Jazz Cat Cafe

Went here for Valentines day.
Loved the vibe. The walls were red and romantic.
One thing stuck out: Braised… something. But it was good. I recommend this. Also we got the appetizer that was basically a sampling of all things fried like Pop Chicken at boba places.
Didn’t get the hotpot, but we must return!

The parking lot is small & usually filled up, it might be easier to find parking on the streets but give the lot a shot.
My friends wanted to eat here on a Friday night & at that time, I wasn’t aware they were known for their hot pot because I’ve never even heard of the place. There were so much people here, but luckily our party of 4 got seated within 30 minutes or less.
I ordered XO shrimp udon noodles, forgot the exact name of it. I’m a big fan of udon noodles but this place was far too salty. I mean, the first bite was DELICIOUS but towards the end it was torture trying to finish it. I guess I can’t really blame them since they’re only known for their hot pot. I’m planning to come back here to try it & their drinks as well!

The male server here was pretty nice and friendly. The female one was not. I would thank her whenever she dropped something off at the table and she never gave any sort of response or reaction.
I ordered the fettucine alfredo with chicken and mushrooms. It tasted like typical fettucine alfredo that you’d get anywhere else. The chicken chunks were a bit large and dry so I wasn’t able to finish all of it.
I did enjoy the salad with corn on top, and what tasted like corn chowder soup. But I probably won’t be back again. Their menu isn’t very large, either.

I thought this place would be a pretty solid winner – eh not so much. I guess you can’t be fooled by cute cat wall murals and jazz music playing in the background.
*Note* I am not reviewing any of their hot pots. They’re probably known for them and may be good, minus the fact that they serve them individually. Self-​cooking and throwing the goods yourself on the burner is a lot more fun. At least that’s what many of the Unilocalers are reviewing. Anyway, my frugal ass went for the Japanese omelet rice dish with crispy chicken fillet. It was only $ 6.95 but not worth it. The portions are huge, I was full at the end of the meal but definitely not satisfied.
My biggest problem was the overpowering sweetness of BOTH the fried chicken and rice. I guess that’s just the way it’s done (can someone tell me?), but I’m not used to it and/​or don’t like mixing savory and sweet. My friends got the same meal but got fried pork chops instead. While the chicken was fried pretty well and was juicy, turns out there was very little meat, just a whole lotta skin and fried batter.
Since the sweetness didn’t go away, I requested some sirracha or hot sauce. Like another restaurant, I would think they’d just bring you a bottle or something. But they either have a very limited supply of the stuff or are rather stingy about the amount they give you. They brought it in a very tiny dish that was not enough to plow through the mound of sweet rice, sweet egg and sweet fried chicken. I didn’t bother to ask for more, because the servers were lagging it from the start when we entered the place.
I wonder if anyone else got a kick out of reading the sign or story of Jazz Cat Café in the bathrooms. They wanted to make clear that there are a lot of imitators out there, but Jazz Cat Café is the only one, so the others better watch their backs. It was more humorous than awe-​inspiring.

I used to enjoy this spot like many others because we were allowed to cook our hotpots at the tables over our own burners. Unfortunately Jazz Cat took that option away and started delivering the dishes cooked (with seemingly less ingredients) directly to our table. Not only did I feel less full from the meal, but to me it just tasted different overall. When I eat my hotpots, I enjoy the control and customization that goes into each one. Jazz Cat took that fun away from me, so in turn, I’ve taken my business away from them.
Prior to this though, they were a bit overpriced. but decent nonetheless.
Recommendations: Go to Boiling Point on Garvey Ave. in Monterey Park. Sure it’s not as chic, but there you’ll be able to enjoy your Taiwanese hotpot the way you should.
Warnings: Overpriced for the quality of their dishes. I’ve tried non-​hotpot things before, and I was underwhelmed at best.

Get rid of burners and cook at the table means 1 star.
Before you lost it, you’d get a 3.5. 4 for food and –1 star for the long waits. But now… sorry.

I’ve had the Chinese herbal, Japanese curry, and was it milky or creamy? hotpots and they have all been GREAT. This place also serves wonderful and freshly shaken drinks.
The only thing this place lacks is the service. It’s also a very small place and don’t be surprised if you have to wait more than an hour. The wait is worth it though. :)

Alert! Jazz Cat lost the personal burners your pot sits on.
Today my boyfriend and I came to Jazz Cat and ordered Shabu Shabu. When my bowl came something looked very odd, my food was all in the bowl cooking. Even the fish cake that I was once able to scoop in myself and make one giant fish bowl was in there. When I went to crack my egg into the hot pot, it was hard boiled and I spilled egg shell into my soup :(. I knew it was about time, that someone would’ve got burned off one. Jazz Cat’s business has really taken a hit because of it.
Maybe the new location coming soon on Del Mar and Valley would have remedied the situation and brought back the individual cooking situation. On the plus they give you 10% off all orders now.

