Boiling Point

Ambiance: small and convenient hot pot store
Service: very fast but a bit impatient
Food: in general just ok, something in the food bothered my stomach afterwards
Korean bean paste hot soup — *** pork belly tasted ok, average taste
Beef hot soup — *** chewy bean curd, average taste
Price: expect $ 15~$ 20 per person

BEST SOUP ON A COLD DAY. Well a warm day never stopped me from coming here as well. Hot Pot is a unique form of soup that stimulates your taste buds with a new flavor. This place is kept at a cool temperature and is pretty small. It’s usually at least an hour wait depending on the size of your group. The parking can get pretty hectic especially during peak hours.
Beef Hot Pot #4 — ⁹⁄₁₀.
During lunch hours, the soup is a $ 1 cheaper and comes with a complimentary black/​green tea. I recommend coming here during lunch hours which ends at about 3pm. The beef soup has a variety of ingredients which give a different taste in each bite. They put plenty of beef which makes the soup more enjoyable. The soup is kept hot under a fire for you to enjoy throughout your meal.
One thing that may be overlooked are their dipping sauces! The garlic soy sauce is something you must try with your soup!

I break almost all my friend’s bp virginity! I came with my friend (who is also my coworker) here for dinner while we were out here for work. I always try to make a trip to bp while I’m in town for work! (We need one in sac.) lucky us, when we got here, we didn’t have to wait long. We probably waited about 5 – 10 mins. We got seated and made our order. I ordered my usual beef pot, spicy. My friend also got the beef pot, mild. Our food did take a bit long to come out, longer than what I’m usually used to. When they brought it out, they had made my pot medium spicy. I just kept it anyway. My friend enjoyed her pot and said it was good. I love bp! It is so good. Service is a bit slow. Had to flag to get our waters filled and for napkins and other things. But overall, bp always hit the spot. Just so glad we didn’t have to wait a long time to get seated. 1 star off for the slow service and for getting my spice level wrong.

I’ll come here quite a bit with different groups of friends. It’s a very small location, and it gets BUSY. The early you come the better. By maybe 7 pm, you’re guaranteed at least an hour wait. I wouldn’t recommend for large groups either since this is such a small location. Meals are a dollar cheaper for the lunch hours, about $ 13 for the dinner hours. The food is always very good though! And the service has improved since the last time I’ve been here! They’ve also started serving a seaweed salad once you’ve been seated (you can ask for no cilantro on top) so that’s really nice! Of course parking is a mess in this plaza so have someone hop out and write your names down while someone else finds parking.

Horrible service here. Started off nice and was seated like everybody else. Once we got our food we were brick walled. We were thirsty and the green teas sugary taste only made it worse. We asked for water four times! The third time, one of the waiters looked at us, repeated our request and then never came back. Like bruh, the water was behind you. I asked for rice instead of noodles guess what I got. Noodles –_​-​. As soon as I got my soup I wanted to turn off the fire because it evaporates fast and much of the vegetables consume the soup but unfortunately they didn’t come help turn it off for 10 minutes and my soup had evaporated by then. I was so mad. The only thing they do fast is give you the check. We weren’t asian enough to be helped here.

I’ve been to tozai plaza many times so I’ve definitely noticed the large amounts of people waiting outside Boiling Point. This makes me think that the food is good which I found out later to not to be the case. It also had a unique style which I have never had or seen before that got me interested. The closest thing that I have had to this is probably shabu shabu.
I tried the seafood hot pot and it comes out piping hot with a burner underneath to keep it hot. I mean the food was ok nothing spectacular. Also since the food is so hot, I have to eat it slow or burn my mouth. The burner eventually dies out and the food gets cold and nasty like eating cold soup. My friend also got fermented tofu. It smelled nasty. He didn’t even eat it all, barely touched it.
I would definitely not recommend this place. Do you really want to wait 15 mins or more for mediocre food? I’ve had great food at many places and have been seated right away. My conclusion on people waiting outside this place is a combination of 2 things. The place is small and the food is so piping hot that people have to eat slowly. I definitely won’t be back to this place, never again.

