By Natalie Tran
Fountain Valley, home to a wide selection of Asian cuisine ranging from spring rolls to pho, has recently been graced with the opening of a new hot pot restaurant: Hot °C Pot. Located right next to your local Stater Bros., the bustling building with bright fluorescent lights housing the best all-you-can-eat hot pot in town surely won’t disappoint your taste buds.
Upon entering the glass doors, the first thing that meets the eye is the restaurant’s all-black contemporary interior. With its modern setting, clean decor and buzzing atmosphere, you’re immediately sucked into the energetic environment–the perfect place for late-night dinners. Seeing this, I was excited to begin my dining experience.
Once seated, the waiter handed me a mini-tablet where I could order almost everything available–soup bases, meat, tofu, vegetables, seafood, drinks and even extra utensils. I liked the tablet system as it was quick, efficient and very user-friendly. Though it was difficult to decide what to order, the large variety of options was definitely a plus, catering to all hot pot fanatics.
Since the boiling pot was split into two, I settled on ordering two soup bases, the tonkotsu, a rich and creamy pork broth, and the classic sweet and salty miso. As for meats, I opted for the basic beef brisket and pork belly with a side of bok choy and ramen noodles.
After ordering through the tablet, I finally made my way to the structure that caught my eye right when I entered the room: the self-service sauce bar. With the three-compartment sauce dish provided, I selected the brisket sauce, the ponzu and their green house sauce.
My soup bases and meats came out in no longer than 10 minutes. The assortment of meats and vegetables were placed neatly on the platter looking fresh as ever. That said, it was finally time to start boiling the goods.
My first bite was the brisket simmering in the tonkotsu broth and might I just say–it was phenomenal. The tender brisket, coupled with the creamy tonkotsu, was the perfect combination of sweet and savory. It was the type of bite that would make you close your eyes and mentally shout “Mmm!”
On the other side of the pot, the bok choy, pork belly and ramen noodles simmered on the miso soup’s surface–an indication that it was ready to be eaten.
One bite in and it was instant love. The seasoned miso soup was fantastic. The pork belly was chewy but not too chewy that it was hard to swallow. Topped with a chopstick full of ramen and bok choy and their delicious house sauce, the meal was an explosion of vibrant flavors dancing on my tastebuds, leaving me wanting more and more–and I did order more through my trusty tablet.
Having been both pleasing to the eye and palate, I can now confidently say that Hot °C Pot may be the perfect place if you’re interested in grabbing a quick bite of all-you-can-eat shabu.
