Sizzling Pot King

If you love spicy food, this is a must try. As my buddy can not eat spicy food, so I only order the lowest level of spicy. Two people can not finish the large wok, I should order the small one, lol. They really put a lot of meat, so do not worry about you can not get fed, the only issue is it’s way too salty, I am not sure if it’s due to the sauce.

Finally I found a dry pot restaurant in San Diego. It tastes like the dry pot from China. The lamb dry pot is delicious! I will go there again and try different ones.

After seeing this many times on multiple friends Snapchat stories, I had to come try the restaurant myself. The restaurant is located in the same plaza as Café Hielo. There is quite a lot of parking space in the lot. Shouldn’t be a problem unless you hit the busy hours during lunch and dinner.
The menus were very large and nice to look at. Lots of images and descriptions for people who may be unfamiliar with the food and concept. We ordered two medium pots for 5 people. One was fish based and the other spare rib based. We added an extra serving of glass noodles and spam to each.
Overall, I though the food was pretty good. They basically cook all of the veggies, meat, spices, etc. into one large pot and it’s served with rice or noodles. The portions were very large. We had 5 people and struggled to finish the two medium pots. I believe that they only let you order medium size and larger for dinner. The flavors were all very good and servers were relatively quick to help us with water, the bill, etc. I’d highly recommend to try this place out!

Came here for lunch with one of my girl friends just before the lunch rush! They have a lunch special from Monday-​Thursday, 11am-​3pm so it was perfect for us to try since it was our first time here.
Food:
Lunch special small dry pot ($ 10.99): we opted for beef tongue as our meat, and chose spicy and garlic w/​mild spicy. We also added silk noodles to it and ordered rice. Between us two girls, this size was perfect for us and we were glad we didn’t get individual pots because IT WAS SOOOO MUCH FOOD! The flavors are so so good! The beef tongue was perfectly cooked, super tender without being mushy. It also comes with cauliflower, bean sprouts, celery and fried potatoes! All of these toppings were good especially the fried potatoes. They all soaked in the sauce so well and had flavor in each bite. I definitely recommend adding the silk noodles because for $ 1, they give you a lot and it absorbs the flavor really well, def one of our favs for the meal.
We still had a good amount left over so I suggest sharing a small pot during lunch. The only thing was the language barrier since they had difficulty understanding. I also had to flag them down every time I wanted water and no one really checked up on us but I don’t really expect much from Chinese restaurants. Nonetheless our meal was great and we’ll def come back!

I never heard of dry hot pot, so when my friend recommended this place, I knew I had to try it out. The ordering process is pretty simple: choose a meat, sauce, spice level, size of bowl etc. My friend and I ended up sharing a medium sized dry hot pot (can serve 3 – 4 people) with beef that came with potato, celery, cauliflower, and soybean sprout. We also added noodles and broccoli to our pot as well as rice on the side.
I personally can’t handle spicy food so I opted for the lowest possible, but man it was still super hot. I felt bad because my friend said it was pretty mild but I was tearing up like crazy and my tongue went numb by the end of the meal, no joke. Besides the spice level, the beef was cooked perfectly and the medley of vegetables were a great complement to the beef. I really wished the noodles/​rice came with the original bowl since I can’t imagine just eating the meat and assorted vegetables on their own.
Would highly recommend and will be back.

I had hosted a girls night here yesterday night and the restaurant was super accommodating. I had called around 1 – 2 weeks in advance to see if they take reservations and one of the associates working there actually gave me her number allowing me to keep in contact with her any times plans on my side changed. I reserved for 16 people — but 14 people showed up; 2 people had last minute change of plans. Luckily there was a bunch of tables in the middle which could be arranged for 14 people.
Parking was not as bad as I thought it would be, though the parking lot — you will not find anywhere I tell you. Unless you were lucky like some gals in my group. The majority I advised to park on Mercury street which is alongside the parking lot where there were way more parking spaces.
The place was pretty popular and had quite a line of people waiting outside. I was told that they could only hold our seats for 15 minutes so I got lucky that everyone in group showed up on time.
Foodwise everyone in groups of three or four shared a drypot. Was pretty tasty! I definitely enjoyed the potatoes in the hotpot I shared with two girlfriends. Nice, slighty crispy and full of flavor.