First time visit to this BP location in Gardena. Located in a strip mall filled with other Asian eateries — Furaibo, Honeymee, etc. Went for lunch and although we got there at 11:30am, all the tables were filled and we had to wait for around 15 mins until a table opened up. Didn’t appreciate the rude-​ish waiter who barked at us (twice btw) to go and wait outside — mind you, it was chilly out and their outdoor space heater wasn’t on.
Somewhat rude service aside, the taste of their Taiwanese hot pot soups were spot on (i.e. delicious), and since it was their «lunch special» time, each of our hot pots came with an iced green or black tea drink. Chose the iced green tea, and oh my stars it is refreshing! Why haven’t I ordered this before?!
Also, they also gave each table a complimentary side dish of seaweed. It was marinated in something that I couldn’t put my finger on. The app on the house was appreciated but I wasn’t a fan of the taste.
At the end of the meal I was anticipating the shot of basil seed lemonade, but at this location we were served a shot of a thicker, syrupy sweet beverage. Didn’t know what was in it, but it tasted like thickened molasses water… or the dark Caro syrup. Sorry, not a fan.
Service was good — they stopped by a good amt of times to check if we needed anything. Tips: if you’re running low on broth, they will refill it for you as much as you like. Also, if your boiling soup becomes too much for you, flag an employee down and they will put the flame out for you.
While we were eating, the masses came and there were groups of people waiting outside for a table. So if you don’t like waits, come early since they do not take reservations.
All in all, a good place for some great hot pot. We will return… but next time we’ll arrive by 11am to beat the line!

I finally tried Boiling Point, years after it started getting hyped up.
While I still prefer family-​style hot pot, I get why the individual hot pot is trending. People don’t have to divvy up goodies in the hot pot, such as the beef, blood cakes, etc. that they don’t want to. They can also order different broths.
I ordered the Taiwanese spicy hot pot. This one is bigger. And it only comes with spicy broth. I loved it. I felt like I was at a sauna, and people may have been staring, but I really loved how spicy it was. I ordered it with rice on the side, because it helped me deal with the spiciness. I do want to try the other hot pot options, maybe a little milder.
I also had the hokkaido milk tea drink. Since I was ordering something spicy, I ordered something milky to help cool down my mouth. Water definitely was not enough.
Overall, I do think it’s a little pricey, but I’ll come back, especially on a cool winter day.

The service here is pretty bad, the wait as well and they don’t even seat everyone in the correct order people come in…
otherwise, the food here is pretty good. I love boiling point so they tend to never disappoint in the food area.

The trick to this place, to avoid the frustration of waiting, is to come right before peak lunch and dinner hours. That means, for lunch arrive before 11am and for dinner arrive before 6pm. We arrived around 5:30 — 5:45 and were seated right away. I had the organic vegetarian soup and my husband had the spicy beef soup. The veg soup does not have the options of changing the spice level, but they have chili sauces at the table so you can make it hot. That’s what I did bc I thought the broth was super boring otherwise. I really liked the soup after making the adjustments. It had a lot of different veggies. My husband really liked his spicy beef soup too. At any point if you need more broth, they will fill up your bowl. At the end, they give you a refreshing lemonade drink with chia seeds in it. That was a nice way to end a super filling and hot meal.
End the meal with some delicious Honey Mee that is a couple stores down! Perfect dinner & dessert!

