I had some family in town and we were wanting to go out to dinner. We decided on Shabu Shack…read morealthough there's a few different HotPot places in town. The food was amazing and we had such a good experience. We got a lot for what we paid. The meats and vegetables are all very fresh and they have great packages for groups or a small table. I will definitely be back!

My family stopped in for me and my daughters birthday today and, much like before, the food was of…read morehigh quality. We got the diamond tier this time instead of gold, and that opened up appetizers. This was perfect for my two young kids who love chicken karaage and gyoza. The appetizers are made fresh and take a minute to come out, but it's worth it. I guess if I had to make a recommendation here, it is that the little cup of sauce that is built into the plate just kind of spills onto the food. Not the end of the world, but maybe a small ramekin would be better. Anyway, gyoza, karaage, fried tofu, shrimp tempura, fish balls with roe, we're all great. There are drinks that come with the diamond tier can sodas, lychee lemonade, Thai tea, and more. The service was awesome this time. The severs were very attentive and working hard. All of our needs were taken care of really quickly and shabu ingredients came from the back at lightning speed. They also had more ice cream flavors this time, which my kids loved (uh hello, cookies and cream is the best). Ambiance is always nice there. I know that when I'm eating at a hotpot place I'm always looking for good AC when inside since the boiling broths can make things uncomfortable, especially in a Davis summer. This place has a nice cool dining room, which I appreciate. I don't toss around 5 stars, but this was definitely a wonderful experience worthy of such. Thanks again for the hospitality!

Uniboil serves individual hot pots that are super good! The food comes out quick and in large…read moreportions. On top of that, the service is so great. Our server was very attentive, kind, and generous. Definitely a memorable experience when my friend and I came here... memorable in a great way! :)

Uniboil was one of my favorite restaurants in Davis during undergrad. It is in a hidden spot of…read moreDavis, upstairs across from Zen Toro in downtown. Every time I've visited, it's been pretty empty besides one or two parties there. When you walk in, you are free to sit wherever you want and you order using the QR code posted on the table. The owner had recognized me as a frequent and always gave me a new side dish to try. It's a different cuisine that I'm used to but I'm not afraid to try new things. I've always enjoyed these dishes because they're always on the spicier side. I'm a fan of spicier food. I normally get hotpot when I come here, TomYum with medium spice. I've seen other reviews that say the chef doesn't care how spicy you ask for it but I've felt it's been pretty consistent. I also switch between the proteins and regardless of which protein it has a fresh taste. This is not an average AYCE hotpot. The dish normally comes with veggies, tofu. grain of choice and your protein of choice It's a different restaurant dining experience with the hotpot meals. With hotpot, here are a few tips for first time diners. It's HOTpot, it will be hot temperature wise. You will burn your tongue if you're not careful enough. Get an extra bowl and put some of your dish in there while you leave some of your ingredients to cook. I have tried different noodles and rice, I've preferred rice. Noodles can overcook easily and soak in the liquid, making them Use the sauces provided! I like to use vinegar, sesame sauce and chili sauce. I mix them and put some in each serving bowl of mine. Servings are usually big here, I can finish it if I'm hungry. If you don't eat much I recommend sharing it with a friend. Overall, excellent customer service! Love the food as well, and definitely a must try.

Came in for lunch on a weekday. Food is good. Service is fast…read more There are so many menu items I want to try but I only have one stomach. So I went for the Mapo Tofu lunch special. It came out fast and hot. The spring roll that came with the set is delightfully crispy. The Mapo tofu is delicious. I really wanted to try their malatang but that'll be next time. I look forward to revisiting and trying more!

First time here to try while visiting my college kid. Was attracted by their good review so…read moredecided to give it a try. Arrived right before their opening time but they still let us in. My kid mentioned they usually are very pack and people would dine outdoor, but I guess we arrived early so there wasn't any wait time. Ordered few items, food came out very fast and the tastes are not bad at all. Beef Fried Rice Noodles: How do you differentiate if this dish is good or not, it is about how much excessive oil that's left on the plate. The stir fried was good, not too greasy, and they marinate the meat well. Unlike other Chinese restaurants, this place's meat was good. Only they could stir fried with even higher eat to create more "wok air" Sticky Rice Stick with Brown Sugar: First time trying this dish, so not sure what to expect. But it does seem to be a dessert to me, my comment would be higher if the rice stick is more chewy. Hot & Sour Shredded Potato: This is common dish from northern part of China. The way they prepared was awesome. The potato was not starchy and the seasoning is just right. A bit greasy but this is actually my favorite dish! Shrimp and Pork with Chives Dumplings: Meat is fresh and dumpling wrap is great too. Each dumpling size is not too big and wasn't torn. Taste is okay but maybe try another filling if I visit again. I would come again to try out other things on the menu if I'm visiting my kid again.

