My friends and I came for the all-you-can-eat hotpot. The place inside looks a little run down and there were flies around the sauce area which was a little unappetizing. I thought the broth was good and flavorful. They also have a good selection of veggies, meats, and other things to add to the hotpot. However, I didn't think the quality of the meats was good and they didn't have many types of fish cakes. I'd reluctantly come again if my friends wanted to go. read more

Place was not great cleanliness, Taro was pre-cooked? I've never seen this at a hotpot place and both members of my party had a stomach ache afterwards. Will not be coming back! read more

I am in love with this place....no seriously I am. I have been going here regularly since they opened and I have never been disappointed. I usually come on the weekends and spend my life savings to eat, but it is so worth it. To be honest, I went there twice since last week; I kid you not. The cold bar is great, especially the marinated peanuts. I can eat them all day. Watch out though; it is not pleasant biting into a large piece of star anise. They are not always there since the cold bar options are in rotation, but when those are there I am really pleased. I have tried all of their broths besides the tomato one and they were all delicious. I think the fact that the tomato one is supposed to be sour is not appealing to me, but maybe I will go ahead and try it one day...we will see. I am not a huge meat eater, so I am glad they have many veggie and seafood options to choose from. All of the seafood is fresh and they give good portions. They used to give larger portions, but then there would be too much on the plate when we leave, so I like that they are offering less at a time now. Mixing your own sauce is always fun and it means you can experience a new flavor profile every time you go. I know that I will continue going here until they are no longer there or I explode due to excess broth in my gut; whichever comes first. Oh yeah. We go so much that the waitresses know exactly what me and my roommate want to drink. If that is not good customer service I don't know what is. read more

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I love the sauces here, which are exactly what I had back in China! Price is reasonable and songs are great! read more

Ibasaw - Sushi Bars Near Me - Malden, Massachusetts

I had been craving hot pot and was attracted to this place because of their outdoor seating option! My boyfriend and I went at around 1pm on a Saturday and it wasn't busy at all. We opted to sit inside since it wasn't too crowded. In terms of safety measures I think they did great, I felt super comfortable. They check your temperature when you enter, they keep the seating socially distant so you're not close to anyone, they kept the doors open so there was good air flow coming through, they use disposable utensils and water bottles are given so you're not using real cups, and this is just a side note but the bathrooms were pretty clean too which is always a good sign! I wouldn't say this is my favorite hot pot ever but it was still good and we really enjoyed. You get a good amount for the price you pay. If you're in the area and in the mood for hot pot this place is definitely worth checking out! read more

OH MY GOD! Came here all the way from Quincy. Worth it for sure. BEST HOT POTBEST customer service thanks so much: like the best in all the places I have been to (which is a lot, cuz I am a foodie) Veggies and meat are so fresh. I am a fan now!! Yum yum yum read more

Ibasaw - Sushi Bars Near Me - Malden, Massachusetts

Great selection, food, and service. A great deal overall. There was a lobster promotion which was a free serving of lobster for each person who shared a picture on wechat (social media). Great selection for the sauce bar and an appetizer bar with Chinese appetizers. I really wanted to give them 5 stars, but although the meat selection and quality were good, it is not top grade or Michelin quality. There is also sushi buffet for an extra $6 that we did not get. read more

Ibasaw - First round spread with lobster. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Malden, Massachusetts

Very clean hotpot restaurant. I like the selections. Meats are decent quality. I went this Saturday when it was only 7 degree F outside. The hotpot just hit the spot. I didn't see sushi on the menu. Maybe I had missed it. The price is reasonable for all-you-can-eat hotpot. Definitely will return. read more

Ibasaw - White soup base with AYCA selections. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Malden, Massachusetts

Waited long to be seated and long to be attended. Tom yum broth is bland, their scallops are "bay scallops" .. they ran out of prime beef.. ran out of udon noodles .. their shrimp still has the shell on it and their soda is FLAT. It's all you can eat but not once have the waitress came back to ask us if we needed anything else .. price is about 25 per person. Oh and I came bc I wanted to eat hotpot and sushi .. but there was no more sushi. read more