Honestly, I’ve been a customer here since it’s been open. I have eaten here so many damn times that I could of worked here since I know the menu so well. I’ve seen all the old workers who barely spoke english leave, and now all the new diverse workers. suck, well most suck.
Good customer service is rare here. The servers tend to just seat you quickly as possible since its such a small store with at least an average minimum of 30 min wait. Some days you get a good staff working, another day you get a shitty staff. I said staff since you really don’t have a server here. Everyone is your server and helping anyone who needs it. So call out for help, just not when a server is helping someone at the moment. You’d be surprise as to how many people would try to get the attention of the server already… attending to someone else. Oops to me people watching too much.
SO yea, You go in and sign yourself in and grab a number so they can call you by number, since names are too difficult. When you are seated, they approach you in maybe less than 3 minutes and ask to take your order since, asssuming, you’ve already been waiting for however long. They get all your items you ordered like your water and sides right away before the pots come out. Boba drinks come out in maybe 5 minutes from when you ordered.
Now then, your big ass hot pot of sizzling food is approaching so make some damn room on the small table of yours. Be careful to not burn yourself.
You can’t go wrong with the bigger pot options which are Taiwanese and Thai.
Don’t forget to order side dishes like quail eggs, corn, and FREE freaking CILANTRO!
Mix your three sauces and add more of whatever you like.
Try the hokkaido milk tea with pudding. YASSSS.

There are definitely aspects of Boiling Point that are 5 stars:
1) Sauce selection — OMG the sauces here are so good. Probably loaded with MSG but whatever, worth.
2) Soup broth — Every soup broth I’ve tried has been fantastic. Best one (if you can handle the heat) is the Taiwanese flavor.
3) Honey Green Tea Boba — Good af.
I’ve tried Lamb and Taiwanese so far and both were really good. Taiwanese is the best option on the menu here from what I’ve heard from BP experts though – and it’s not hard to imagine why. The ingredients are just far and beyond the most amazing in the Taiwanese soup, and the flavor is incredible. You can even tell from just looking at the menu pictures! My only knock on it is that its so spicy that you can’t really enjoy the delicious sauces; and the option only comes in 4x super spicy flavor! I really wish they offered this slightly less spicy.
I lied, there’s one more thing that I don’t like and that’s the napa cabbage (or whatever plain white vegetable is in there). They use some bitter variation of napa cabbage and it’s definitely a turn off. I usually love it but for some reason at BP I have to eat around it.
Don’t come at normal eating hours – the lines are sooooo long.

Located in the lovely Tozai plaza rests the famous Boiling point. You can always find this place by locating the massive line of hipster Asians. On a weekday night around 9:00pm, this place had us waiting outside for an hour before being seated. I don’t mind waiting if the food is amazing, unfortunately, that wasn’t the case this time :(
Decided on the beef and Thai seafood hot pot. Both were mediocre at best and the latter was basically a waste. The Thai seafood was a major disappointment. Majority of the seafood is all frozen crap you could find from the Korean market. The broth was too watery and didn’t do Tom yum soup any justice. I was starving after the hour wait and I still didn’t even finish half of my pot. ²⁄₅ stars
The beef was also flavorless and had a mild sweet flavor that didn’t seem right. The beef was tender and went well with rice and the broth, but the rest of the ingredients were forgettable and uninspired. ³⁄₅
Definitely not worth the wait or price. It amazes me how many people were lined up for this place.

Ok fine. I’ll give it to ya, Boiling Point. I understand the hype. Lucky for you my boyfriend dragged me here. And I mean literally dragged me like a mom dragging her hysterically crying 3 year old out of Chuck E. Cheese.
Now, if you read my last review about this place I was extremely disappointed. I never wanted to set foot in this place ever again. But my experience the second time around was much better. We came on a late Wednesday night and we waited for maybe 15 – 20 minutes. Boyfriend ordered the house special with noodles whereas I ordered the beef soup with instant noodles. Also ordered the Hokkaido milk tea Unilocal reviewers seem to always talk about.
The beef soup HIT. THE. SPOT. A lot more flavorful than the house special. Also discovered the chili and garlic sauce dip. MERCY. Wish we knew the first time. Our waitress was good at refilling our waters and the BEST part? She refilled our soup base!!! Didn’t know that was even an option. Last time we shared ONE hot pot between the two of us and our soup ran out fast. As far as the Hokkaido milk tea goes, I wasn’t a fan. It was good the first few sips but it started to get way too sweet. The taste of it reminded me of the brick toast from Guppies.