A great store for finding a wide selection of prepared Asian ingredients like fish sauces, coconut…read moremilk, sriracha, curry pastes, rice vinegar... all at a much more reasonable price than at regular grocery stores (weirdly many that are imported carry a Prop 65 warning -- what's up with that, California?). You can also find tropical fruit like mango, rambutan and lychee -- some fresh, some canned. There are also many fresh ingredients like garlic, lemongrass, Thai limes, Thai peppers and a wide variety of mushrooms. Again, all are at a good price. The aisles are stuffed and relatively narrow, guaranteeing a wide selection. Checkout is always quick, friendly and casual.

I love coming to Kim's to get groceries or something from the fresh food section. Everyone is so…read morefriendly and helpful when looking for a specific item. The store is pretty small so the layout is a little challenging to navigate especially if it is busy. But overall the store is organized.

This is a don't judge a book by its cover kind of place. Looks really humble from the outside but…read moreonce you're inside, it's large, clean and fancy. The menu was huge with lots of pictures and options. They put a thing of water at the table, which I appreciated. We both got the Chinese beer, and we both ordered lamb. He got the farmhouse lamb, it was like a stirfry lamb with onions and bell pepper in medium spicy. For medium it wasn't too spicy and it was nice and savory. I ordered a chef special, Lamb Slices with Enoki Mushrooms, mild. Although one dish was medium, and the other mild, they both felt about the same spiciness and I really feel it's because the lamb slices with mushrooms was like a hot pot and so the chili was spicier in here since it was brewing in the broth. The lamb slices with mushrooms was also very savory. The broth was very umami and opaque not thin at all. It also had glass noodles at the bottom of the dish. Tons of mushroom tons of lamb. We felt like we got a good amount of food for the price. And the lamb and both dishes had that good flavor of lamb, not that cheap lamb flavor and the lamb in both was very tender and soft. We also got the pork dumplings, these were obviously made in house. The dough was homemade and the filling both tasted homemade. We each also got a side of white rice. The total before tip was $95, this was for the two lamb dishes, the appetizer, the two sides of rice, and the four beers. It's obviously a hit. We got there at a good time, but by the time we left, it was a full house. It also seems like they do a lot of deliveries. They had a decent looking bar area with wine and other alcohol, I'm not quite sure what. They had three choices of beer, corona, Heineken, and the Chinese beer that we got. I also like that they had candles out, I'm not sure if they sell these, but they were gathered at the end of the bar. They also had walnuts and dry mango that looked for sale. Looking at everybody else's tables too, all the dishes looked amazing. We're so happy that we took a chance and just tried this place out on a whim! It made for a really great date night.

Wow! Ascended to my #1 restaurant spot in Davis. Definitely more of an infrequent meal since I…read morewould consider it more on the expensive side. Average dishes are ~20 dollars. Great spicy food and friendly staff. Food (10/10) - The food here is AMAZING! Perfect balance of spice to flavor and every single bite is electric. The sichuan numbing pepper in the Chongqing soup was DELICIOUS. Mix it with some of the white rice and you have a dish all by iteself. The chicken itself had a nice chew and was very fragrant. Loved the texture and flaovr of the vermicelli; nice bounce to the noodles while soaking in all the spicy soup. My one complaint would be that they have soft bones (sign of long boiling time) so be careful of that! Also got the spicy stir-fried pork kidney... don't diss it 'til you try it. Super good, with that nice bit of chew. Take a bite of pepper, kidney, and white rice and BOOM! Perfect bite. **Recommendation: Rice is a key component for the dishes here. Without rice, everything will be too spicy, too savory, and overall too overwhelming. The rice is the thing that helps tie everything together (as it frequently is) Service (8/10) - Good service; nothing notable. Nice people and I think most of them speak Mandarin. Service and seating was also fast. Order of things to come out of the kitchen was a bit strange: soup for the chicken, rice, stir-fry, chicken. Honestly, not that big of a problem but just decided to comment. Price (8/10) - The price here is a bit on the pricier side; $54 for 2 but there were some leftovers (had to make my own rice though). Some of the dishes are more worth than others. The Chonqing chicken was $25 but you got a large bowl of chicken with soup and vermicelli. On the other hand, the stir-fry for $20 was notably padded with vegetables and I would say a majority of the dish was not the kidney. At the very least, the taste of the food compensates. However, this place is likely not a college go-to. Overall, great restaurant that I will be coming back to again (maybe with my parents LOL) or at the very least, would come with a large group as it is more fitting for family style. Highly recommend!

This place is the BEST! I loveeee their food and they have such large portions. I regularly order…read morefrom here and I love the BBQ Pork Fried Rice and the crispy Sesame Chicken. The food is always hot and fresh and I have never had a bad experience with the service and they have given me free drinks or things when picking up my order. I have not dined in the restaurant because they had it shut down for a long time and only did takeout but I do plan on going soon. But the restaurant is a nice space despite it being in a random location.