Ibasaw - The beef - Sushi Bars Near Me - Malden, Massachusetts

Worst place ever, rude service, bad food quality. Not worse to come! The food quality is way below average. read more

The most confusing part about this restaurant is the name (half of places seem to list it as Ibasaw, and that's what the sign outside says - but then it's referred to as 5 Spices House elsewhere?). Anyhow, once you get past that, you're in for a treat of some pretty reliable all-you-can-eat hot pot in downtown Malden. The broth selections are plentiful. Their spicy broth is VERY hot to my taste, but unfortunately their more basic broth selections don't seem to pack quite the same flavor punch. I'd love for them to have a broth that has a bit of kick to it without being quite as painful as the spicy. In the meantime, we generally have been getting half-and-half so that there's a more basic broth to cool down with after a particularly spicy round of cooking. One of my favorite parts of this place is their sauce bar - literally everything you can imagine, including things like peanuts, fresh garlic, scallions, etc. to add a little something extra to your sauce concoctions. A few times recently I've noticed the sauce bar needing a bit more maintenance / clean-up, so that's my only real critique. The all-you-can-eat hot pot menu is huge, and I love that the menu includes pictures of each item so that you know what you're ordering. Veggies are fresh, and meat selections range from the more traditional to the more eclectic. Service here is fast and friendly - no complaints there. You do have to pay for soda refills (which is kind of a bummer given that you'll be hydrating a LOT if you order the spicy broth). But, if you order water, they typically bring the entire jug over to your table, which is convenient. While not perfect, this has become our go-to place for hot pot in Malden and, overall, I would happily recommend it to others. The place is usually pretty busy on weekends (but never too busy to get a table, from our experience), so it seems quite a few others in this area have come to enjoy this spot as well. read more

Decent food and great menu options but waitresses like to gossip. It's a shame that they didn't realize I actually understand and speak perfect Chinese/Mandarin and one girl started to say something but the other waitress behind her stopped her and said wait (to say whatever she's about to say) till they leave. I enjoyed and supported this restaurant throughout the pandemic shutdown. Very disappointed. read more

Came here in a party of 14 on a Saturday night! Made reservations a couple days ahead. We were seated in the midde area, which was pretty empty as they seated everyone else on the sides of the restaurant :) Staff here are super friendly and actually look like they care about your needs. We came in, ordered hot pot and sushi buffet! Staff gave us tips and answered questions we had. To make things faster, order your soup base as soon as you sit so the soup is boiling by the time the food comes out! The food and sushi came out fairly quick. I liked that there is a bar for you to create your own sauce and to also grab some snacks/apps. By the time we came back from getting our sauces and snacks, the food was already being served. The hot pot food definitely serves faster than the sushi, but the sushi looks amazing! We were celebrating 3 birthdays in our party and the staff made the effort to come ask what the occasion was. When they heard we were celebrating birthdays, they came out with 3 fried ice creams on the house! They also had a board with lights on it for us to take pictures! Overally, had a great experience and food here is quite decent! Would come again and would recommend :) read more

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Thank god for new ownership. I like coming here now but it's still quite pricy. Having to pay $20 for my five year old who eats only udon noodles is not great either. read more

Very clean and spacious, the restaurant feels new. I frequently do hot pot at Hot Pot Buffet in Chinatown and wanted to try something new that did not disappoint! We ordered hotpot for $24 each and there was a special where each of us got a lobster with our hotpot order! Twin lobsters and can cost $29 for two so I was pleased with that feature. We did the spiciest broth and it was flavorful. We tried all of the beef variations and the Mala Beef was something new we noticed. Try it the meat is very tender in texture and almost melts in your mouth. Loved their choice Beef as well. I really like the fact that there are SO MANY sauce options to choose from and garnishes. You can walk over and self serve as many types of sauces you like and can mix it up. They have soy, peanut, sesame, chill, crispy chili, bean curd, scallion sauce, hoisen, and much more along with fresh ones like garlic chili scallions cilantro etc. Highly recommended! We didn't try the sushi option but a lot of people seemed to enjoy that as well. read more