I love all Boiling Point locations, from OC to East LA to Inland Empire. This one is currently the closest location to me now (which is still a good 30 – 45 minute drive in traffic wahhh). Do expect a wait during dinnertime, even on weekdays.
What’s different about Boiling Point from other hot pot restaurants is that all the ingredients are thrown in the pot already cooking for you. Sometimes I’m too lazy to cook my own food haha. I also like how it’s individual portions. Have you gone to hot pot with friends where you throw in a piece of meat to cook and then your friend takes it?! Super annoying, I know.
Anyway, I get the lamb hot soup 99% of the time. They don’t skimp on the meat, and I like how it comes with seafood as well (clam and crab). The broth is savory and satisfying, especially when I was sick last week. The other 1% of the time, I will try their new menu items. The most recent addition is the pomelo flavor. I actually like the ingredients in that more, but the broth was too citrusy for me, so I had to revert back to the lamb.
Service is inconsistent, depending on who’s working that day. Sometimes it’s fast and attentive, and sometimes you have to really flag them down. Minus one star because my napa cabbage was brown last time… ew.

Hard to give chains like BP over 3 stars but I thought this location deserved an extra one for service. My friend and I came pretty late so there was just a small line. We actually left to get boba and came back but our name was already called three times woops LOL they seated us right away though.
My friend ordered the beef and I got the Japanese miso and we both shared fish tofu and kamaboko (the pink fishcake). The fish tofu is so good and my favorite thing to get at ANY hot pot place. Service was also good and they gave us extra basil seed desserts when we asked for it! Japanese miso was chock full of veggies and udon but I took the udon out because I wanted to take the leftovers home. I’ll be back if I’m nearby!
Side note: There’s a no outside drink policy but I didn’t see the sign so out boba waited for us on the counter :(

You can expect a wait pretty much any time at this location during normal lunch or dinner hours. I usually only go when I’m feeling something soupy or it’s a hotpot type of night (ie. it’s cold as af). This time, I was feeling for something soupy, so I went on a Wednesday night around 7pm, and luckily my friend stopped by a bit earlier and put her name down so it was only a 10 min wait. It’s been as long as an hour before so it’s not the best idea to come if you’re starving.
Menu is pretty straight forward, you pick your pot, any add-​ons (extra veggies, meat, etc.), rice or noodles, and drinks. I usually go with the House Special, either Mild or Medium spicy and a bowl of rice. My favorite parts of the dish are definitely the pork blood cake and the pork intestine, rest of the pot just satisfies the soup/​hotpot craving, nothing too special about it. They give you a chia seed drink at the very end too.
YMMV: If you’re looking for a spicy challenge, the Taiwanese Spicy hot soup is definitely the way to go. It used to be my favorite pot, back when I could stomach it. I still get it from time to time, but usually it follows with immediate regret. The ramen really hits the spot!

I haven’t had hot pot in a while, so when my Taiwanese co-​worker hosted me for lunch, I suggested we come here. This Boiling Point is on the corner of Western and Redondo Beach Blvd in Gardena. Its in the same strip mall as previously reviewed Furaibo & Fukagawa.
I ordered the Thai hot pot ($ 14.95 — cabbage, taro stem, pork, enoki mushrooms, cuttlefish ring, Fuzhou fish ball, clams, crab, baby octopus, organic maitake mushroom, shrimp, and Cindy C’s fave cilantro — lmao!). My friend ordered the Taiwanese spicy hot pot ($ 14.95 — sorry, no pic). Hot pots also include iced black or green tea. My hot pot was very good. There was a ton of ingredients, its was nice and medium spicy, and a I was full afterwards. The only downside was I got some of the red broth on my shirt, and I had an evening event later (mea culpa): 4 Stars. Likewise, my friend really liked his hot pot. I used him as a barometer because he is Taiwanese. BTW, we both live in Huntington Beach, and we were unaware there is a location in Garden Grove not too far from us.
Regarding the ambiance, its a skinny place with several tables of 2 or 4. Arrive at 11:30, or earlier to avoid the wait for lunch, or right after the lunch hour to avoid dinner prices: 3 Stars. Service, what fukn service? We had to flag someone down to take our order, obtain napkins, as well as some water: 2 Stars.
Despite the lack of service, I would come back here in a heartbeat. There isn’t a line @ 11:30 when its 80 degrees outside for no reason. Boiling Point offers hearty food, at a reasonable price. Most of the clientele were Taiwanese FOBs, and they know where to eat! LOL

