Mumu Hot Pot, a staple for Chinese soups in Sunnyvale, Pleasanton and elsewhere, opened in May 2024 in Emeryville. (Mumu Hot Pot)
The culinary United Nations that has become the Bay Street Emeryville mall now has its China: Mumu Hot Pot, a restaurant specializing in cook-at-your-table soup with endless customizations in add-ons and sauces.
The largish restaurant had its soft opening on May 3 and is located at 5699 Bay St., next to a soon-to-open Mumu’s Tea specializing in cold boba drinks. It is the fifth Mumu Hot Pot in the Bay Area, with others in San Francisco and Sunnyvale and elsewhere.
“The menu at Mumu Hot Pot Restaurant showcases an impressive array of authentic flavors, drawing inspiration from the diverse regions of China,” the restaurant’s menu states. “From the bold and fiery notes of Sichuan cuisine to the delicate and nuanced profiles of Cantonese fare, each hot pot variation embodies the rich tapestry of Chinese culinary traditions.”
A meal at Mumu begins with choosing among five flavors of broth: sweet-soy sukiyaki, sweet-and-sour creamy tomato, Sichuan spicy or buttery extra-spicy. From there, diners pick preset combos of ingredients they plop into their broth at the table, from a Meat Lover for two people ($68) to a Seafood Combo for one ($30). They can add on various types of seafood, such as South American shrimp, tilapia slices, fish balls with roe and “fish tofu,” and meats that include Japanese A5 Miyazaki Wagyu (luxuriously priced at $50), Black Angus short ribs, Kobe beef toro, tongue, New Zealand lamb and Spam.
Vegetarian add-ons include fresh tofu, fried tofu pods and bean curd; spinach, Napa cabbage, broccoli, king oyster mushrooms and taro; and vermicelli, rice cake, house ramen and instant noodles. Everything is tied together with a rainbow assortment of sauces and can be washed down with 14 craft beers, house cocktails and specialty teas. Unlike many other hot-pot places Mumu is not all-you-can-eat, but the portions are described as generous.
Mumu is the latest in a bevy of restaurants and food-related businesses arriving at Bay Street Emeryville. This week also saw the opening of Copper & Malt, a boutique liquor store with truffles, caviar and cigars. “Top Chef” star Fabio Viviani’s dessert shop, Jars is set to debut later this summer.
Details: Open daily from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.-9 p.m. at 5699 Bay St., Emeryville; mumuhotpot.net.
Originally published at John Metcalfe