Chinese hot pot spot among new eateries at the District at Tustin Legacy

Summer might be winding down, but things are still heating up at the District at Tustin Legacy. The shopping and dining destination is welcoming new tenants in the coming months, including a premium hot pot experience from Sichuan, China, that is sure to spice things up.

Prime Hot Pot will be the all-you-can-eat hot pot restaurant’s first location in the U.S., taking over the 11,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by JT Schmid’s Restaurant & Brewery.

Hot pot, also known as steamboat, is a popular Chinese meal in which a simmering pot of soup at the center of the table is used to dip raw vegetables, noodles, dumplings, seafood and thinly sliced meat, delicately cooking the items in the flavorful broth. Chef K Ou will head up Prime Hot Pot, with a menu that features fresh seafood and top-grade Japanese A5 Wagyu beef. Diners can also look forward to rich, chicken hot pots, platters of sashimi and more as part of different tiers of all-you-can-eat service, including a $136 tasting menu option.

Digital decor, included LED Butterflies, give the dark dining room a futuristic feel, and Prime leans into the sensory experience with a “5D” immersive dinner experience hosted in the private dining room for $218 per person, said to “activate all five senses.”

Prime Hot Pot joins another recently opened tenant at the District, Curry Pizza House. Also inspired by international cuisine and keeping things spicy, the unconventional pizza shop uses traditional Indian flavors to spice up pizza resulting in toppings like curry chicken masala, aloo chaat and palak paneer. The Indian fusion menu also includes chicken wings marinated in tikka, achari and tandoori sauces, desi garlic sticks and baked masala chips. Founded in Fremont, Calif., in 2012, Curry Pizza House now has locations in Texas, Nevada, Washington and Oregon.

Later this summer, the shopping center will also welcome 3Cat, a handcrafted beverage and tea shop. The Chinese concept currently has locations in Los Angeles’ Koreatown and San Gabriel, and the Tustin location will serve hot and cold fruit and milk teas with toppings boba heads have come to expect from tea shops, like mousse, mochi, popping boba and jelly.

The new dining options should all be open before summer’s end, and a Spirit Halloween store will pop up at the District early this fall ahead of the spooky season.