucks more for access to the sauce bar. I love the chili/sesame/garlic concoction I made, and wish I could bottle it and take it home. The 桂花冰粉 dessert was also excellent! Historical note: the first time I had 串串香 was in Chengdu in 2002 and each skewer was 1 mao (1.2¢ US at that time). The two of us ate 98 skewers (they didn't hold much)! The whole meal, including the soup, came to about US$3. Your meal at Boiling Passion will not be as cheap, but it _will_ be as good.
Yum! I'll definitely be back! Perfect on a cold day! The food was great! I'll definitely be adding this to me "go to" list!
Coming here - I can feel the mission is to eat. They don't mess around with too many frills or chit chat here. You order your soup (beware: mild spicy is HOT. Don't get it confused for spice levels on original.....my body was feeling it several days later lol). Then you're off to pick out your own favs! As a bit of a hot pot novice (esp compared to my family), I was a little overwhelmed by the choices in skewers, so if I went back - I'd get the baskets of your classic thinly sliced meats. Still, I like knowing I have options in all types. Great veggie & sauce selection too. For anyone who has choice paralysis in ordering, you can always go for the premade pots too!
This was my first time at a hot pot restaurant and I had a great experience! The staff was very helpful and they explained everything to us, they had different options of soup base, sauces and skewers. I like the fact that you get your own individual soup base and you can put whatever you want in it. I'll definitely be coming back!
My best friend & I had dinner here the other night & definitely enjoyed the food. We aren't too familiar with the hot pot process, but the owners were kind & walked us through it. We both got the the original soup base with a medium spice level (if you're sensitive to spice, definitely level down. I'm a spice gal, but felt how the medium could be painful to anyone who had low tolerance. I'd probably would have suffered a bit if I ordered a level higher lol). There's a big fridge with a variety of labeled meats & vegetables to choose from to add to your soup. Each selection was placed on either 1 or 2 skewers, with each skewer costing 39¢ each. There are also different plates of meat & vegetables that you could share with each other if you prefer. Pricing depends on the types of plates you get & the amount of skewers you've racked up at your table. Our meals that night were priced pretty reasonable I couldn't understand parts of the menu, but we were also told that the other selections on the menu weren't just for customized soup. They have bbq options & premade bowls of soup as well. I definitely enjoyed dinner & would go again!