***** Kingswood has closed
Since it was pouring rain, and fairly cool, we thought a nice Hot Pot (Huo Guo) dinner would "hit the spot". We thought about the really popular Little Sheep Restaurant on the corner of Azusa and Colima, but opted for the tried and true Kingswood Restaurant on Gale Avenue.
Kingswood is one of those restaurants that seemed to have been in the same location forever, and is really popular with families. Half of the restaurant is set-up for "Teppan-yaki" style cooking, while the other half of the restaurant specializes in Hot Pot. On this evening we got a rather late start, and there was a crowd of people waiting for tables at Kingswood; but instead of finding a less crowded surrounding, we decided to wait for a table. We were told that there was a 20 minute wait, which turned into 30 minutes, which eventually ended up being about 45 minutes. I think it's the combination of wonderful smells and the very nice and apologetic service that made us "stay put."
Finally, our table was ready, and we were seated and handed the menu.
The premise is simple, you order your broth; in this case we went for the Yuan Yang Guo, where the pot is separated into two parts. One half is usually a "plain" broth, that usually has herbs, 
stock, and other flavorings. The other half contains a spicy and numbing broth. You then order a variety of meats and vegetables for dipping and cooking in the broth. You are usually provided some dipping sauce, in this case there was only one; a "Sate" sauce, that was very disappointing in flavor, and really didn't go well with the food cooked in the broth.
Items we ordered included frozen tofu:
Freezing, then thawing tofu gives it a spongy texture. Making it that much better for absorbing flavor.
Fish:
The fish was very dry, and would flake to pieces in seconds when placed in the broth. Just plain lousy fish.
Golden (Enoki) Mushrooms and Spinach:
We had 2 orders of lamb:
The lamb was pretty good, though not of the highest quality.
"Special" (Prime) Beef:
Though twice the price of "regular" beef, it was worth it. Melt in your mouth tender; an excellent cut.
The item we probably enjoyed the most wasn't dipped into the hot pot. It was the Fried Bread:
A dense, but still light and slightly sweet bread that is first steamed, then fried. Delici-yoso!!!
The meats and vegetables are really only half the story in a Hot Pot Restaurant. The other half is the broth. In this case the "plain" broth, was just that, very, very, plain. The broth really did nothing to enhance the meal, even though there were fishcake, fishballs, and other items in the broth, it was very bland.
The spicy broth, was just that…..
Just spicy hot, but not numbing, and also lacking in the slightly "herbal" taste that I enjoy with this type of broth.
Overall, we were slightly disappointed in our meal.
But were not disappointed in the price. All of the "stuff" we ate, came out to a shade over forty dollars, which I thought was very reasonable, no wonder there were so many large groups. And to be fair, the service was outstanding, very kind and apologetic, and the Servers took time to help and explain, even amid the chaotic crowds. As we were leaving(about 9pm), Kingswood started emptying out, and things were starting to settle down. I think next time we'll be having Huo Guo at Little Sheep.
Kingswood Teppan Steak House
18900 E Gale Ave #B
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
I think we might have “a littlet sheep” hot pot resturant in Chinatown!
Kirk,
The prime cut meat looked delicious,(well so did everything else) but too bad the broths were not up to standard. The bread intrigues me though, and it seems right up my alley! ;D
I haven’t been to Kingswood but I’ve been pleased and sated at my two trips to Little Sheep…delicious meats and a rockin’ broth. Although you smell like curry after leaving the restaurant.
Too bad there’s no Hot Pot City around here. Every time I go up to the Bay Area, I have to make a special trip to Milpitas.
Hi Clare – Little Sheep is, I believe a franchise based in China – so you may indeed have a Little Sheep in Oz.
Hi Mills – The Fried Bread was good.
Hi Elmo – We thought we’d go with Kingswood because it’s been there as long as we can remember.
Hi Liver – By here, you mean San Diego, right? There’s a place in San Diego that does a pretty good broth, but the cuts of meat aren’t necessarily the best. And it ain’t East Buffet……
kirk,
i don’t think i’ll ever be able to physically go to this place….
its across from Sam Woo’s…pity..
i could never betray the WOO MASTER… he’s never done me wrong, so i have to show my loyalty to the Salty, Spicy Squid… but thanks for letting me know what i’m missin out on..
