Sizzling Hot Pot Night at Lugi Restaurant

For dinner tonight, my siblings and I went to Lugi Restaurant (盧記) for some authentic Chinese hot pot. This was my first time here, and I had a great meal. We went late at night around 9pm, so there weren't many people inside the restaurant. But even if there were many people, it would be no big deal because the restaurant is pretty big. I also liked that everything in the restaurant was super clean (tables, utensils, plates) and was brightly lit. The only down part was that because it is located in a plaza with a few other restaurants, it may be a little hard to find parking.

Anyway, to start off, we ordered the half and half soup base which consisted of their House Spicy soup base and the Napa Cabbage base. I'm pretty sure my siblings would have ordered the House Spicy base if it were just the two of them, but because I'm a total WEAKSAUCE at dealing with spicy food, we added the non-spicy base.

Our half and half soup base at Lugi Restaurant.

For those who are unfamiliar with eating hot pot, basically a pot of soup base is kept boiling, and we add in meats and vegetables to cook in it. Afterwards, we take it out and eat it with a dipping sauce.

Condiments and peanuts at Lugi Restaurant.

Instead of Japanese shabu shabu, where ponzu sauce and sesame seed sauce are used as the dipping sauce, Chinese hot pot uses shacha sauce (pictured in the top left area in the photo above). What my siblings and I did in preparing our dipping sauces was mix soy sauce with shacha sauce and add in the chopped green onions as well as a little of the soup base. I love the way it tastes with everything! It's seriously like magic sauce--it makes everything taste better.

Clockwise starting from the top: mushrooms, winter melon, egg & fish dumplings, scallops, and frog legs at Lugi Restaurant.

All our plates of food came in a very timely fashion, which is expected since barely any preparation is required. Unfortunately, my siblings and I ordered a little more than what we could consume, but I enjoyed everything on the table. Not everything is pictured, but from what I remember, we ordered: slices of lamb and beef, egg and fish dumplings, winter melon, scallops, frog legs, mushrooms, spinach, watercress, taro, and shirataki noodles. We were adventurous in ordering the frog legs, as we've never tried that in hot pot! It turned out very tender and tasty. It was also my first time trying the egg dumplings, which is made up of fish wrapped with a skin of egg. Yummy!

Lamb slices and spinach at Lugi Restaurant.

Another odd item that we saw on the menu list (but didn't order) was spam. I'm curious as to how that would taste in hot pot. Maybe next time...

Our food cooking in the pot at Lugi Restaurant.

I came out of the restaurant super full and fully satisfied. Everything we ate tasted fresh, and the waitresses were very attentive. An extra plus was that they have a long list of drinks that compliment hot pot well: guava juice, plum juice, white gourd juice, passion fruit juice, and apple soda from what I can remember. I will definitely come back again, especially when the weather gets cold again!


Lugi Restaurant
539 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 457-5111