Chong Qing YaoMei Hotpot

I used to love this hot pot place and came back because I had such great memories from before. Unfortunately, this visit was a huge disappointment. They now charge around $6.99 per person just to access the sauce and salad bar—which I’ve never seen at any other hot pot restaurant. It felt ridiculous, especially since there wasn’t much to choose from. There were also some basic issues with the experience: no tongs were provided for handling the raw meat, which is a hygiene concern, and the seats were creaky and uncomfortable. To make matters worse, one of my friends ended up getting food poisoning after eating here and was sick in bed for three days. It’s really sad because I used to enjoy this place, but after this experience, I won’t be coming back. P.s Honestly, I think Haidilao is a much better option in comparison.

Chong Qing YaoMei Hotpot offers an authentic and unforgettable Chongqing hotpot experience, with a rich, spicy broth that perfectly balances heat and flavor. The ingredients are fresh and high-quality, from tender sliced meats to a wide range of vegetables and handmade meatballs. Their sauce bar is impressive, allowing you to customize your dipping sauce just the way you like it. The staff is friendly and attentive, and the vibrant, modern atmosphere adds to the overall experience. While slightly on the pricier side, it’s well worth it for the flavor and quality — a must-visit spot for any hotpot lover.

A super causal but fun place for friends. I ended up coming in for lunch and didn’t wait to be seated. The service was really quick and ordering via the QR code made things really convenient. The beef oil broth was spicy and delicious, I ended up opting for only the one since it was so good. I recommend the mushrooms and spicy beef. But you can’t go wrong!

Grab a group of friends and enjoy some hotpot here! Lovely restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating options, metered street parking out front. You pick your soup base(s) and whatever you want (by the serving). Tell them what soup you want and order the rest from the app. Ingredients come out quickly and are fresh/high quality. There’s a sauce bar so you can create your own. There’s some snacks too but don’t fill up! The hotpot is the star of the show. Though we did come in on a random Sunday night and were surprised by an actual marital arts dancing show! Staff is very friendly and helpful. Definitely err on the side of caution with the spice—hot is VERY HOT here. We still had to get our soup toned down after ordering the mild. Overall was a great splurge, would recommend and would definitely come back!

Updated on May 26 2025 They have skewers now!!!!!!!! Charcoal grill skewers are perfect for snacking and beer. My fav is the beef skewers, second is the pork butt, and the third is the potato spiral. I also like the mushroom. The pork belly is too tough for me. And they're still playing Jay Chau after so many years. ***************** This place is the next level of hotpot in Pasadena. It may look like a Chinese bar with games and mahjong table from the outside but it is a full blown great hot pot experience inside. We tried the beef broth and miso broth and they were great delicious. We ordered dishes outside of the ordinary like beef bone marrow, yam noodles, and mentaiko fish balls and they were all great. The lamb and beef combo is a little smaller in portion than what we were expecting but we finished the soup, which is a great sentiment on how great they are. Their sauce bar has sooo many choices and they have unlimited small sides for your picking. Not too mention, the service is great and I love their Chinese love songs playing at the background. overall, great place so keep up the great work!! I

Pasadena No.1 Hotpot. Everyone should try it. The special Hunan beef noodle is also delicious. Good for taking photo, special decoration restaurant.

This was my first Chinese hotpot experience. We checked in with the online Yelp waiting list via tablet at the front of the restaurant, and it took us about 30 mins to be seated. The vibes inside felt like I was transported in a different world. However, I felt the outdoor area could be a bit cleaner. After we were seated, we selected two broths: bone broth and medium spicy special broth. Our favorite of the two was medium spicy, but both flavors were delicious and flavorful. The positives: the fatty beef was delicious! Fish balls and woodear mushrooms were tasty as well. There are many options to use at their self-serve sauce bar. Service was good; we utilized the bell by our seat to request extra water from time to time. Staffs offered if we wanted to do any takeout, so we packed our fried mantou and even got some extra condensed milk on the side too. As for my other thoughts, I tried the plum juice for the first time. Because it tasted more like barbeque sauce than a fruit juice, I was put off. Also, the fried bread was brought cold instead of warm. It was my first time trying these, so I'm not sure if this is how it's supposed to be. Anyway, all in all, not bad experience!

The Service: Their service is quick & super attentive. Absolutely "A+" customer service! All the staffs are very knowledgeable about the menu. They gave great recommendations. The Restaurant: LOVE LOVE LOVE their decoration! It totally reminds me of the olden days in China. The lantern, the neon sign, the posters on the wall, etc. It looks like in a movie set! Lots of great photo ops. Get your camera ready! BTW, they have a private room in case you have a big party. The Food: YES, very authentic! Some of the items on the menu that I have never seen in other hotpot places. Well~ you know Chinese do eat some exotic food, if you are up for the challenge, you got to try it here! There are varieties of different flavors of the soup base. If you are vegetarian, there are LOTS of vegetables to choose from. Their meats are super fresh, thinly sliced so it cooks quickly. Also, they plate their food beautifully, perfect for my Instagram post! You can't eat hot pot without dipping sauce, right? Guess what? They have a sauce "bar". You create & mix your own sauce to your liking. The Parking: There is a paid small parking lot right next to the restaurant. Street metered parking in front of the restaurant as well. If you don't mind walking just a little bit, there are plenty of street metered parking on the bridge (on Green St.). Even better.... once you pass the bridge, residential area parking on the street (FREE!)

