Came to Juicy Hotpot in San Gabriel with my friend on a Thursday night. For those familiar with the area, this spot took over the old Jazz Cat Hot Pot location on Valley Blvd.
We both ordered the small individual pots. My friend got the beef and chicken with bone broth, while I went with the lamb and mala spicy broth.
Honestly, the broth alone is enough to bring me back. The bone broth was rich, comforting, and nourishing without being overly heavy. My mala broth had the perfect amount of spice for me and was packed with flavor. Some hot pot places rely heavily on the sauce bar to give everything flavor, but the broth here was good enough on its own.
The portions were also surprisingly generous. There was a lot of meat packed into each small pot. I would estimate it was easily around 2.5 times the amount of meat you normally get at Boiling Point. Each individual hot pot also comes with a bowl of jasmine rice, so the small size was plenty of food for us.
Our server told us they make their own fish balls, fish tofu, and beef balls in-house, and you can definitely tell the difference. The texture was much better than the typical frozen versions. They weren't rubbery and tasted much fresher.
Their sauce bar was another highlight. They have pickled vegetables, sauces, condiments, and plenty of garnishes to make your own hot pot dipping sauce. The only thing missing was regular minced garlic. They have their homemade garlic chili sauce at the bar, but if you want plain minced garlic, you'll need to ask for it.
That being said, their homemade garlic chili sauce is SO good. It had the perfect combination of garlic, chili, and flavor without just being spicy. If they sold it by the jar, I would honestly buy one and take it home.
Service was great throughout dinner. Our server was really sweet. There was a little bit of a language barrier when we initially asked for minced garlic, but she eventually understood what we were looking for and brought some to our table. The staff also came by throughout the meal to refill our water and broth without us having to ask.
As for the ambiance, if you've been to Jazz Cat before, the decor will look very familiar because it seems like they kept most of the same setup. What I absolutely loved was the music. They were playing 90s Cantopop throughout dinner, which brought back some nostalgia and made the meal even more enjoyable.
Parking was easy during our visit. There's free parking in the lot as well as an underground parking garage.
Overall, Juicy Hotpot was a pleasant surprise. Between the flavorful broths, generous meat portions, house-made fish and beef balls, and that amazing garlic chili sauce, there's a lot to like here.
I'll definitely be coming back. Next time, I already know what I want to try: their large pot that comes with half a chicken in their nourishing chicken bone broth. If it's anything like the broth we had this time, I'm looking forward to it. read more