So my brother and I have completely different tastes. While I’m adventurous and willing to try practically anything, he’d be perfectly happy eating Yoshinoya every day. And in fact, he frequently does.
When it came time to pick a place to take our mom for her birthday, he chose Jazz Cat. I didn’t really quibble since I had been wanting to try the place but I pondered whether our mom really liked it.
Her pronouncement? «$ 15 is a lot for a mini pot of shabu shabu.»
Well, she’s right, of course. I, on the other hand thought it was quite a lot of food for $ 15 and we could have shared one pot between the three of us. But my mom wanted the vegetarian soup base and I wanted to try their Jazz Cat soup base. We both got the meat and seafood. She chose chicken and I got pork. As for the seafood, they give you an assortment along with some vegetables. Except none of this is really explained on the menu.
We were confused by the separate menu for things like tofu, veggies, noodles (they even have instant ramen for $.99 cents), etc. I ordered my mini-​pot along with some veggies but apparently the pot comes with said veggies because I wasn’t charged for it.
And since they no longer allow you to cook your own shabu shabu, they took 10% off the pots. I found this a bit weird because shouldn’t they charge more for them cooking it versus you? Then again, this is probably their solution for placating their customers. The recent reviews seem to slam Jazz Cat for not letting you cook your own food. Their Unilocal sticker on their door also looks a little worse for wear. It looks as though someone tried to rip it off. Disgruntled patrons?
In any case, I really didn’t mind they cooked it. The veggies including the kobacha squash and broccoli were tender. I think if I had fiddled around with it, I would have waited as long. In the end, I just kind of treated my mini pot as though it was a big bowl of soup.
The mini pot also comes with one boiled egg and a bowl of rice sprinkled with a few black sesame seeds. The Jazz Cat soup comes with satee dipping sauce (the veggie one came with some sort of veggie soy). There are no other condiments on the table but I’m sure I could have asked for hot sauce or soy sauce.
Over all, I thought it was fine with decent Chinese café drinks. My lemon iced tea was pretty good. My brother proclaimed his Thai iced tea was better than some Thai places. I had a bite of my brother’s fried chicken and omelette over rice dish. Eh. The chicken wasn’t seasoned and I don’t think it was real chicken. Just bits of fried globs, although they were not greasy. It was $ 7 though and fairly inexpensive as far as dinner goes. I might come back to try other items but really, I just want to come back to try the other soup bases. Perhaps the lemongrass or the kimchi. The creamy soups seemed a bit disgusting though (rose and cream?!).
As for the décor, I actually liked it. I thought the cats were pretty cute on the wall. The patrons were mostly young couples and groups of friends. Although I was with my family, I don’t think this is really a family place. Service was somewhat inattentive. We did have to ask for things like straws for our drinks and take-​out boxes. The music was akin to smooth jazz. The parking lot is somewhat small but there is street parking in the neighborhood.

They tell you before hand that they’ll do the hot pot for you. I imagine the place was a lot better before than it is now, but it’s still ok-​ish. The major thing I noticed about this place is the rice though. It felt like it was cooked the day before and they tossed it in the microwave, which I do at home, but some of the bits are like… really hard and tastes horrible.
The hot pot I got here was like $ 14? I can’t remember exactly but it was expensive. To be honest the amount you pay for it isn’t worth it at all. It hardly feels like theres any meat in the hot pot, but there’s tons of veggies. They have a good assortment of dishes, and the place feels more Japanese-​food than it does Chinese or whatever the place is.
Service was ok for the time I went. Actually I take that back, it was rather sub-​par. Friend and I got there, we saw a bunch of empty seats, but we had to wait 15 minutes still? What the? Come on, there’s empty tables that are clean why aren’t we being seated yet?
The place is gosh-​awful loud. Not the music, not the workers, but the people who go there, I just don’t know why but it’s LOUD. The place is small and seats are pretty close together so I guess that could be a reason. I was also told the music used to be super loud; which could explain why everyone is so loud in here.
The place could definitely use a name change to Loud Cat Café though.
I wouldn’t recommend a friend here, but if you think Shin Sen Gumi Yakitori and Shabu Shabu is expensive, come here and it’ll change your mind.