This was an awesome find last week and what I will call a gem in Pasadena. A true hot pot establishment with efficient service, awesome eats and some nice atmosphere. There was a wait list which we joined using their waitlist pad out front which was connected to Yelp's waitlist feature. The restaurant itself seems to have both indoor and outdoor seating but I don't believe they use the outside as much especially if it's cold out; this was the case on the day I visited. Tables are big and wide to accommodate the experience. The atmosphere and decor is great with lanterns, banners, neon signs and posters. Service was quick and attentive. To order we had to use their online ordering system after scanning a QR scan which tallies up items and allows you to order more if/as needed. Item's are brought out quickly. They have a true authentic sauce/condiment bar/side bar which you should use to customize your eating experience with sauces, side dishes and even a dessert. The menu has a bit of everything from a wide selection of broths (single types and combo included as a choice as well as applicable spice levels), meats (exotic included), seafood, vegetables, drinks and more. My experience included a combo soup base (two choices) bone broth and spicy beef oil (mild) and the following items: 8 seconds potato thin slices, Chinese yam, watercress, rice cake, New Zealand lamb, and marbled beef. I enjoyed a Tsingtao beer as well. The quality and quantity of everything was really great and more than enough. The broths we choice were both great and had a depth in flavor. The mild version of the beef oil was spicy for me and I can handle some spice so I would suggest starting from a mild version for the broths for any first timers to this establishment like myself. Prices are comparable and fair and meet the quality of the service and food. Parking includes various metered street and the various public parking lots around this area which should be plenty. There's a parking lot right next to the establishment for example.

Guys this is the best place in Pasadena to have hotpot, probably one of the best in the SGV area as well Food: the pork broth is probably the best tasting broth I have ever had and sits at #2 just right after the X pot which is in Vegas! The broth is so tasty and creamy that it makes everything taste even better!! The selection of meat is also great and my favorite is the fatty beef which is such a good price for how much meat you get, just nice tasty beefy goodness the crispy pork is also sooo good, definitely must try. Service: extremely attentive staff, ordering is easy through a tablet, and they have a whole sauce buffet. Ambiance: cute decor, and ambiance, it looks kind of like a little Asian pub in there.

The soup flavors were nice. But the experience was not well thought through. Sorry for the list of grievances, but I hope it helps your decisions: - I feel like they should have given everyone personal tongs and slotted spoons. It's crazy to have a table of 6 people and share the same tongs and slotted spoon. At least give us two! One for each side of the combo soup. - I think complimentary rice would be nice. - spoons would have been nice. Chopsticks are great, but I prefer chopsticks in one hand and a spoon in the other - the stoves heat one side of the soup way more than the other, so the result was one side took forever to cook. When we asked to adjust the heat they just said to take out some of the broth, which I understand how that works but... they were the ones who filled the broth.

Nice cheaper alternative to Haidilao Hotpot, with just the basic meat options and less flexibility with soup bases. You can get up to 2 soup bases here, whereas you can get 4 at Haidilao. They also don't have the fancy meat cuts like wagyu and kobe beef, but it's still good quality. I came as a group of 2, but think it would have been a better experience with 4 or more. We got the special soup (spice level medium) and bone soup bases, and we thought this was very heavy for 2 people because of the grease, to a point that our stomachs had to tap out pretty early. I'd probably get something lighter like the tomato soup base if I came with just my boyfriend, but I can't resist good bone broth. Everything was very fresh from the vegetables to the handmade noodles. I think it's worth getting the rose shrimp balls because they taste a lot fresher than the other fish balls that have a more processed texture. The crispy fried pork is excellent as well. It feels a bit excessive because it doesn't go with the hot pot, but I'd get this again because the batter is so crispy and the pork is pretty tender. I really liked the interior design of the restaurant - the colors and the posters on the wall make you really feel like you're in a Chinese night market. The vibe felt less pretentious than Haidilao.

OMG immediately yes!! My friend was craving hotpot and my usual spot (Little Sheep Mongolian) shut down so I was looking through spots on Yelp when I found Chong Qing Yao Mei. Located in Pasadena, this spot is exactly what you're looking for when it comes to hot pot; personalized soup bases, choose your own soup additions from a wide range of vegetables, fish balls, meats, and more, and!! a custom sauce dipping station. The location itself looks slightly unassuming, we drove past it from our electronic navigation notification without spotting it. There is metered street parking on the same block as well as several blocks around (for Pasadena, in general, download the app Passport Parking!) as well as drive in covered parking spots (that are more pricy). The restaurant name is displayed outside and you will walk directly inside, passing outside seating before you come inside. I honestly cannot imagine when one would like to eat hotpot outside (too hot in summer, possible wind + leaves getting in the food in winter) but if you like this, they have it! We came for lunch on a weekday with no reservation in Summer and were seated immediately but there was several other people dining at this unassuming time, so the place is definitely popular. Combo Soup Base 5/5, THE classic spicy + regular side (we opted for bone broth). We ordered the spice level a "medium" and it was super delicious. For sides: Squid Balls 5/5, these soak up whatever soap broth you place them in and the juice dance on your tongue, super yummy! New Zealand Lamb (5/5) + Beef slices (4/5), definitely we ordered too much food because we were hungry, but I preferred the lamb cut to the beef Enoki Mushrooms (5/5), classic hotpot mushroom Radish (1/5), Neither of us had never tried radish with hotpot (instead just on the side, regular or fermented), but we did not enjoy this Lotus Root (3/5), I've had this once before with hot pot, my friend wanted it, its not my favorite and I wouldn't go for it again but she was a fan Napa Cabbage (5/5), I haven't had this with hotpot in the past, but I will be ordering it now! Bok Choy (5/5) my FAVORITE vegetable to pair at hotpot