Ibasaw - Our buffet layout, delicious! We got lucky with the lobster special included for each of us. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Malden, Massachusetts

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I've been to Ibasaw at least every other week for the past year and I've never been disappointed. $30 all you can eat hot pot and it's worth every penny. They have so many delicious options for broth and food options The best broth hands down is the kimchi followed closely by the vegan spicy (I'm not even vegan) My first time there I was a bit intimidated because I wasn't sure how it all worked so here's the process to sum it up: Once you're seated you look at one of the little menus and select your options beginning with broth. Usually a staff member comes by and asks for your broth type while you choose your food selections You give them your card filled with food choices They bring you the broth & food choices and you begin cooking It's all you can eat so if you want anything else you just fill out a new card and a staff member comes to grab it. They are constantly removing empty plates so the table doesn't get crowded up. As far as cook times go on the items, a lot of it is preference. For meat & seafood, I've googled how long and honestly just eyeball when it looks done. One last piece of advice, always order white rice with your meal and put on your plate so it absorbs the excess broth that comes when you drop your cooked food on your plate read more

Highly dissatisfied with the broth and somewhat with service. No waitress explained the menu or explained we had to get up to get our own sauce. Only good thing about it was the quantities of the food brought out. They do not skimp on the meat or seafood. The broth is mediocre and mala isn't spicy at all! The tom yum is too coconut cream base. Sushi was alright and not a bad quality. Too bad such a good location too. Wish there was more to it. read more

Ibasaw - Sushi Bars Near Me - Malden, Massachusetts

This place have really bad service and food quality is low. Had hotpot and all I can say is it was horrible, the staff look like we owe them money and didn't wanna be there. The broth barely had any taste and seem like they just add spice in and call it a day. Spring Shabu-Shabu was closed that day if not we wouldn't be here. I have hotpot once a week and really picky when it come to the sauce and food. The sauce here isn't up to hotpot standard and the food is not fresh. The stuff I ate today keep making my mouth make sound like I'm eating sand. They didn't clean their food properly. The thing that suck is I order stuff I want to eat and either they don't include it or they give only enough for a child to eat. We are 2 adult and the portion of food they gave us isn't even enough to enjoy. who the heck put 5 pieces of bok choy and watercress on a plate for hotpot? 2 shrimp and 1 beef ball cut in half? They are to cheap and will not include most stuff you order. Ask them for the paper to check off the food I want twice and both time they didn't include most of the stuff I want. If I want 10 item they only give me 5. If you want hot pot without bad serve and fresher food try spring Shabu Shabu read more

Hot pot is amazing I have no complaints. Prices getting a little crazy but what is there to say. I've gotten the Tom Yum broth which is a little bit spicy for the weak, but very flavorful. Have not tried the sushi yet, but will plan on soon. Hot pot AYCE is great, definitely recommend. read more

If I could have the option to give a 0 that would be my rating. The waiter's attitude is very poor. While we are still eating, they behave just like want us to pay and leave soon. I will recommend my friends not to go to this restaurant. There have a lot better restaurants in this area. When we are ready to go, they also use chinese to swear us. read more