I ordered the Thai Lemon Grass hot pot with chicken. There was this floating tofu buoy in my hot pot, which I was quite skeptical about. I punctured it with my chopstick to find it wasn’t tofu and it was filled with this pink meatish type substance.
W.
T.
F.
But, still yummy!
I thought it was kind of expensive for the amount of meat I received. And, it was already cooked. They dumped the meat in for me. Oh, and I got 10% off because it was the day after Christmas. Hmm.
The hot green tea was so bitter! Barf.
I might be back. MIGHT.

Shabu Shabu (Japanese called it «Swish Swish» as in like swishing your chopsticks back and forth around the soup) had been commonly joked as the biggest scam in the restaurant world, along with their counterpart Korean BBQ. Where else can restaurant cut their overhead? Simple… let the customers cooked the food themselves.
Funny joke or not, the stigma still stands and it can cause a little apprehensions when the bill comes. Since the customer cooked their own food, should they get a break on the bill? Or better yet, should they get paid for cooking?
Even if they provided the meat, soup base, ingredients, and sauces, many people still felt it’s something they can cook at home with the affront components can be readily bought in a supermarket. I mean after all, how hard is it to put meat and vegetables on a soup and stir?
So, even facing with these obstacles, how can a place like Jazz Cat Café beat the supposed impending doom? Simple really. As it is not that easy to provide your own mixture of soup base, better quality of meat than your average supermarket and provide your own side dishes on the whim.
There is one bummer part about Jazz Cat Café that have changed in recent times. In the past, they would provide you with a burner to cook your hot pot of soup. You can inspect your meat and vegetables ahead of time before you insert them to the boiling pot of soup.
Well, not anymore. As you can see in the pic
, they now have the pot precooked with the burner being taken out. They now would only bring the pot out with a bowl of rice in a tray. There is a sauce provided on the side.
Supposedly, the change was made because of lack of air installations above on the restaurant’s ceilings. The customers were complaining the burner was making the room temperature intolerable hot was being sighted as another reason. Good news will be on the horizon as Jazz Cat Café as rumored will be moving to a bigger location to accommodate that problem. Presently, it will be a letdown for today.
I have decided to order the soup base of Hokkaido Premium Kelp Hot Pot with Shrimp and Beef
. The soup base is suppose to be healthier and cleaner, which was very refreshing for me. Usually the soup base for me is a little murky whenever I ordered a Miso or some spicy soup base, so this was a nice pace of change.
One of my dining companion had ordered a creamy corn soup base
which she had enjoyed. Besides the creamy texture, it gave a rich flavored taste that suits well with the shrimp.
Some of the ingredients that goes with the beef in my soup included a massive seafood balls, a few vegetable, a few slices of tofu, a bit of thin noodle of vermicelli, and an interesting seafood ball stuffed with crab meat.
One of my favorite about coming here was getting a tall glass of Rose Milk Tea
. The coolest thing about this was that it comes in a tall mason jar, but with a handle. You coupled it with a starter of Taiwanese sausage
and some deep fried tofu, you are set to go.
Overall impression about this place: I honestly thought it was a cool looking café that is handsomely decorated in dark wood around the place. It wasn’t posh, but it still was very nice for a shabu shabu place. In the future, if they decide to move out and take their shabu shabu operation, they should be able to keep this place strictly as a café as I noticed they were serving pastas and other desserts. With the tea drinks that was being offered, it should have no problem sustaining on what they have here.
About the shabu shabu, it was a big disappointment for me that they took out the opportunity to let you cook as some of us preferred our meat to be cooked a little rare. With the pre-​cooked, the meat and veggies can be boiled to the climax by the time for the pot to arrive to us. It took some of the fun and enjoyment of self cook shabu shabu from us. It was downer to say the least.
Another big bummer for me was the lack of sauce. As you can see on the top with pictures of the tray, Jazz Cat Café only provided one sauce. Usually you get two or three sauce like soy sauce and Ponzu sauce. So it was a bit disappointing that there is lack of choices in that department too.
With the Hot pot of beef and seafood coming out to $ 17.95 with the sausage to be $ 4.95. Adding on a drink of $ 2.50, the total bill comes out to be around $ 30. The restaurant gave us a 10% discount on the Shabu Shabu. (I think it was because of the lack of burner for self-​cooking). It is still a somewhat of a bargain for a decent shabu shabu.
Now I just can’t wait for them to open the new location so I can experience what made them popular in the past. The self-​cooked shabu shabu.