For $130, the 3 of us were able to enjoy egg tossed beef, new Zealand lamb, thin cut pork belly, a tofu variety box with 4 options, egg noodles, 2 beers and sake for 3 as well as a combination pot with 2 types of stock. The food is great, the experience is even better with the stone-brick interior, and the staff had no flaws at all. We will be there often

川味 麻辣 Spicy 火鍋 Hot Pot 是在中國當地人氣居高不下的餐點類型，其美味魅力飄洋過海來到地球另外一端的美國後，短時間內就在競爭激烈的中式餐點市場中站穩腳步，一間又一間中知名的中國連鎖火鍋品牌陸續開設。 本篇介紹的「重庆幺妹老火锅」 ，也是帶來這股瀰漫美西的中式麻辣火鍋風潮的先鋒之一，各種餐點食材與鍋底味道富有水準，且獨特的用餐環境更在同類型的餐廳中脫穎而出，成為許多食客情有獨鍾的火鍋首選，座落於富有文化氣息的 Pasadena 綠樹林蔭的巷弄中，餐廳裡裡外外都有別出心裁的裝潢與設計，來此用餐彷彿是一秒穿越來到中國當地的獨特體驗。雖然距離上次造訪已經有一段時間，但在撰寫本篇食記時腦海中仍浮現對其用餐環境深刻的印象。 Pasadena 本身又富有都市氣息與東西方文化交流匯集，且沒有洛杉磯市中心那樣繁忙緊張與擁擠複雜的交通，且又能感受到美式西岸文化歷史特色，是聖蓋博谷 SGV 亞裔居民想要體驗不同於華人聚集城市的生活型態時會經常造訪的目的地。 除了收費的街邊停車位，餐廳緊鄰一個收費停車場，但位置不多加上附近也有不少熱門餐廳景點，建議謹慎安排行程給自己更充裕的時間，特別是在週末晚間的時段。 室外中庭由色彩繽紛彩繪的油傘為主要裝飾，打造出濃濃的中國文化氣息，入夜後加上燈火的妝點，隨著徐徐微風飄動閃爍著迷幻感受，彷彿瞬間走入了在中國當地農家田園中的大院，展開一場透過舌尖的旅行。 走進餐廳後，富有中式喜氣與懷舊氣息的用餐環境，有點傻氣卻也讓人感到愉快輕鬆，與多裝飾細節都是其它同類型餐廳沒見過的，十分新鮮有趣。在尚未安排客人的空桌上，以老式阻絕蚊蟲的塑膠網來罩住擺放鍋子加熱的爐具，實際效用不知但是為眼前的景象添加豐富的色彩就已經足以增加不少食慾。牆壁上張貼的老式海報到整組麻將，都將中國四川當地的人文特色與風俗民情完整地在美國展現。 調料台的醬汁佐料選擇蠻豐富的，也有一些點心小品可以增加用餐樂趣，但整體涼菜小吃選擇較少比較可惜。 依照個人喜好自選配料來調製沾醬是品嚐中式火鍋的一大特色。一來自一樣鍋底烹煮的食材，搭配不同的沾醬就能帶來不同的味覺刺激，豐富的食感不斷累積愉悅的心情。 鴛鴦鍋是最熱門的鍋底選擇，沒有辣度的骨湯適合一些海鮮或蔬菜，而香麻夠勁、味道濃厚強烈的麻辣牛油鍋底，就是用來涮煮肉品特別是內臟類食材的絕妙搭配。 牛肋眼、羊肉、牛五花等肉品都是熱門的肉類選擇，在牛油麻辣湯頭的加持下同源的牛肉風味獲得提昇、羊肉也增添更多面向的香氣，但吃中式麻辣火鍋時自己最喜歡的還是一些更具有特色，像是滷味、內臟類的食材。 經過辣粉調料醃製的手切嫩牛肉就是人氣一品的麻辣牛肉，裹上蛋衣一起入鍋涮煮，辣味與香味兼具。 外酥內嫩的小酥肉更是品嚐中式麻辣火鍋時絕對不可缺少的，搭配辣椒粉沾食或是入鍋辣油提味，都是吃來香氣與口感兼具的美味。 滷味與麻辣火鍋搭配更是川味麻辣鍋的一大特色，丟入辣鍋即可感受爽快麻辣快感與食材本身滷製的香氣兩者交融的豐富美味，無論是牛筋、大腸或是雞爪都是上選。 腰片也是值得推薦的一道食材，經過刀工的加持，薄片的豬腰入鍋後不須久煮，最大程度保留食材的爽脆口感與特有的氣味，在沾上調製好的醬汁入口，越吃越有味。 黑毛肚也是人氣居高不下的內臟類食材，本身不易入味需要仰賴沾碟醬汁來提味，快速涮煮是保有食材彈性口感的關鍵，帶有快意的咀嚼食感不斷地為大腦傳達過癮刺激的美味訊息。 黃喉、牛百葉更是搭配牛油麻辣湯底不可缺少的美味食材，一樣是透過微妙的彈性食感為唇齒之間帶來快意。 手打玫瑰蝦滑、手工麵條等各種食材的品質都具有水準但份量也都不大，如果用餐人數多的話可以多點一些品項，品嚐不同食材與火鍋湯底攜手帶來的美味體驗。 蛋炒飯是點給家中不能吃辣的小孩，但隨著熱度冒出的香氣也讓大人招架不住，與其它火鍋食材一起吃意外地搭配。 吃得滿頭大汗、嘴中滿佈辣油麻勁刺激而有些招架不住時，來口糖蒜或是冰粉緩解是再好不過，雖然還想品嚐其它像是牛骨髓、腦花等特色食材，但每個人的食量都已經滿載，也讓人更加期待下回再訪。 就算是當前市面上的中式麻辣火鍋品牌不勝枚舉， 但每一間能夠站穩腳步獲得顧客支持的品牌都有其獨到之處，當想要品嚐由用餐環境與餐點美味攜手譜出美味樂章的火鍋用餐體驗時，來到這裡就對了。

