Boiling Point

Boiling Point is a very popular chain for hot pot. If you aren’t familiar with hot pot – it is a boiling broth that you cook beef, vegetables, dumplings and more in. Typically most hot pot spots are more communal – meaning the broth is brought to the table and goes in the middle and everyone shares and cooks the food in that broth. Covid safe? Probably not, but as long as you are with family and friends then up to you. Usually the table will order a bunch of meats and vegetable and even noodles and more! Then you take those items and add them to the broth to cook – easy peasy and delicious. It is kind of like the Melting Pot, but not fondue. Anyways, Boiling Point is individual pots of broth with toppings already in it. They bring it to you with a little coal fire underneath to keep it warm and cooking. I love Boiling Point for that reason that you get your own bowl of hot pot so you don’t have to share – for whatever reason. They have several options to choose from – 10 to be exact. These options include their house special, a seafood option, beef, lamb, miso, thai tomato, mushroom veggie, and a few others. Each option comes curated with predetermined toppins, but you can make customizations by adding additional toppings. All hot pots come with some type of noodles and you can choose your spice level for the borth – on most, some of the spicy options are pre-set. You also get a side of either rice or noodles.

Like I mentioned, BP is great for the individualized hot pot, but my biggest dislike is that you can’t do a build your own. The customizations only get you so far and are costly – they don’t typically allow you to just swap out ingredients (I’ve tried, with no success – maybe it was the location I went to). I’ll admit, I am picky at times and there are certain things that I just do not like – usually of the seafood variety. So for me, there are a ton of broth flavors I would love to try at BP, but the toppings that are pre-set in them are just not for me. The Beef option is really the only one that is worth it for me with the toppings, which is disappointing. It is still delicious, and warm and so satisfying. If you aren’t picky, BP is a great spot for hot pot, especially if sharing isn’t your forte. But if you love customization and are a little less adventurous in your food choices, this might not be a great spot for you – definitely check the menu before you go. If you go with a large group of friends, you can always barter your toppings and add some additional toppings to make a bowl exactly what you want. Maybe one day they will offer customizable hot pot – but alas, for now I will be enjoying their beef option with a side of rice. Also I should mention, they do also have bubble tea – don’t skip that. I grabbed their Hokkaido Milk Tea and it was delightful! One of the friends I went loves their Old-Time Delight Tea.

They are currently only in California and Washington, but maybe one day they will expand across the US. If you are close to one, check them out. To find their full menu and locations, click here.