Aaah DCCF – You’re a disciple of the “House of Woo”….hmmmm, I think theere are some silly Kung Fu movie analogies/parodies that one could riff on……
I used to go here all the time with my parents. I love the fried rice here. I’ll have to mention Little Sheep to them next time.
To me, hot pots are only as good as their broths although that prime beef you had looks pretty darn good!
Hi Howie – Yes, give them a try and let me know how you/they liked it!
Hey Jack – You are right on there!
Hey! There is a Kingswood there by the Ranch 99 at the corner of Wolfe & Homestead. We tried the hot pot a LONG time ago. What I recalled the most (and REALLY liked best) was a fish cake that I would have sworn was a very exotic mushroom. Mills helped me figure out what they where and they are very common in the freezer section of most Chinese grocers around there. We did the teppan yaki there once as well. The coolest thing was when the chef made an onion volcano! AWESOME!
Kirk,
Lets not start that again *wink*…::Wanders off before the picture of Shamu with two guns blazing flits through her head.::
Jo and Mills – You two should do stand-up! LOL!
::grinning:: hmmm… stand up… middle of the produce section… hmmm… Hey MillsWorth, who do you think would pay us more, Hangook, Galleria, or Safeway?
Hi Kirk,
I really enjoy your site and was just wondering what kind of camera you use to take the photos. The shots are always crisp and colorful… and they never fail to make my stomach gurgle 🙂
Keep up the great work!
Hi Jo – I was thinking for like the deli section…you know, ham and stuff! ;o)
BTW, we went to North Park Produce and bought a bunch of deli meats – they sell something called Mikhail Mortadella.
Hi Kathy – Thank you for the kind words – but I’m a real novice with the camera. I use a Panasonic DX7 – small and compact with OIS. It’s not very effective in low light environments – but I think most compact digitals are.
Kurt, what a great roadtrip. I’m looking at my calendar to see when I can sample some of your new and old L.A. posts. Introduction. I have been following your posts daily since the beginning of the year. Excellent blog for someone like myself that relies on word of mouth/blog for new local San Diego food adventures. I’m a mexican married to an Italien who both love and appreciate good food. I am off to Maui this week with the misses and 3 kids (under 7). Any suggestions on how to find “Good Eats” on the WEST side and beyound of the island?
ACK ::roaring with laughter:: ok ok, I get it now! ::rolls eyes still laughing::
Mikhail Mortadella? You still yanking my funny bone or did they just have goofy names for their deli meats? Typically, in the states at least, you can get regular or with pistachios. I’m not sure what the deal with the pistachios is. If that is some great American notion or if that is how they make it in Europe. I’ve only had one decent import and it came from Italy. Unfortunately the manager at the store that carried it treated me VERY badly on one occasion and I never set foot in the store after that… =o(
Hi Jon – Thanks for stopping by and commenting! I sent you an Email, so hopefully you’ve receiveed it.
Hi Jo – No joke. It was the version with pistachios, though it was pretty decent, along with the other stuff we bought.
hmmm… Interesting. I would love to know the history to that name. Deli meats are fabulous when they get it right. Even when you learn WHY they came into being! ::grimaces::
We are indeed learning the lay of the land around here. Got to do a minor explore of Chapel Hill yesterday. SPECTACULARLY BEAUTIFUL! I even know enough now to give a pretty decent tour for visitors! ::subtle hint::
Hi Jo – I’ll ask them next time I visit.
The last time I had hot pot at Kingswood was perhaps 10 years ago… but I was there for Tepanyaki earlier this year… despite the tired worn out unappealing interior of the restaurant and the strong oily scent, the food is surprisingly good for a very good price. Much better than Tokyo Wako’s and other trendy tapenyaki places. The bad side is that restaurant is dumpy and that you smell as though your shirt was used as a filter for the vent hood, absorbing all the oil and sizzle rising into the air.
Hi Andy – It was pretty darn hot in the restaurant, but we were far from the Teppan griddle. They sure do a bang up business.