This place has my hometown original — ren ga mien !!! And the sizzling hot pot makes me feel like I’m back in China — Chillin’ out maxin’ relaxin’ all cool
And all shootin some b-​ball outside of the
This place is legit — do the right thing

I’ve never had dry pot before but I’ve seen photos from a lot of my friends who have been here. This is a great place for spicy, flavorful food, and just as good even if you aren’t big on spice. Also a medium drypot can feed 2 – 3 people, especially if you’re adding in things.
The menu is very easy to understand: pick a meat, a flavor, and spice level (there’s a no-​spicy option too). The drypots already come with celery, potato, cauliflower, and another veggie. This was actually my first experience with Szechuan spicy «麻辣», and even though I got the lowest spicy level… never again HAHA. The flavors were still delicious though. I got catfish for the meat and loved it. The catfish is cooked separately and then tossed with the rest of the drypot, so it has a nice crust and isn’t just soaked in sauce. Catfish is a wonderfully buttery and soft fish. Also the veggies and potato sticks are cooked until just tender, and they go perfectly with the sauce. So yummy with rice.
In regards to add-​ins, the silk noodles are a must as they give you a ton of them for just a $ 0.99 add-​in. They have a great selection of add-​ins, but the rest are more expensive and I don’t think it’s worth the money.

Thanks to Sizzling Hot Pot I just discovered dry hot pot and it’s safe to say I’ve died and gone to heaven?! The man friend comes here often with his coworkers for lunch, and since we were in the area I wanted to see what it was all about and let me tell you, I’m all about it ’bout it.
Servers here don’t speak perfect English but are prompt, easy to understand, and helpful in ordering. They have chrysanthemum tea for $ 1 and it’s very tasty – just a little sweetness added which is perfect. They have lunch specials, combos, sides, so much yum.
Shared a large pot with chicken and beef with leftovers for days, literally. We chose the spicy numbing flavor which I’ve never had before! It literally makes your tongue numb and for the longest time I thought I burnt my tongue until I realized it was simply the flavor. The server was kind in warning us about it because apparently not too many people like it but I love it! The large pot sits over a fire and stays hot the entire meal! Served with a large side of rice and option of noodles in the pot which I’ll definitely have to try next time. The beef chunks are plenty and the wings are deeeee-​lish. Love love love the cauliflower in the sizzling pot and love the strong flavor – the aroma sticks onto your clothes all day for sure but the taste is worth it. Come here for your random Asian kicks, for Sizzling Pot’s lunch specials, or for groups to share!

Came in on a Sunday night with some of my girl friends and the place isn’t super big, so expect a wait! Especially since it’s family pot style, so people tend to take their sweet time.
Once finally seated, we got the medium-​sized pot with garlic/​mild spicy/​beef tongue with all of the sides (potatoes, bean sprouts, celery, cauliflower) and this was shared between 3 people. Size medium is more than enough already and the pot is actually pretty large! The flavors were very good, the beef tongue was cooked to perfection, and all the random vegetables, spices, and everything within the pot really worked well together. Not sure how the numb & spicy would taste, but the mild spicy had the right amount of spice and the red spices throughout the pot were nicely distributed. We also ordered a large bowl of steam rice on the side which was really good with the pot. I couldn’t really imagine eating from the pot without rice or some type of noodles. Overall, the price of a medium pot with the steamed rice was a total of ~$ 25 (without tip). Between 3 – 4 people and splitting this price, that’s not bad at all!
Overall, my friends and I enjoyed the food and we’d all come back. Parking isn’t bad at all either. There’s a lot with enough parking in front and it’s located in a more isolated spot in the Convoy area, so it’s not uberly busy compared to the main street.

