A cool and serene water fountain is the first thing I saw as I stepped into X Pot’s Wagyu House, located at 18558 Gale Ave, Rowland Heights. I was looking forward to trying hot pot for the very first time at a seemingly high-end restaurant with a peaceful mood. The restaurant has three locations: Las Vegas, Chicago and Rowland Heights, advertised as Los Angeles.

I arrived at the restaurant about 25 minutes before it opened, and there was already a line of about 30 people. After it opened, it took only about 10 minutes for me to get inside. As our server guided us to our table I was excited to get started after smelling the spices from the sauce bar. After going over the menu, I ordered the house special wagyu spicy dripping pot soup base at the extra spicy level. I added an optional dissolvable teddy bear, which is filled with flavors, for an extra $3. The total for the soup base alone was $12.99, a good price as the soup base itself came with various vegetables and meat. 

About 15 minutes after ordering, my hot pot arrived and started to come to a boil, and I could definitely feel the heat. The first thing I tried was the wagyu beef, which our server recommended keeping in the boiling hot pot for about 10 seconds to allow it to fully cook. I could taste the spiciness from the soup base, and it was so hot that my eyes started to water. However, I am used to spicy foods so I enjoyed the flavors that the meat absorbed. I also enjoyed the custom sauce I made at the sauce bar, which had a base of ponzu sauce and toppings like crispy garlic, scallions and chili powder. The sauce definitely helped bring a new tangy, spicy and sweet flavor to the meat and vegetables.

The wagyu dumplings, which took about 25 seconds to cook in the boiling hot pot, was my personal favorite to eat because of the meat’s tender texture and  the sweet and salty flavors. I found that the spicy soup base flavor I ordered helped add lots of flavor to everything in the hot pot. The veggie and mushroom combo was quite expensive at $18.99. Not only because most of the vegetables were too big to fit into the hot pot, but also because the selection was quite limited. On the bright side, at least they were fresh. The A5 wagyu ribeye cap and the shiitake mushroom wrapped shrimp balls made up for where the veggies were lacking. The juicy and salty meat of the ribeye cap tasted perfect and cooked easily in the hot pot. The shrimp balls were juicy and tasted fresh and were enjoyable to eat.

The food at Wagyu House by the X Pot did not disappoint, and the serene ambiance made it somewhat worth the price of $155 for two individual hot pots.