We have been coming to this Taiwanese hotpot restaurant whenever I am craving for soup. The line to get a table tends to last about 45 minutes, if not longer. Adding to the bustling atmosphere is the modern décor. The vertical arrangement of light fixtures, booths, and tables appeared comfortable and yet closely stacked together. Their menu includes 10 individualized hotpot options, with ingredients tightly stacked, assembled, and served boiling hot. Each hotpot also comes with rice and 2 sweet drinks to clean the palate.
The House Special Hot Soup ($ 10.99) came with napa cabbage, stinky tofu, pork, enoki, pork meat ball, clam, quail egg, pork blood rice cake, pork intestine, garlic chives, preserved vegetables, tomato, and cilantro. The stinky tofu needed stronger flavors, but otherwise I enjoyed the pork blood rice cake and chewy intestine. The veggies added some depth to the savory disposition. The preserved vegetables accompanied well with the pork.
The Taiwanese Spicy Hot Soup ($ 14.99) included cabbage, instant noodles, beef, fish cake, enoki, clam, fish balls, cuttlefish rings, pork intestine, pork blood cake, fried tofu skin, maitake mushrooms, tofu cubes, green onion, and cilantro. Interested diners need to be aware that the food tends to overcook in these already assembled hotpots. In particular, the overcooked instant noodles were counter-​intuitive to its purpose in a hotpot. The scores of mushrooms added some texture, but the beef slices were already dried out by the time I get to them at the bottom. I loved the spicy savory broth, but wished I could cook each ingredient individually to control for freshness and texture.
The Lamb Hot Soup ($ 10.99) came with napa, vermicelli, lamb, enoki, imitation crab, kamaboko, pork blood rice cake, maitake mushrooms, clams, pickled mustard greens, fried tofu skin, firm tofu, fish cake, egg, green onion, and cilantro. The lamb soup was delicious, especially when accompanied with the pickled mustard greens. I also enjoyed the support ingredients, especially the pork blood rice cake. Again, everything tends to overcook due to the temperature of the broth, but this particular hotpot was one of my favorites.
The Seafood Tofu Hot Soup ($ 10.99) came with bok choy, shrimp, pork, enoki, mushrooms, tofu, octopus, clam, cuttlefish ring, fish fillet, fish balls, vermicelli, egg, and green onion. The broth was much lighter than the aforementioned, but still flavorful given its subtleties. There were plenty to like about the seafood and tofu. It is a solid option for those looking for a lighter meal.
They also have a Spicy Stinky Tofu appetizer, and a list of ingredients to add to the hotpot. We also find the Taiwanese dipping sauce sweet, spicy, and addictive, and decided to bring a bottle ($ 4.50) to use at home. Service can be a hit or miss, but friendly and responsive when you have their attention. Prices are very good for hotpot, but in the end I still prefer those that are assembled to our preference at the table. I would be interested in trying their other locations.

Came here last night and their service is like AMAZEBALLS now. I tried the new Korean bean paste hot pot which was good except waaaaay too much bean sprouts. But anyway, not the point.
The demeanors of the servers were just so much more professional and polite. We were checked up on. a lot, lol, and service was prompt. No running away or «not hearing» you, hahaha. Pleasant surprise!
The only question is we tried to put a certain amount on one card and the rest on another, but the employee said they can only split ⁵⁰⁄₅₀? That doesn’t make sense to me. Not mad at it, but idgi.
Bring back curry fishball!