ATTN FIRE EATERS!
This place is for you if you enjoy spicy food. I, myself cannot handle spicy food at all but actually found myself liking this place because their dry hot pots are SUPER flavorful! I got the 2 meat combo with beef and lamb (both meats were great and were a perfect, chewy texture). We got medium spicy and zamn this was pretty spicy. We actually had to ask the waiters if there was any way to make our dish less spicy because we could borderline not handle the spiciness anymore, and they were nice enough to add in some veggies for free to mitigate the spice! This was so incredibly nice, so awesome service as well!
The flavor of their sauce is really good, it has an asian-​inspired sweetness and tanginess with the kick of spice — super enjoyable on top of their delicious meat and various veggies they give you! Definitely order your dry hot pot with rice because the flavor kick definitely needs to be complimented.
Overall, would definitely come again, and this time with prior knowledge of how they aint playin with their spice levels!

I simply love this place. Szechuan dry pot with a bunch of options for flavoring, meats, and add-​ons. Great for sharing with two or more people and it’s just a really fun experience.
I’ve tried the beef and lamb. Beef is pre-​marinated or cured, I don’t really know how to describe it but it’s a Chinese style way of cooking the beef before it goes into the dry pot rather than KBBQ or hot pot where it’s just the raw beef being cooked. The lamb has bones in some of the chunks of meat so if you don’t like that, probably stick with something else. I really liked the flavor of the lamb with the spices. Also tried their spicy wontons which were pretty good, definitely extra food though if you’ve already got a dry pot to tackle.
Got medium spicy one time which was pretty painful so I will swear by mild until I can handle medium. They have different levels of spiciness as well as the type of flavoring (spicy, numbing spicy, garlic). The pot already comes with bean sprouts, potatoes, celery, and one or two more veggies. I like to add some sort of tofu, enoki mushroom, and some type of cabbage because it really soaks in the flavor.
A medium pot is a lot for two people, but I usually finish one with another friend anyways – we are way too stuffed afterwards though. They give you rice to go with the dry pot because otherwise, it is quite salty and flavorful. Servers are pretty good about refilling water because you’ll definitely need it. It’s pretty cheap for all the food you get and a very different experience than what you’d get elsewhere. Lots of choices so you can pretty much try something new every time you come!

A+ for the effort of making the restaurant more American friendly! Parking was not a problem, and the service is on point! I like their new menu, it makes it a lot easier to order. They also toned down their spicy level so the mild is ACTUALLY mild! Go for the Numbing Spicy, it is really authentic. Some people might not like it, it has an almost minty after taste. If you can’t handle the cool sensation then they have other kinds of spiciness for you like sour & spicy or garlic!
Definitely get the Dry Pot Combo, you can pick two different main items for the pot and then add on any side items as you wish. I tried the cuttlefish and the beef tongue, the cuttlefish was very fresh and chewy, and the beef tongue was really tender and juicy! They also have special items like crawfish and crabs! If you like mushrooms, you should get the shiitake mushrooms as a side because they soak up all the juices and become very flavorful!
We also ordered the Pig Ear cold dish, it was very well made and fresh.
Will definitely be back again!

This is more of a 3.5 star place. My friends and I were really excited to try it out but I was kind of let down. We ordered the medium beef tongue with the numb and spicy sauce. The first bite was great but as we all continues eating it, the numbing sensation was awful. I seriously couldn’t feel my tongue and drinking water just makes it worse.
Overall, I am willing to come back to give it another try because it could have just been the sauce. I don’t recommend getting the numb and spicy sauce though!

The dry hot pot is actually really spicy, no lie. I know I can handle spicy foods but ordering medium spicy garlic sauce was already a little overwhelming for me, especially if there wasn’t rice to cool me down. The next time I went, we got the mild spicy hot & sour dry hot pot and the spice level was perfect.
I’ve been for lunch and dinner. They only offer small dry hot pots ($ 10.99) from 11am-​3pm. The medium pot ($ 20.99) and large pot ($ 30.99) can be ordered anytime.
I’ve had the large combo with lamb and chicken wings (garlic with medium spice) and added corn, silk noodles, noodle mushrooms, napa cabbage, chinese sausages, and tripe.