Update 9/28/24: My boyfriend and I are regulars were, unfortunately the last time we came here, the meat was of much lower quality but also more expensive. The cuts were very thick and it wasn't as tender as it used to be. Maybe a bad day?

I am so happy that my last meal of 2023 and was at one of my favorite restaurants eating my favorite thing to eat...hot pot. I've written a review about this place before and my thoughts haven't changed. Their food is still great quality, their broth (especially my favorite Mushroom broth) is still just as good as the first time I tried it. When I get their special spicy pot, I usually find my stomach feeling bad...I just can't handle spice the same way I used to anymore. But when I drink from the bone broth and mushroom broth soup, it's just so good! Still love their sauces, still love their little side dishes, and still love the feeling and taste of authentic hot pot meals! I've been to this restaurant so many times that I'm surprised the waitress/waitresses and I don't know each other by first names, but they're always fast and friendly. On New Year's Eve, we made a reservation for 6 and was surprised at a special traditional mask changing performance in the middle of our meal! I couldn't have asked for a better way to end the year!

I love Mala and original Chinese style hot pot. My friend took me this place and she was sure about I going to love this place and yess, she's right. I love this place. We ordered soup tomato base soup for my friend and spicy huoguo.you can choice spicy level. This place hot pot was really spicy so level 1 is good. If you are beginner spicy then should order spicy level 0.5 Ordered through our phone and serve was really fast. I wish there sauce selection was more. Very limited sauce selection. I've been this place 4times already. Interior was like Chinese style so you can know there's Chinese restaurant from the interior. Definitely recommend to everyone and will go back this place to eat hot pot. Best hot pot place in near LA area.

I am not experienced in hot pot, so when I went to Chong Qing Yao Mei, it was such a fantastic experience. Beginning with the most important thing: the food. All the meats that we ordered were so tender, tasty, and just overall quality. What's even better is that it was extremely affordable with many options for veggies, sauces to season meat, as well as my favorite: kimchi! In regards to service, everyone was so attentive to when we wanted to order meat, needed new broth, etc! Everyone also just seemed quite happy to work there. Lastly, the ambiance was great! The cherry on top was when there was loud music with a samurai warrior going across the restaurant. The best part: when we got the check, it was much cheaper than expected! I would most definitely recommend this place for some tasty hot pot.

This is our go-to hot pot location during weekdays, not only because it's close to our office, but also due to their food quality. Various food choices on the menu, we have had most of them, the meat is great, just avoid beef tongue (good for grill, not for hotpot). Indoor area is very small, but very well decorated! no waiting for lunch though. Parking structure available nearby. Another plus, they have @3catea drinks next to it, u can order inside the restaurant

Order thru their app. After ordering, Food and soup was served pretty fast. We got the lamb, tofu platter and veggies. All Fresh ingredients. I was also impressed that the sauce and snack bar is tidy and clean. Love their seaweed appetizer and sweet soup dessert from the bar. After hotpot, need something sweet to clean the palate. One thing I notice is that the fan above our table on the wall was very dusty. I was glad that it wasn't turned on. The dusty fan looks dated so maybe it was intended to be part of the decoration along with the dust.

Went with a group of friends and we were seated right away for dinner around 8p. They have a QR code that you scan to get to the menu and order everything you want online and they will bring it out to your table. The place has a nice general bar for add-ons / fillers like green onions and sauces and that's at the front of the restaurant. Unfortunate where we sat it was quite stuffy and the fan didn't seem to work nor the overhead exhaust. But we carried on! The soup bases were yummy, and we enjoyed all the stuff we ordered including all the veggies (all looked clean) and meats were well presented. The workers did come around every so often to refill the soups if we were running low. FYI - just don't sit outside if your sensitive to smoke since lots of people tend to smoke in the patio area.

It's been WAY too long since I had hot pot. My sister and I stopped by and it was a great experience overall! Interior/Exterior decor: I really liked the vibe and design of the place. It gave a taste of the Chinese culture. The outside was more hipster and the inside was like going to Hong Kong, with the streets signs and pictures. Food: It is pricey, BUT I think it's worth it and it's so filling! Lots of great options to choose from and I really liked how you can choose two soup bases. Overall would definitely come again!

