The luxurious Prime Sizzling Pot Restaurant in Tustin Serves plenty of Waygu Beef

After two years of renovations and a $3.5 million funding, Prime Sizzling Pot opened Thursday, Feb. 8 in Tustin within the District, considered one of Orange County's largest out of doors malls. The 11,000-square-foot house seats 200 diners in the primary eating room and 5 personal areas. That is the primary US location of the posh scorching pot chain that originated in Sichuan, China. Arthur Zhang, the restaurateur behind the formidable Chinese language restaurant Array 36 within the San Gabriel Valley, is behind the brand new opening.

Prime Sizzling Pot's opulent decor borrows design parts from Array 36, which opened in November 2023. The spacious eating room combines up to date aesthetics with conventional Chinese language parts. Darkish lighting and darkish wooden accents are complemented by fluttering LED butterflies close to the entrance entrance, a flying dragon is projected onto a digital display on the salsa and fruit bar, and digital work and sculptures Chinese language are offered all through the house.

Black leather chairs hung with a bright green wall with butterflies in Prime Hot Pot. — The eating room combines up to date aesthetics with conventional Chinese language parts.

A dining room with circular tables and large comfortable chairs in a dark dining room at Prime Hot Pot. — The 11,000 sq. foot house homes 200 diners.

Contemporary decorative elements such as the spherical sculpture placed Prime Hot Pot. — Modern ornamental parts.

A buffet full of fresh fruit and various sauces at Prime Hot Pot. — Salsa and fruit bar.

To steer the kitchen, Zhang employed chef Okay Ou, who has 40 years of restaurant expertise cooking in France, Japan, Hong Kong, China and the U.S. Earlier than touchdown at Prime Sizzling Pot, Ou was considered one of founding companions of Chubby. Cattle restaurant group, who’ve the same high-end hotpot restaurant known as X Pot. Nonetheless, Ou tells Eater that the 2 eating places will not be affiliated with one another.

The menu, which is principally centered on wagyu beef and varied scorching pot preparations, displays Ou's culinary background with some affect from the restaurant's Chinese language guardian firm (香天下). The appetizer with wagyu, black pepper and asparagus features a balsamic French dressing that’s impressed by Ou's coaching in Italian delicacies. The sashimi dish with otoro, yellowtail, salmon stomach and caviar is impressed by his time as a sushi chef. The wealthy and creamy golden scorching hen scorching soup base is cooked for over 10 hours and comes from Ou's culinary experiences in Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

Prime Sizzling Pot affords shared and particular person scorching peas. The soup base menu choice consists of mushroom, tomato, golden hen, lobster, pink coconut hen, and a spicy wagyu within the form of a teddy bear imported from China. A various vary of beef (USDA Prime, Australian wagyu and A5 Miyazaki wagyu) is available for dipping, together with non-red meat (pork, lamb, hen and pork cheek) and seafood (lobster) choices , king crab and tiger prawns). Additionally on the menu are particular mixture dishes centered round varied wagyu preparations together with carpaccio, nigiri, grilled beef tongue and bone marrow.

A wooden treasure chest filled with various waygu meat preparations. — They’ve a field.

Waygu meat in a black bowl served on ice at Prime Hot Pot. — Cow on ice.

A hand holding black chopsticks dipping meat into hot broth at Prime Hot Pot. — Sizzling soup bases embrace mushroom, tomato, golden hen, lobster and extra.

Along with the à la carte menu choices, the restaurant affords a tasting menu priced at $136 per particular person. It consists of an appetizer, a person pot, a mixture “wagyu field” and dessert. A wine pairing is on the market for $40 per particular person. Zhang says the menu remains to be being finalized and that extra objects could also be added primarily based on the season. Zhang estimates that diners will spend $80 to $100 per particular person for an evening out.

One of many restaurant's most unique experiences is a personal eating room geared up with an HD projector for an immersive “5D” expertise that engages clients' 5 senses. The room seats as much as 14 and prices $218 per particular person, with an optionally available $40 wine pairing. The personal eating room's bodily menu consists of a person pot, a wagyu appetizer, an entree (wagyu bruschetta with sea urchin sea or wagyu rice with truffle) and a dessert (A5 steak ice cream or chocolate mousse). Steak ice cream, which is a social media sensation in China proper now, consists of strawberry and vanilla ice cream molded to resemble uncooked meat.

An oval table with 10 chairs surrounding it in a dark room with moody lighting at Prime Hot Pot. — Non-public eating room.

Each dish at Prime Sizzling Pot is offered in an over-the-top method that’s appropriate for sharing on social media. Uncooked meat arrives in a treasure field accented with dry ice, whereas many dishes are adorned with caviar and gold flakes.

Trying forward, Prime Sizzling Pot will introduce lunch service, lengthen the night hours to 2 am, and add two robotic waiters. As well as, Zhang and Ou have plans for a number of new eating places in Southern California.

Prime Sizzling Pot is positioned at 2415 Park Avenue, Tustin, CA 92782. Comply with Instagram for the previous couple of hours.