We enjoyed all the items we got! The standouts were the roasted duck fried rice (5/5) and salt…read morepepper fish filet (5/5.) Both were flavored really well and I was impressed by the crisp of the fish filet! The shrimp dumplings were solid (4/5) but nothing too special and pricey! The beef jian bao (3/5) was just average and I wish they had more filling and were juicier.

Zen Toro Japanese Bistro was a total accidental find and now I'm side-eyeing myself for not knowing…read moresooner. Tucked away like a little hideout, it's giving quiet, vibey, date night energy but somehow still works for a bigger group too. Ambient lighting, solid service, and food that's fresh, flavorful, and super satisfying. Bonus points for legit veggie options and portions that don't leave you questioning your life choices after. Everything felt easy, calm, and just...good. Would absolutely be back.

Ooof that uni was not fresh. I don't know what happened to Zen Toro. It used to be so good, but my…read morerecent visit was a little disappointing. It's a Thursday late lunch visit. I sat at the sushi bar. It took quite a long time for someone to come over and take my order. And it also took a little while for my sushi and sashimis to come out. One thing that grosses me out a little bit is that my soy sauce dish is oily. But I can't wave anyone down so I used it anyways.. The sashimis are fresh. And they give really big pieces too so it is great value. The Madai sashimi still have scales on them tho that was a little surprising in texture. The nigiris are in massive pieces. Which again I appreciate the value. However, the uni was visibly dark in color in some piece. I thought it might be a regional character (cuz uni from different place can have different colors). But upon first bite it tasted a little stinky which is not how it's supposed to taste. To be honest, I would rather have less uni and smaller nigiri if I can just have fresh fish. When eating raw fish freshness is a huge priority. This dinning experience too way longer than expected. And I'm very disappointed in the freshness of an expensive ingredient. I do hope they improve and succeed as it's been in Davis for so long.

the man who served us was so nice and it was my first time trying jjajangmyeon noodles and i loved…read morethem! the ambience was cozy and comforting

Food was incredible and Owner and staff were super friendly and accommodating…read more We came downtown to eat and came across this place didn't realize they were closed at the time but the owner told us that he would still take us. The staff and owner took great care of us, had our food out shortly after ordering. We had Fried Dumplings, short beef stew and spicy pork it was all so delicious! We will definitely be back again.

Tastes good and cozy place! And they close late if you want to grab a drink at night this is the…read moreplace!

Amazing variety of traditional Chinese dishes that you don't easily find elsewhere. We shared a…read morecouple of dishes and some were really flavorful and exceptional. Ambiance and service are good, but not great. The dishes we tried were: - I12 Dan dan noodles: 5/5 super tasty and flavorful, but quite spicy - G2 Sautéed green beans: 5/5 simple but soooooo good! - D1 Griddle cooked fragnant cabbages and pork: 5/5 again pretty simple, but very tasty and well cooked! - E7 Hunan style sauteed beef: 5/5 excellent, so tender and juicy and well seasoned. - I3 Farmhouse stir fried pork with rice noodles: 4/5 very tasty, but the texture of the rice noodles were a bit too slippery for my taste. - E16 Ma Po Tofu: 4/5 the sauce was amazing, but the tofu texture was a bit too soft and strange for me. - G4 Shaoshan stir fried shredded potatoes: 3/5 I didn't have a problem with this, but didn't particularly enjoy them either. Not something to go for again. The potatoes are kind of half way cooked. - C1 Laotan boiled fish with pickled cabbage: 1/5 the fish itself was tasty, but the soup itself was super salty like drinking ocean water! I didn't like the taste of pickles in the soup either.

Excellent, authentic Chinese cuisine. Owner / Servers very nice and work (too) hard. Best value in…read moreDavis. They have a odd section of menu with all.kinds of pasta fusion dishes. They are also very tastey and filling but not really Chinese I don't think.

Talk about a good bang for your buck! Came here for lunch with two friends and we each got an…read moreentree, and the total before tax only came out to about $37! I had the spicy beef noodle soup. It was not spicy at all, like not even a hint. But I asked the lady for some chili sauce/oil and she gave me this really fragrant mala chili oil that elevated my noodles a ton! The beef was tender and generous given the price, and so were the noodles. One of my friends got their chicken cutlet with black pepper sauce; we all thought it was nice and juicy and well-portioned. My other friend got their mapo tofu and didn't enjoy it that much; sort of had a mushroom-y flavor with no mala profile. Very home-like spot. Service is bare minimum. Everything is super casual. Oh also, my friend's rice plates came with a drink. Anyways, an overall steal in this economy!