You'll miss this little gem on Green Street, if you drive too fast on the one-way street! My gf Trish found this place, so we came here for a birthday lunch. It was so fun! Inside, it was decorated like an outdoor night market? Not sure, but cute and well-ventilated. This is a must, because of the hot soup and the spicy food. It was easy to order- you scan a QR code, and then the food and broth bases arrive shortly afterwards. We ordered a bunch of veggies and meat, and the most fun aspect is the sauce station! There was even a giant MSG dispenser, lol. Delicious!

I rarely would give a one star review to a hot pot shop. But the experience we have encountered was absolutely ridiculous. We were seated and ordered our soup broth. Ten minutes in, and we were seeing our pot was not boiling. So we reached out to our server (the lady with short hair and wore glasses), she said it should be boiling soon so we waited. We waited another 10 minutes. the pot was still not boiling so we reach out to another server that was passing by, he then called his other colleague to come check out the pot. The other server came by and realized the one of the plugs from the electric stove was NOT even connected so he connected it and said it should be ready in 2 minutes. Another 10 minutes went by, our hot pot was STILL NOT BOILING. I asked the female server again, she said we just need to wait and she just walked away. I then asked the guy who fixed the electric stove plug the same question, the guy said it will boil soon. I kindly asked him if he could switch us to a different table since we have not even touched our food at this point, he then said he cannot because the tables in the middle section is for larger parties (while I see there are 4+ empty tables) AND then he just walked away (just like the female server). And later on we saw they seated people with party of 3 and 4 in the middle section!! I then asked the 3rd server (short hair with glasses) if we could switch our table because at this point we have been waiting for 30+minutes for our hot pot to boil (and it was still NOT boiling at this point). This guy also said no, we cannot switch our table, also to mention, this is the ONLY guy actually apologized to us!! While the previous 2 servers just walked away like it's none of their business when I complained. Owner, if you are reading this, I hope you know how to train your employees with better customer service. I do not understand how a hot pot place could take 45mins in order to get a pot to boil. We came here for a celebration but this totally RUINED the whole vibe for us.

Love this hot pot place! Great service and super fresh ingredients. I wish you have more locations in the east side of the town or Irvine area!

One of my favorite spots for shabu shabu! I always go with the spicy broth or the mushroom! It's not all you can eat, so I usually spend about $75 a person when I go. They have some interesting meats like chicken feet and other exotic cuisine. Very authentic and very tasty! Join the yelp waitlist if possible!

This place is tucked inconspicuously behind wooden doors. If you don't know where you're going you'll miss it. If you're just passing by you can also miss it. My son recommended this place and it did not disappoint. Came here during my day out with my kids. My daughter loved the place as well. You order via their online app ... easy enough. We choose the bone broth and mild spicy broth (just the perfect spice). Both of the broths were very well seasoned and complemented the meats we ordered. We got their special beef, beef tongue, and angus beef. All meats were thinly sliced. We got the following non-meats: taro, enoki mushrooms, fish balls, and tofu. They also have a sauce bar and AYCE sesame balls. This place will be a must visit again when the kids are back in town. TIP: there are multiple garages but we choose to park on the one on green street by Fair Oaks. Short walk to the restaurant and easy access from the one-way street of Green St.

Found my new fave hot pot in Pasadena! Came on a Saturday afternoon and was so pleasantly surprised at the service, quality and taste of meat and veggies, and selection of sides and sauce options. We got the pork bone broth with some beef slices, enoki mushrooms, quail eggs, chrysanthemums, and a bottle of soju. The broth was creamy and soothing. I like to throw in extra garlic and chili peppers to the broth to cater to my liking. Service was also great and they constantly refilled the cold bar and checked in on our table.

Great spot to come with multiple friends. One big pot with half very spicy soup and the other half was something milder (tom yum!). Service is definitely better if you know Mandarin, but they're all very accommodating and swift. And it was noisy on a Saturday night, but the booth-esque setups make it easy to still have conversations.

My family & i came across this place as we were taking a stroll. We have never tried it so it's definitely different. I'm a little more on the picky side so i would give it 7/10 and would not go back. They enjoyed it and rated it an 8! Reasonable customer service!

Super great taste. Love the meats. Love the ambience and the cool phone ordering system. One of my favorite Shahu places in LA

Great food for a great price! Best nice hot pot in Pasadena. Would highly recommend for anyone wanting a Sichuan-style dinner.

The ambience made me feel like I was back in Shanghai, which I miss so dearly. They play Chinese pop hits over the speaker and have a lot of automation in the ordering process (QR code, ordering from your phone, etc). The service is fast and the staff are really competent. The food is great and they have all of the standard broths and hot pot items, as well as an unlimited sauce bar. It was a good price for the amount of food you get. I can't wait to go back!