Interesting… I never had a dry pot before. If you know me I’ll find anyway to have any kind of Asian soup in any day, whether is 100 degrees outside I’ll still want phở, hot pot or shabu shabu. So coming to sizzling pot King was a bit out of my norm. But it’s a must try because I love Szechuan spicy food.
Don’t come here on a busy Saturday around 6−7… It’s freaking packed and they don’t have much space inside. We came here later around 8 and was able to get a seat.
We didn’t know what to get, but for 2 people we found the medium size pot was big enough for both of us if you got rice with it. It came with bean sprouts, potatoes, cauliflower… Mostly not what you’ll see in Chinese cooking. We ordered beef because the guy said its their most popular and best dish. We got spicy and medium spice. It was a good amount of spice! You won’t be pinching your butthole to run to the bathroom at work the next day. That makes me happy. (But it’s different for everybody) it was an interesting mixed of flavor, it really does taste like hot pot but without the soup! Hence the name…
We also came here because Our HK friend said its the only place she’ll come back for Chinese food.

On a seldom rainy day in San Diego, we decided it’d be a good decision to eat something warm and Qiwei Kitchen definitely delivered. I think it also goes by Sizzling pot king.
This is not your ordinary hot pot. There is no broth aside from the oil the items are grilled in. It’s delicious. There’s no doubt about that. We ordered a medium, which comfortably feeds 2 people with mild spicy garlic. Both my friend and I love lamb, so we ordered mutton. The dish is delicious. The mutton definitely had a lot of bone in it, but there was still an ample amount of meat. We also ordered an additional dish of silk noodles because we just love carbs. Rice is not included with the order and costs $ 1 per scoop so that’s kind of a bummer, but the meal was satisfying nonetheless.
I’ll definitely come back when it gets colder or rainier!

3.5 stars rounded up for the neat dining experience, nice service and reasonable prices
First of all, if you can’t handle spice well like me even the mild spice is still REALLY spicy so order carefully! My boyfriend and I got the medium pot with garlic for $ 21 total. It comes with the basic ingredients like one choice of meat, potatoes, cauliflower and bean sprouts in a huge serving size.
We chose duck which was good and they gave a generous serving of that. We added the silk noodles and it was a good choice! You have to order rice separately.
Overall the food was tasty but pretty oily and got way too spicy for me to handle at the end. I feel bad for the waiters that had to keep refilling my water every 5 minutes.

The Dry Pot is something I’ve been looking for around the area ever since I’ve started working down here– and this place does it right. Think of this as a pot full of meat, potatoes, vegs, steeped in all that glorious Szechuan peppers, oils, spices, and fragrance. It’s a fun style of hot pot with the flame keeping the mini wok hot, and your table just dives in to pick out the goodies.
Ordering is relatively simple:
1) Pick your flavor — do hot & spicy. I know they sound similar, but that’s the one you want for the traditional Schezuan «mala» type numbing heat.
2) Pick your intensity — if you’re a first timer and not sure, go mild– you can always up it from there. Depending on my mood and tolerance for pain, I’m about a medium venturing towards hot.
3) Pick your size — a small is enough for 1 – 2 people, and a medium is good enough for 3 – 4 servings for me.
4) Pick your meat — I love the duck, mutton, or pork ribs! They have some very adventurous stuff here, so don’t be afraid! And they all come with standard vegs like potatoes, cauliflower (my fav), bean sprouts, etc.
5) Pimp it out! The bean curd sheets are a particular favorite of mine. They roll and wrap them up into mini bundles and that makes them like a little mop to soak up all that goodness. Frozen tofu are also fun in a similar way, and the sliced pork belly is a tasty way to up the meat content!
6) Order rice — you’ll need it, and a ton of water… sit back and enjoy!
PS — there’s a 10% cash discount, so bring your greenbacks!

I would describe this place as a great hole in the wall for authentic chinese szechuan dry hot pot. I would’ve never discovered this place if it weren’t for my chinese exchange students that heard of this place.
To their standards, it may be a bit pricey but definitely a great place for authentic food outside of china. (Take a look around, 90% of customers are native speakers. So it must be good, right?)
To my standard, its really delicious and worth your money. It’s fresh, and enough to feed a party of 4 for one hot pot. However, if you dont know what you’re orderinv I would come here with someone who is knowledgeable about dry hot pots to help you choose the best.
Recommended: Bring friends. Chinese food is best served family style!