Saturday, June 27, 2009

Boiling Point: Gettin' Hot and Stinky

A not-so-well-timed post as summer is just settling in the air, but trust me that it was cold and rainy when I went to Boiling Point, and that it is oh-so-good during times like that.

And that there will be a line during those times.

I've done communal hot pots such as Mon Land, but Boiling Point was my first individual hot pot experience. Boiling Point serves Taiwanese hot pot and each hot pot is $9.99 for dinner or $8.99 including a drink for lunch - not bad at all since you get quite full by the end! You can choose between beef, lamb, seafood, etc, but what they are most famous for is their House Special Hot Pot.

What's in the House Special, you ask? Why, stinky tofu of course!
And pork, intestines, meat balls, quail eggs, enoki mushroom, cabbage, fish cake, hot dogs. You can choose between vermicelli or rice but I always go for the vermicelli. I ask for my broth to be 'mild' which is still a bit spicy but totally do-able for me.
The broth is spicy enough and you get the flavors from all the meats and vegetables soaking in it, but the flavor is not quite complete yet. No, not without Boiling Point's dipping sauces!

For me personally, nothing goes from the pot to my mouth before passing through this garlic soy sauce:
Others prefer the spicy bean sauce, or mix the two of them together. Since I can't handle spicy that well, I didn't go for the bean sauce.

Now. The stinky tofu. In my opinion, this one isn't all that stinky, really, but it does linger. Triangles of stinky tofu sit at the bottom, "seasoning" the broth. I'm not that crazy about eating the stinky tofu blocks themselves, actually, I found them rather bland (although yes, definitely still has the aroma, even if it isn't that strong). Why I like getting the House Special w the stinky tofu is actually the aroma it adds to the broth. The 'odor' is pretty mild but it stays, and probably not for everyone.

The fire for the individual pot is likely to stay on throughout the meal (you can ask them to turn it off) and is bound to keep you warm all night.

Can't wait until it gets cold again.

Boiling Point
153 W Garvey Ave
Monterey Park, CA
(626) 288-9876

Boiling Point on Urbanspoon
Boiling Point in Los Angeles

7 comments:

Princess Kitty

I like your new template. =) It's cleaner and fresh!

gourmetpigs

Yay :) Thanks PK! My mom doesn't like it but maybe it'll grow on her hehe

Unknown

Fiona, u're getting pro here. I thought u were just doing this for fun.

Did you eat em all or just taste them? I wonder where all those food's gone =)

gourmetpigs

Um well, this one I ate it all :P But I sometimes share!! Family-style always lets you try out so many things.

I was doing it for fun before, but now it's taken off somewhat :>

Diana

Completely unrelated note, but LOVE the new template/format! The pink pig is so cute! :)

Aaron

I was wondering how you ate at Boiling Point with your aversion to spicy foods. I didn't know they offered a mild version.

The new blog design certainly looks very professional, but it's taking a long time to load on my browser. You might want to check the average loading times on your analytics.

Kung Food Panda

next time I'll order you an extra spicy stinky pot! =P It feels like "stinky" is my middle name, and not KFP.

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