TLDR: Must-try yam noodles! Although pricy, all ingredients are top quality, and the side bar has a variety of sauces, appetizers, and small desserts. **Note: They mainly communicate in Mandarin; using English was alright though not too easy. I'm glad a server talked to us when we originally ordered beef platter. We expected beef, but cancelled it after being informed it was tripe / stomach / innards. - - - - - - I visited Chong Qing with a friend and wasn't sure what to expect other than hot pot. We had the split combo with pork bone broth and the signature spicy (mild) broth. Both broths on their own were exceptionally tasty, but I have to admit that our definitions of mild were very mixed - or my spice tolerance is not as strong as I thought! I will be using the excuse as the chili oil killing my throat, though... Outside of the broths, we tried their yam noodles, mushroom platter, marbled beef, and mentaiko fish balls - a total of about $40. For starters, the mushroom platter had enoki, oyster, and shitake mushrooms - all tender, crisp, and fresh. The yam noodles came in such a small quantity I almost felt jipped, but after cooking them and trying them, I enjoyed their chewy texture and taro-tasting nostalgia. (Unsure if my taste buds were off...) Regardless, they were such a unique experience, and the gummy texture was very enjoyable - 10/10. The marbled beef was very nice - as expected though to be fair hard to top what I already sampled. The mentaiko fish balls were alright; between the four orders, I didn't find this to be as tasty as the others. While waiting for food, I enjoyed the small eats at the side bar. From creating my own sauce to eating sesame balls, iced jelly, seaweed salad, and pickled cabbage, I admit the night was a pleasant surprise. I didn't notice the decor walking in, but on the way out, the attention to details stands out in the alleyway.

This Chinese hot pot place is great! Especially with the recent cold weather and rain in socal. When you arrive you join via their Yelp waitlist. Once you're seated you use the QR code to see the menu as well as order your food. There's a button next to the table to call for assistance if you need to ask a question or request some more napkins. The food overall was delicious, the amount of meat you get for the price is definitely worth it!

Hidden gem. Shoulda got more sauce from the sauce bar. Theres a sauce bar with everything you could put in a hot pot and the only answer is more.

When celebrating a birthday, what better way than to go to Chong Qing Yao Mei for all your delicious hot pot needs. I love that the minute you walk through Chong Qing Yao Mei, you feel as if you are transported to Asia! There are cute umbrellas and lighting in their patio, and the interior is decorated with a variety of signs giving you that asian feel! They have an extensive menu filled with exotic meats, land food, and seafood. I saw some crazy stuff on their menu like blood, chicken feet and hearts! I'm a pretty adventurous eater, but I was too scared to go with that stuff, so I stuck with the land food and seafood options. I personally like the their choices of beef and lamb! They also have a large selection of meatballs and fun baos you can choose from. I recommend the popping kind. As for the broth, they have a few variations, and if you can't choose one, you can choose the half and half option so that everyone can be happy. I really like their endless sauce bar. I went and mixed up a few different sauces and came back to dip my meat in my creation! There was so much food, I couldn't even finish everything we ordered. All of it was delicious, and we had a great time talking and eating together. A perfect place for large groups or a date night. But I will warn you, you and your clothes will come out smelling quite delicious, so wear proper attire!

It's never too hot for HOT POT! Well, sort of.. this place is worth the sweat and tears! Sweat from the California heat/humidity and tears from being so happy :'). My friends and I were walking around Old Towne Pasadena, people watching and crossing the multi-direction crosswalk multiple times just for the heck of it. We got hungry. We didn't even notice this restaurant as we were walking, it's somewhat hard to find. From the sidewalk we saw a nice patio area with pretty cool décor, and looking further past that we spotted the restaurant. So, we decided to give this place a shot! After walking inside, immediately we noticed the self-serve sauce station directly in front of us and the self-serve snack area to the left of us. Standing there with eyes wide open and our stomachs growling, we got seated. We ordered the Miso Soup Base and Thai Tom Yum Soup Base (Spicy). We also over ordered on the actual food, but it was so worth it! I wasn't a fan on the Miso Soup Base, but I was in love with the Thai Tom Yum Soup Base (Spicy). It definitely had a kick to it and made all of the food enjoyable. I'm terrible at making my own sauce and ended up with a bowl full of sesame oil and Thai chili peppers xD. Nonetheless, my sauce was good (I love sesame oil). With everything that we ordered the beef dishes were my favorite, like the House Spicy Beef w/ Raw Egg. The vegetables we got tasted as they should, nothing notable to mention. The pot in which the broths were split was very large, and was perfect for the 5 of us. No ones chopsticks clashed :). Service was good, our big bottle of water was refilled frequently. Each server that we interacted with was very helpful with whatever questions that we had. There was plenty of indoor seating at the restaurant, which the majority of it on the left side as you walk in. Parking is a pain, it's like finding a needle in a haystack if you wanted to get street parking. Otherwise, there's a nearby parking structure with a very cheap parking rate. I would definitely come back if I was in the area!

Good place for al le carte hotpot. There's a variety of meat options to choose from and a few sea food options. Soup flavors were good. The service was amazing! They make you feel very comfortable and the vibe is quite casual. This place refills my water and soup broth so fast it's like they have sensors on them to know when to come. There was also a little performance segment when I ate there. I don't know if it's a usually occurrence though. Their sauce bar has a great variety of options, but what really amazed me was the unlimited sesame balls! I probably ate more sesame balls than meat...and that says a lot. It's not the world's best sesame balls but they're definitely not bad. Ultimately this place will still run you roughly $30-40 if you have an average appetite. Not a bad price.