Quite a bit of a wait. Took a while for the waiters to notice we were ready to order and our drinks didn’t come before our food.
Bok choy, baby corn, squash, and potatoes were already thrown in the pot with my beef and noodles (I ordered the Jazz Café special broth #1). It came with a bowl of rice, a boiled egg and a sauce.
It was loud and noisy inside that I couldn’t hear my boyfriend just across the table. I was unbelievably thirsty (drank 3 cups of water) and I wasn’t too impressed with it even though I heard a lot of great things.
Oh well, maybe I came at a bad time.

When I think of hot pot I usually think of a large heated communal bowl full of flavored broth where you get to cook different meats and vegetables to your liking of doneness. And that was what I expected when my friend and I decided to have lunch at Jazz Cat Café. What we didn’t know was that the restaurant had changed it’s cooking methods and have gone to a pre-​cooked service. A little disappointed at first but we decided to still give it a try.
I remember few years back this place was a pretty good pasta/​American style restaurant and I was a little disappointed to see it close. But the fact that Jazz Cat has been open for a while now was definitely a positive. My friend ordered the spicy house special pot with beef (~$ 13) and I got the spicy kelp pot with beef (!$ 15) *meat choices included beef, pork, chicken or lamb*. We also got the drink combo and ordered the Hokkiado milk tea. The menu also had rice and noodle dishes but they didn’t seem too appetizing, I mean if the place is known for hot pot why order anything else?
The milk tea was pretty good, maybe a tad bit too sweet but had good flavor and satisfied our thirst. The hot pots were pretty good too and I was pleasantly surprised by the large portions. Each piping hot bowl had thin glass noodles, fish paste, broccoli, carrots, bok choy, napa cabbage, fish balls, squash, tofu, chayote or wintermelon (not sure which), and of course the meat of your choice. The broth was flavorful but between the the dishes that my friend and I ordered I’d go with the kelp as it adds a greater depth in flavor. Additionally, each order comes with a bowl of rice with black sesame seeds and a hard boiled egg. At first we thought it was still raw and that we should add it to the hot pot a la Korean soon tofu. But we were glad we looked over to the next table and laughed when they tried to do the same but ended up crushing the egg on the side of the pot.
Large portions and solid food, so why did this place only receive 3 stars? It was the horrible service! Normally I don’t let these things bother me as I appreciate good food no matter how far I have to drive or how bad the service was but this place was ridiculous. It took a good 10 or 12 minutes before our waiter even acknowledged my friend and I and when we told him we needed a few more minutes it took him another 10 minutes to get back to us. Once we received our meals the waiter never came back to check on us and we had to waive down a different waitress for a refill on water. I can understand that if the place was busy and they were scurry around that they would have a few missteps but as I looked around other patrons were also having trouble getting the staff’s attention while they were talking at the cashier or in the kitchen.
If rumors are true that they are going to open another restaurant and will be going back to the self-​cooking method I would venture back and try some of the other choices of broth, however, as it is now I don’t believe its worth the time or effort to come back.

So, like everyone else who came back to Jazz Cat expecting to cook their own food in their own hot pot, I was sorely disappointed to discover that they got rid of the very concept that drew me (and others) to this place, although my friend said she didn’t mind not having to cook her own food. They had a sign outside, which I did not notice upon entering, that mentioned that they no longer offer flames to go with your hot pot due to some customer complaints that the flame was too hot. Go somewhere else then! I highly doubt this is the case. Why change something that obviously makes you money? They even offer a 10% discount on hot pots during dinner, which is pretty unheard of at a Chinese restaurant.
I ordered the creamed corn, which was actually pretty good. I initally ordered the sukiyaki, but the waiter said it wasn’t done yet, whatever that means. I’m not sure if they give less meat now, but I really prefer cooking my own food for hot pot, allowing the items to cook the way I want. My veggies eventually became soggy bc they had nowhere else to go but sit in the hot pot. It’s weird because you’d think the food would come out faster since they should have everything precooked but it took a while for our food to come out. I ordered a coffee slush, which was also good and came in a carafe. At first, I thought it was too large to finish, but the size of the carafe is deceiving. It’s probably equivalent to a 16 oz. drink.
I don’t think I“ll be going back anytime soon though, for the most part, the food tasted the same. I came here for hot pot, not for soup! I also noticed there wasn’t a line like there normally is, though all the tables were full. My friend and I didn’t even have to wait for a table when we arrived, which was nice, but now I know why. The waiter did say that if this new change doesn’t work out (i.e. they lose a lot of business), they may bring back the fuel/​flames next year. Fingers crossed.