My expectation was based on the Name of the restaurant - Seafood Buffet Sushi Shabu. I'm guessing it didn't meet the general population expectation either since it wasn't full on a Saturday night. Not much of a happening place. First off, there wasn't much seafood variety. Their buffet area was not even the size of Old Country Buffet's. There wasn't much of a shabu selection either. The sushi section was mostly maki. A petty sashimi spot (less than 5 types of fish) that had 2 pieces per sauce dish instead of just placed on a large plate to tong out. They have the basics. Like for green veggies to shabu, there were 3 - spinach, watercress and yu choi. Bunch of random balls and fish cakes. If balls are your top priority in hotpot, this is definitely your spot! Sadly, they didn't have soft tofu. Meats were like one of each type. If your point is to stuff yourself with anything to get full then this place does the job since there is plenty of food at the buffet - Shabu, Sushi, Pu Pu Platter type apps, Fruits, nasty ice cream bins and scooper. They charge broth separately from the per person charge. The server we had did not have decent English so we weren't absolutley sure what she was trying to say. It's buffet so it can't be that difficult to figure out! The condiments were not all labeled so if you don't know sauces well, you wouldn't know what each container is. There weren't lids on them either so people were breathing on top of the condiments. The shabu soy sauce was contaminated with some sort of green veggie bit. There were customers that asked me what is this and what is that when I was near the sauces. Why in the world were people asking me instead of the handful of servers around!? Maybe all of them can't explain anything like ours? Also, the mens room was very slippery according to my table-mates. If not careful, you can fall. After I heard that, I didn't even bother visiting the ladies room. To conclude, this place is not concentrated on one category with the limitation of buffet table space so it wasn't complete in each category. You're better off going to AYCE else where where the check list has much larger in selection such has Royal Sushi and Hotpot with cleaner/safer atmosphere for the same price point. read more

Ibasaw - Sushi Bars Near Me - Malden, Massachusetts

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Been here for both lunch and dinner buffet, had it with hotpot each times. Weekday lunch with hotpot is $15.95 is a great deal, it includes hot food bar, dimsum, sushi, hot pot items, and dessert. Weekend dinner with hotpot is $28.95, with endless stirred fried lobsters, the plate is full most of the time, so you folks don't have to worry of getting none. They have someone constantly check on the food bar to make sure it's always full. Everything is fresh, hot and well seasoning, very delicious to my taste. Even though the selection is not as big as other buffets, but the quality has met my expectation. Service is great, the staff is attentive, polite and making sure you get everything you need. read more

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Best Hotpot and Sushi buffet in town! Sushi and hotpot items are very fresh and there's huge selection of items on both menus. Also , the music played here is amazing, so vibey. read more

What a great deal this place was, $35/pp all you can eat hot pot. It was a great experience, went on a Friday night plenty of seating and service was good. We ordered two different types of broth and different types of vegetables and meat to put in the pot. The place was very casual. read more

Never disappoints! The selection is fresh! Super clean! Most importantly the owner remembers and appreciates you as a customer! Great spot!

The place has decent hotpot. What irks me about them is the fact that they charged our 2 year old toddlers $22.95 each just for sitting there. I understand they charge children under 5ft, but it just doesn't sit well with me. read more

We went for weekend lunch and arrived right when it opened. At first, I was a bit apprehensive because there was only one other table there. While we were waiting for other guests in our party to arrive, the staff was setting up the buffet area and adding more hot food items. For weekend lunch, there were a good handful selection of Chinese entrees and appetizers. The dim sum was delicious, they offered all my favorites! (Shrimp hargow, turnip cakem, steamed pork filled bean curd, steamed pork spareribs with black beans, shumai, roast pork bun, meatball, fried stuffed tofu, just to name a few. The dim sum was worth the trip alone since my husband and I usually spend $35.00-40.00 for the both of us for a standard dim sum meal. The sushi/maki rolls were fresh and I liked that seaweed was served as well. Many other Chinese buffets do not serve it at all or if they do, they mix fillers in. Since it was a lunch buffet, the hot pot buffet offerings were limited to beef, pork fish, shrimp, fishballs, veggies and noodles. I inquired what dinner entailed (since its double the price) and our server advised they offered more seafood options. I was perfectly content with the lunch options. I loved the DIY sauce station. I like to mix and match my sauces and flavor and they had a variety of oils, soy sauce, hot sauce and fresh herbs and garlic. Typically, most places just offer the usual soy sauce, minced garlic and chili. There were a few broth choices available, Mala (spicy), regular, Chinese herbal, Tom Yom and Tomato. Since we had 7 people, we got to try a few different ones. The pot had a split bowl so each had two broth choices. The burner worked quickly and the sufficient utensils were provided to scoop the cooked goods and broth. My favorite was the spicy broth. It had a nice kick to it and I had to bring it down a bit by adding a couple scoops of regular broth. Most of us were too stuffed for dessert but there were ice cream, fruit, jello, tapioca and mini moon cakes. We were celebrating a birthday and we paid the extra $5.00 for the novelty "special" lotus candle. It was a cute. By the time we were done, the restaurant was packed with Asian families enjoying the buffet and hot pot. Parking was plentiful and the restaurant was absolutely clean (especially the restrooms, can't say that about many Asian restaurants!) Service was friendly and attentive. Our plates were cleared quickly and drinks were refilled without request. They added an 18% gratuity since we had a larger party but I think we gave them more. I will definitely be back again! read more