The Service: Their service is quick & super attentive. Absolutely "A+" customer service! All the staffs are very knowledgeable about the menu. They gave great recommendations. The Restaurant: LOVE LOVE LOVE their decoration! It totally reminds me of the olden days in China. The lantern, the neon sign, the posters on the wall, etc. It looks like in a movie set! Lots of great photo ops. Get your camera ready! BTW, they have a private room in case you have a big party. The Food: YES, very authentic! Some of the items on the menu that I have never seen in other hotpot places. Well~ you know Chinese do eat some exotic food, if you are up for the challenge, you got to try it here! There are varieties of different flavors of the soup base. If you are vegetarian, there are LOTS of vegetables to choose from. Their meats are super fresh, thinly sliced so it cooks quickly. Also, they plate their food beautifully, perfect for my Instagram post! You can't eat hot pot without dipping sauce, right? Guess what? They have a sauce "bar". You create & mix your own sauce to your liking. The Parking: There is a paid small parking lot right next to the restaurant. Street metered parking in front of the restaurant as well. If you don't mind walking just a little bit, there are plenty of street metered parking on the bridge (on Green St.). Even better.... once you pass the bridge, residential area parking on the street (FREE!)

It is summer and no, never too hot for hot pot. Discovered this hot pot place in Pasadena and decide to come for dinner with some friends. This awesome spot srerves authentic Sichuan ChongQing Style Hot Pot with many different exoctic hot pot ingredients. There meat/ marinated meat ( sliced beef porkbelly, lamb, and more.) , seafood (shrimps/crabs/ fish and more), meatballs, tofu, vegetables and their YaoMei special. When I mentioned Exotic Hot Pot ingredients, they have Duck Blood, Beef Tongue, Duck Tongue, Duck Feet, Pork Brain, Goose intestines and you can find all these under their YaoMei Meat Special. We ordered few of eveything, thin sliced beef, marinated beef, thin sliced pork belly, bone marrow, meat balls and the moneybag tofu fish balls. Vegetables include lettuce, bok choy, mushrooms , corn and more. Eveyrthing tasted abolutelty delicious with the amazing hot pot broth they have. There is a sauce bar where you can self serve any sauce you like and side snacks that you can munch on. My go to sauce are usually the sesame sauce, and the chinese BBQ sauce with green onions and a raw egg mixed together. It goes well with everything. The Ambiance and decors are super creative with the Chong Qing Street vibe and the service is fast and great. Parking can be a little difficult, but you can find multiple pay parking structures around the area. Street parking is only limited for 1- hours I believe. I will definitely return for some more deliciousness!

This place is so cool! From the outside this place has really cool decor, lanterns and signs. It feels like you're walking into a different world within Pasadena! The hot pot here is very unique. They have huge selection of meats, veggies, tofu, seafood options, and more unique stuff like pork brain, duck feet etc. I did try some pork brain and it was soft and interesting. Not my jam but I'm glad I tried it. The other meats though were great! They also have spam and If you haven't had spam in your hot pot, you must!! I love the selection of tofu, we tried 4 kinds! The fish balls with roe inside were also delicious!! Broth here is very delicious, the sichuan spicy is just right oh and the sauce bar selection is very impressive. So many to put; tip is mix all the diff sauces like sesame, ponzu, lots of garlic, oyster, and their house. You can't go wrong. Our group had the private room in the back and we had so much fun!! The staff and owner are so sweet, definitely coming back! Parking is easy in the 90 minute free lot or if you can snag a metered spot on street that is another option.

Came here with a big group & we had made reservations ahead of time. The food is ok. There's a wide variety of foods to suit different tastes. With the split pot your able to choose from a variety of soup bases & a plethora of add ins. Each table shares a pot & there is a self serve sauce station. The service was attentive & you also get a mini show from the Chinese quick change dancer. The only thing that left a bad taste was when they added the 20% tip. No where did it state there would be added gratuity for a big party. Though the way the server said it in mandarin was that they selected 20% tip for us which to leads me to believe that they had a POS system where someone should be able to select 15%, 18%, 20% etc. What if we wanted to tip 25%? Guess I'll never know. I don't recommend this place & won't coming back.

Nice little place in Old Town Pasadena where you cook your chosen meat in a shared pot of broth - a variety of flavors are available - we got the combination which means they split it down the middle with a divider- and the prefixed combination is spicy broth (ask for mild if you want spicy without having to sweat) and bone broth. For the hot pot we ordered marbled beef, green veggie platter, fish balls with salted eggs - which, because I like the exotic, I thought this was the best thing, bone marrow - which added delicious richness to the broth, udon, radish- - which I think we could have skipped, and because we had a 7 year old, fried rice. The fried rice was actually very good. They have a sauce bar which allows you to make all sorts of combinations and there is also, what I can only think of as a snack bar, which has peanuts, shrimp crackers, sesame balls and other random things. They serve Japanese beer and Korean soju - makes one forget that this is Chinese hot pot - which the Japanese and Koreans also have a good version of. Service is ok, there's a button on your table incase you need someone's attention. But other than taking your order and laying down the raw ingredients, you're really pretty much on your own. The place itself is nice, large patio frontage for outdoor dining - it was way too hot to do that when we went. Street parking is very difficult but Pasadena has parking structures sprinkled everywhere, so as long as you wear walking shoes, you'll eventually find parking.

The hot pot was delicious, the serving sizes were generous, the vibes and service were great. I've had hot pot in many places in LA but this one is probably my favorite and I would definitely come back.