After a study group, my friends and I decide to come to Jazz Cat for lunch. We figure since it’s always packed, we wanted to see what all the hype was about. It’s basically your own individual hot pot. The things we didn’t like about this place was, the tables were sticky and way to small. We felt afraid to eat our food because the lack of elbow room, it might spill on us. Seriously, especially since it’s a hot pot, we like to a good distance between us and the fire. The drinks were good but the food was ehh. And you literally have to tug on a staff’s shirt sleeve to grab their attention. Service here is bad, so heads up.
The thing that sucked most was that during the end of our meal, there was a power outage. So since everything ran on electricity, e.g. the cash register, we couldn’t pay and leave. We even had the exact amount needed to pay for the bill but they wait staff insisted we had to stay until the power returned. That was another 20 mins later, waste of our time. And they figure they didn’t have to refill our water glasses cause we were done eating. But stuck in a room, no a/​c, and can’t leave, of course we’re gonna get thirsty.

I love this Taiwanese individual hot pot place! They have a wide selection of broth to choose from, my favorite is the Japanese Hokkido Kelp Soup (they came out with a spicy version of this recently). The portions are big, and they have a variety of dipping sauce (you can ask the waiter for the Taiwanse satay sauce and the peanut sauce is good too). The drinks (nonalcoholic) here are good. I like the plum green tea and HK lemon tea.
Besides hot pots, there are also entrees such as Unagi rice, and fushion inspirations such as Chicken Cutlet with peace sauce. Overall, you should definitely try this place if you haven’t, and you will probably be craving for more like I do. But come early or expect to wait at least an hour!

I don’t see why this place is so popular. The food is plain and the service is atrocious. The only aspect of the restaurant that is characteristically intriguing is the concept of the «Hot Pot.»
OH WOW! You get to put a variety of vegetables and meats in a pot of boiling water (so called broth) And if didn’t noticed that places smells horrible, must be from the food. LOL. OK. That was a tad over-​exaggerated.

This is a cat lovers paradise. The place is so cute with the weird English on the menus and on the walls that do not make any sense and the silly cat theme everywhere.
But hey they DO PLAY JAZZ in the background, so jazz cat it is. This place is pretty popular though. I waited about 40 minutes till my party of three got seated.
So when i think of hot pots I think of shabu shabu or that scene in Lost in Translation where Bill Murray and Scarlett Johanson go out and receive a raw plate of meat and just give each other that look. I love that movie by the way.
So Jazz Cat offers hot pots in the variety of many soup bases. They offer choices like house broth, miso, korean kimchi, curry. The Consommes are flavorful and like they say is the result of hours of simmering.
I opted for the MISO option, beef only (allergic to shellfish).
It’s kind of stressful eating here especially when you are hungry. The hot pots actually get boiling hot, and it’s hard to remember that everything needs to cool down a little right before you put it in your mouth. It’s probably impossible to come out of here without a burnt mouth.
I get all stressed out too, wondering what should go in first. I’d go for sausage first, just cause I’d wanna skim all that gunk that the sausage makes off. (Am i crazy?)
Then whatever I feel like, You have to think hard, wondering what cooks fast and what takes long. I’ll let u decide. I don’t know what I’m doing anyway! It’s also nice to know that you get free refills on FIRE and BROTH.
They also have a nice selection of cold and hot teas which pair nicely with there broths.

Jazz Cat Café— a café that has Taiwanese food and «jazz». Well. there was no jazz at all, but there was a lot of Taiwanese food!
The main attraction here are the individual hot pots that come served on a tray to you. They have other selections such as Pork Chop Rice, Fried Rice, and Pasta however I would highly recommend you trying the hot pots.
The concept is pretty cool. They serve Taiwanese style «hot pots» with flavored soup bases. They have original, vegetarian, spicy Thai, kimchi, sukiyaki, hokkaido «cream» flavored soups for your palate.
Being the first time there, I decided to stick with the original flavor. The meal includes a TON of vegetables– carrots, broccoli, bok choy, cabbage, tofu, fish cakes, crab sticks, vermicelli, squash, pumpkin, and an egg… in addition your choice of beef, pork, chicken, seafood, or vegetables.
The unique thing about this place is that you are served an individual pot… which can be nice… or it can be a nightmare. We were in a group of 6 and just imagine 6 hot pots with steam blowing in your face for a good 45 minutes. Yea— talk about a facial.
The meal was quite filling. It includes rice and sha cha sauce. I recommend mixing it with white vinegar so it’s not so thick. Also, you have the ability to add selected beverages for $ 1.95 to $ 2.50. Highly recommended are Honey and Brown Sugar Milk Teas… but do ask them to be easy on the sweetener.
Another tip is after all your goodies have been cooked, take a sip of the broth– its heavenly. Soup and dinner in one!
All that for $ 15. Not too bad!