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The reviews here didn't lie- the service here is pretty terrible and the staff is rude. Not to mention, I saw an employee washing her mouth with water and then proceed to not was her hands. Yuck. However, the hot pot was decent and a good deal if you add a lot of items to it and/or want sushi also. The sushi I had was mediocre, but the sashimi did look good. For my hot pot I got the mushroom broth (an additional $3 on top of AYCE) and it was flavorful once I added sriracha and garlic. The ingredients were fresh except for the lamb I ordered. I'd recommend going for the seafood and/or veggies. Once I was done paying they were rushing me to sign and kept checking back every 30 seconds, which I found extremely rude on top of the poor service. I'll come back just for the hot pot-- maybe. read more

I don't get why the mediocre reviews when this place is under hyped. Great service as they were keen on clearing the plate. We went for lunch and loved the dim sum, Chinese comfort food, sushi and hot pot. It's also quite cheap for $16ish. Dessert is great too!! The bathroom is pretty clean and would like to return for dinner when there's more seafood offering. 支持当地华人企业家！ read more

Ibasaw - Good food and decent soup selection for hot pot - Sushi Bars Near Me - Malden, Massachusetts

This is one of my favorite places for hotpot and sushi. The server helped us pick a vegan broth that was like water with real mushrooms. The vegetable broth they had used animal broth so she suggested giving us something else. It worked out well. The spicy broth was delicious and packed with flavor. The menu is big so you get your pick of meat and vegetables. We got sushi as well, which was delicious. The seating was comfortable and the servers were all nice. I'd come back here again the next time I want hotpot as the weather gets cooler. read more

Ibasaw - Broth was split into a vegan broth (mushroom water) and a spicy broth - Sushi Bars Near Me - Malden, Massachusetts

It's decent and delicious. The hotpot was decent and the sushi was okay. I love their tamago sushi!!! It was very sweet and fresh!!! Nicely touched and delicious too. I was very very full from a hotpot and sushi buffet. The options were sushi or hotpot or both!!!! Which isn't that pricey around $28-30 per person! read more

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One of most underrated and under the radar hotpot place. Their pricing is just absolutely insane compare to the value that they offers. The service was fabulous. The food was very fresh. Not to mention that many dishes are rarely found at other hotpot places without paying a premium. If I could, I wish I can give a ten. The only thing I worry most is that they won't make any money under current pricing structure. I felt the value you are getting is somewhere north of 40 when compare to other hotpot places in the region, so if this were investment, in 2 hours you just made a whooping 40% return. They say that if you like a place, you would want to help them so that they can make more money. This is certainly the place for me. I just love it there and I want to share my story. My parents came over from Texas for thanksgiving. I was extremely busy prior to the vacation so I didn't cook anything. Therefore my wife and I decided to just pick them up and head over to some place near by to eat. This place is a wildcard for us, with only 40 reviews, but somehow I wanted to try it out. That was the best decision made for dinner that day. This is definitely an under the radar place. The wait time was only 20 minutes after arriving compare to a hour at spring shuba and ones in Quincy. The food - fresh. To figure out whether something is fresh, look for the color of the meat. To figure out whether the vegetable is fresh and organic, look for little holes on the vege. If organic and fresh, small bugs would want to eat them. Bugs tend not to like things that are non-organic and stale. They past my test. The freshness was out of the roof. Variety - too many. They even provide side dishes like pig feet, chicken feet. The menu has many great food that are rarely found at other places like the throat of cow and vege that takes lots of time to prepare. I had a blast on ordering many different dishes. Service - extremely efficient. It didn't take them long to give us water. The owner even set down with us to share many stories about people coming to the restaurant. We had a great time. Drinks - you just have to order it. This is the only way I felt you can keep them open. Don't waste food here. If you like them, try help them stay open forever. Best food and service that I had experience at a hot pot place. read more