First of all, the parking is hard to find and not free. I'd choose the 2 hr meter parking at the cross street before reaching the restaurant I love that they have reservation so I can go without having to wait. We were seated immediately. We brought a birthday cake and the staff put it in the fridge without us having to request it. They also provide extra plates, fork, and to go boxes for our cake. The service was diligently fast. We had plenty of delicious food and I have no complaints.

My new favorite hot pot restaurant!!! Very authentic Chongqing hot pot! Be aware it's spicy. We always order the yinyang pot with one side Mon spicy original soup and the other side mild spicy soup. Mild is spicy enough for us. We rate spicy but not from Chongqing. My sichuan friends can go with higher levels of hotness though. Always order the sliced beef. Although not wagyu, very juicy and tender still. The key is not to over cool your slices meats when you cook it in the hot pot. No more than 10 seconds for thin slices. Do not cook. This time we just happen to see the face changing show around 7:30pm on a Saturday. It was absolutely a great experience! Service is always good!! Very fast and attentive! Most beautiful outdoor seating area for hot pot restaurants. Can't wait to sit outside when the weather is warmer.

Amazing sauce bar, quick service, (order on phone) and a good variety of foods. Fun vibes and decor and of course playing my favorite artist, Jay Chou! Desserts were great. Love the bingbingfeng jelly and soup as well as sesame balls. Max seating is 8 people I believe. Some of the items could be fresher but I would definitely come here again and highly recommend!

Unfortunately I don't recommend going here. Sad to say. The soups are good and decent. No problem with the food. However, please double check your charges on your card if you pay by credit card! They changed my total and gave themselves more than what was written when I checked my statement. It was different than my receipt since I wrote down my total and took a copy. They were probably hoping people don't check since they did a minor fudging of the numbers. It's just about morals, no matter how small. They probably want people to let it slide. Their ethics and principles are disappointing... Food is okay, but Restaurant honesty is bad Which makes me sad, since I thought it was a decent place... It was already a hefty amount since their add in dishes aren't cheap, which I was going to be like probably cause it's good food. But so let down by this... Probably won't recommend anyone to go there if they keep it up. I read some of the reviews and it looks like they have good reviews for food, but some people had some situations relating to service and charges. Looks like it's normal for them to not be upfront with charges. As well as tip. Be careful!

Is it just me or has LA been the perfect hot pot weather? Chong Qing Yao Mei has this really cool street alley vibes. Their bone broth was super flavorful off the bat and I really appreciate that spicy broth was not crazy spicy and it was the right amount of heat. Lots of hot pot goodies to choose from classic meats to some more rare hot pot finds (frog, bone marrow, etc). Overall it's delicious, great presentation and definitely meets the hot pot aesthetic! Limited street parking (downtown Pasadena), but plenty of private garages and parking lots for about $2-$3/hour.

This is a small place that seems like the back of the alley on Green st. They focus on spicy hot pot made with beef broth. It was really good on the rainy day that we went and don't forget to yelp wait. Highlights: Bone Marrow in a hot pot - this takes 30 mins. If you like it then order it first thing and keep it in the pot cooking until it was ready. Once it's done, just poke through the bone and the marrow will fall out. If you just eat it, it's quite oily, so order a bowl of white rice would make it taste better. Rose shrimp paste: yummy and bouncy shrimp paste. I would recommend this to be boil in a non spicy broth so you can actually taste the shrimp. All the meats were good, but I don't think you need to go super fancy. The broth is really flavorful so any meat will work out. They also have a sauce bar (definitely try out the house sauce) and a few cold appetizers (seaweed salad, fermented cabbage, etc). I always end with a bowl of aiyu, it's like chunks of jelly in a black sugar syrup to clean the palate.

This restaurant is delicious. The service is prompt, and it has wonderful options for vegan people. There are 4 vegan broths and so many delicious toppings. This is one of my favorite local hotpot spots!

Better than haidilao and more affordable! Great meat quality. The tomato soup base was my favorite- refreshing flavor! Good portion size. We over ordered and they don't refund what you don't touch so you only need two meat trays for two people and then some veggies and noodles. Udon noodle was better than the handmade one. The special dipping sauce is great! The desserts aren't good. Food comes fast.

My best friend had been trying to get me to try this place and I'm so glad I did. Pasadena parking isn't the best but when you find parking it's worth it. The esthetic of it and the decorations is so cute. They have a handful of seats and we didn't wait long on a Friday afternoon. The broths were amazing, SPICCY but I loved it. The miso was so good as well. The sauce bar is my favorite, with unlimited options to make your own dipping sauce. The meat was good and the portions were decent! You pick 3 broths, your choice of meat, veggies and noodles!

Ended up at Chong Qing Yao Mei on Christmas and had a great time. We were in the mood for Chinese, and given the rainy weather, hot pot seemed like a comforting option. Located in Pasadena, this spot is central and convenient to a lot that this city has to offer. To eat, we ordered a variety of noodles, beef, and vegetables. Everything was delicious, fresh, and flavorful. The drink menu had some good options too. I found the decor and ambience to be very enjoyable. I would not be opposed to coming back, though I admittedly don't make it over to this area often.

My favorite hot pot place in california. No need more comments. Meat quality and the broth are sooo good. Reasonable price which made it the best