Kirbie's Cravings

Private Kitchens

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photo of a dish served at Private Kitchens
Private Kitchens recently opened in San Diego, replacing Zisu Indian Market. The restaurant specializes in a Chengdu-style hot pot with skewers (Chuanchuan Xiang). The Indian Market signage is still on the building, with a smaller โ€œPrivate Kitchensโ€ sign in the window.

photo of the outside of Private Kitchens

photo of window at Private Kitchens

Iโ€™m not very familiar with this style of hot pot, but wanted to check it out after reading some of Kirkโ€™s posts. With all the rain weโ€™ve been having, itโ€™s been perfect weather for hot pot.

photo of the inside of Private Kitchens

When you enter the restaurant, you grab a basket and fill it with the skewers you want. The prices range between $.50 to $1.50 per skewer. When youโ€™re done choosing, you hand your basket over to one of the servers at the front. You get to choose a spiciness level for the broth and either regular or glass noodles. A small pot of broth costs $3.99 and a large one costs $4.99.

Photo of the bowls at Private Kitchens

photo of skewers at Private Kitchens

photo of more skewers at Private Kitchens

photo of other skewer options at Private Kitchens

They prepare your broth, noodles, skewers and then bring it out to you.

overhead of skewers cooking in broth

The broth is a numbing spicy broth. We chose a mild level of spice since Mr. K canโ€™t eat very spicy. It was still a little too spicy for him but I thought it was a good level and I enjoyed the slight numbing sensation on my lips after.
close-up of skewers in a bowl of broth

The skewers were pretty standard. My favorite was the beef, which had been marinated in spices and was quite tender.

Overall, we had a decent meal here. I donโ€™t know how this compares to the ones in Chengdu and I canโ€™t see us coming here too often, but if Iโ€™m in the mood for a spicy hot pot, itโ€™s a nice option.

Private Kitchens
5440 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, San Diego, CA 92117

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