We got pushed to give more tip... I tip well regularly but we seen our waitress twice and that was for the drinks (she didn't even bring out the food) and at the end watching over our shoulders for tip. She came up to us and said "everything was good?" i said yes and then she pointed to the 20% and gave me the pen to write more...... WHAT? My other friends got guilted into giving more tip. For me that is just a NO! read more

I have been meaning to write this review for a few months now. My fiance and I went to 5 Spices House in December for our first hot pot experience and we were blown away by 5 Spices House. When we arrived the host asked if we had done Hot Pot before, when we said we hadn't he came to our table to provide us with a whole overview of how it worked (from which broths to pick to how to make the perfect sauce at the sauce station to the history of Hot Pot). He then coordinated with the servers to make sure we were trying all of the best stuff and knew how to cook everything correctly. We did the AYCE Hot Pot and Sushi and everything was delicious! Everyone at 5 Spices House was so kind and went out of their way to make sure we had a great first experience. We now love Hot Pot and will continue to return to 5 Spices House for years to come! read more

Sushi buffet here is pretty good. The rolls have the least amount of rice possible. This takes a lot of work and I appreciate the house not pumping us full of carbs. The rice used is seasoned lightly and is of medium quality aka medium grain rice. Some good ones to order- the dragon roll, shrimp tempura roll, and the pink lady (if you like fish!) The sashimi was relatively thin sliced and pretty fresh. There was no off taste in any of the items. I think the best part of the meal may be the appetizer bar. The marinaded cucumbers,chili oil tendon,and pig ears are amazing!!! I would come back just for this. If you have the choice between this and Nijaya, I'd come give this place a try!! read more

Decent price for good food. Considering this is in Malden, which not known for good Asian food. This place meets the standards of Chinatown, Quincy, Allston, etc... read more

Went here over the weekend, did hot pot buffet, it was $34.95 a person now. They Increased the price like maybe $7/8 more , which we think is a lot. For $35 not sure we would be back as often like before when it was $28 a person. Other than the increased price , everything is the same, not bad for buffet , lots of options . read more

Was great for the price while it lasted but they stopped doing AYCE. The quality was good and prices reasonable, usually split a large scorpion bowl and it was huuuge. read more

This is my favorite spot for Hot pot all around Boston area. They offer "All You Can Eat" Hot Pot including seafood. Can you believe!? And a little extra if you want sushi too. Ingredients are super fresh and so variety which make it even more exciting and enjoyable. If you haven't tried frog legs I would encourage you to try. It just like chicken but more juicy :) I also love the make my own sauce sections and cold appetizers. I recommend TomYum broth and the spiciest broth they are so flavorful. There are so many more to try and I cannot wait to go back. read more

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I went here about 2 months ago and was pleasantly surprised. The place was half full and the food was decent. They didn't replenish food as quickly as I liked, but when they did, it was good. Fast forward 2 months later, I was excited to try them again. It was a completely different story! The food is not edible at all. The place had a few tables only (i can understand why), and there is no action going on. The food looks so stale at the buffet counter. You know its bad when the workers there are rotating the food around in the buffet trays to make them look fresher. Both times I went on a weekend, lunch. Cost is $15 per adult (non-hotpot). There is a very slight discount for kids. Don't waste your time here, guys. Its hard to come by this type of restaurant in Malden Center, but you'll be happier elsewhere. If you really want buffet in the area, head over to Flaming Grill in Revere...cheaper and much much much better. read more