The Brief

Hot pot is more than just a meal — it’s an experience. There are few things quite as comforting as gathering together around a simmering pot of broth, cooking fresh ingredients and sharing a meal in real-time.

Whether you crave a bold, spicy kick, delicate flavors, or rich, meaty broths, understanding the different styles of hot pot will help you find your perfect match.

Believed to have originated in China more than 1,000 years ago, possibly as early as the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 – 220 A.D.), hot pot gained widespread popularity during the Mongol Empire in the 13th century.

Warriors are said to have boiled meat in their metal helmets over open fires, creating a simple but nourishing meal.

Over time, different regions across Asia developed their own takes, from Thailand's jim jum to Vietnam's lẩu, adapting broths and ingredients to local flavors and customs.

Los Angeles is home to a wide array of hot pot restaurants. Here’s a closer look at three distinct styles — Chinese, Japanese, Korean — and where to find them.

Chong Qing Yao Mei (Chinese)

Chong Qing Yao Mei in Pasadena offers Sichuan-style hot pot, one of the most popular Chinese varieties, known for its bold, numbing, and spicy flavors. The signature mala broth — meaning “numbing and spicy” — gets its distinctive tingle from Sichuan peppercorns and dried chili peppers, along with aromatics like ginger, garlic, and various spices. The oil-based broth is intensely flavorful, with layers of heat and complexity. Prices start at $9.99 for a communal pot, with ingredients available à la carte.

Diners can experience this fiery hot pot with a yin-yang pot, which allows for two broths at once — typically the spicy mala broth on one side and a milder option on the other, such as a bone broth, tomato-based broth, or a non-seafood alternative.

While classic hot pot ingredients like thinly sliced beef and vegetables are available, Sichuan hot pot often includes more adventurous offerings such as duck blood, pork aorta, beef tripe, and luncheon meat. Offal and other cuts with unique textures are particularly prized for their ability to soak up the intensely spiced broth.

This hot pot is typically paired with a sesame oil-based sauce to help balance the heat. Many modern Sichuan hot pot restaurants, including Chong Qing Yao Mei, offer an all-you-can-eat self-serve sauce bar, where diners can create their own dipping sauces with garlic, cilantro, scallions, and fermented soybeans, and enjoy unlimited snacks like peanuts, chips, and desserts throughout the meal.

A popular way to elevate the dipping sauce is by mixing in a raw egg — when hot meat is dipped in, the residual heat lightly cooks the egg, adding a silky texture and extra umami to each bite.

Osawa (Japanese) 

At Osawa, also in Pasadena, you can find shabu shabu, a Japanese style hot pot that emphasizes simplicity and high-quality ingredients. Unlike bold and spicy Sichuan hot pot, this Japanese take is light and clean, focused on enhancing the natural flavors of its ingredients.

The name shabu shabu is a Japanese onomatopoeia, mimicking the sound of thinly sliced meat being swished in the broth. Instead of adding all the meat to the pot at once, diners quickly dip and swirl thin cuts of beef, pork, or lamb until they are just cooked — usually in seconds.

Unlike Sichuan style's oily, intensely spiced broth, shabu shabu uses a delicate, dashi-based broth made with kelp (kombu). Restaurants often also offer options like tonkotsu (pork bone) broth and spicy miso broth for added richness.

At Osawa, lunch costs $32 per person, including a pre-set menu. Because the broth is mild, the quality of the meat is crucial, with many restaurants serving premium cuts of Wagyu beef or prime meats. At Osawa, diners can choose from Wagyu, Black Angus ribeye, seafood, salmon, or Kurobuta pork loin.

Shabu shabu typically includes fewer ingredients than other hot pot styles, focusing on a select few such as tofu, napa cabbage, mushrooms (shiitake, enoki), and udon or soba noodles. Since the broth itself is subtle, dipping sauces provide most of the seasoning. The two most common are goma, a creamy, nutty sesame sauce, and ponzu, a citrusy soy sauce that adds a refreshing tang.

A traditional shabu shabu meal often ends with the remaining broth — now infused with the flavors of the meat and vegetables — being used to cook ramen noodles or transformed into a rice porridge called okayu.

Olle Korean Cuisine (Korean) 

In Korea, jeongol is the term for hot pot, referring to a dish where various ingredients, such as meat, seafood, mushrooms, and vegetables, are arranged in a pot, simmered together in broth, and shared communally. Historically, jeongol was considered an elaborate dish, often served in the Korean royal court.

Today, its most popular modern adaptation is budae jeongol, or army stew — a fusion dish that emerged after the Korean War, incorporating American military rations like Spam, sausage, and instant noodles.

While many Korean restaurants serve budae jeongol, the quality of ingredients sets each version apart. At Olle in Koreatown, the army stew includes house-made Spam, sausage, bacon, and ham, along with kimchi, rice cakes, tofu, beansprouts, and gochujang, creating a rich and savory broth.

Like traditional jeongol, army stew is served communally in a shallow pot at the center of the table ($27.99 during lunch Monday-Friday.), allowing diners to add ingredients as they cook.

While jeongol is known for its carefully arranged, layered ingredients, army stew follows a similar approach but with heartier, processed meats and noodles. Despite their different origins — jeongol with its royal court roots and army stew born from post-war improvisation — both dishes embody the essence of Korean hot pot: a comforting, communal meal meant to be shared.

The torch relay for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will begin in Atlanta, home of the last U.S. Summer Games in 1996, and travel through all 50 states, organizers announced Tuesday.

The Olympic flame will be lit in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, before beginning its journey around the United States in spring 2028. The full route for the torch relay will be announced in 2027.

LA28 organizers say the relay will be one of the largest in Olympic history, passing through iconic and internationally renowned landmarks, stopping at major cultural and sporting events and hosting festival celebrations in select cities nationwide.

“Every Olympic Games begins with a single flame, and carrying that flame to Los Angeles is an honor and privilege that we’ll share with every corner of the country, as Americans in all 50 states carry the flame on its path to our Opening Ceremony,” LA28 chair and president Casey Wasserman said in a statement.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said the city will be proud to welcome the Olympic flame back 32 years after hosting the centennial Summer Games.

“Atlanta looks a little different. We are bigger. We are more connected to the world. So, when the flame returns to the U.S., Atlanta will be ready,” Dickens said in a statement. “Ready to welcome it from Greece. Ready to celebrate the spirit of the Games together as a community. And ready to send it forward toward Los Angeles and the next chapter of America’s Olympic story.”

The Paralympic torch relay will follow the end of the Olympics in August 2028, with the flame originating in Stoke Mandeville, England, the birthplace of the Paralympic movement. The relay’s U.S. starting location will be announced later.

Both torch relays will be sponsored by Coca-Cola, JPMorganChase, Allstate and Xfinity.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Tuesday banning local, state and federal law enforcement officers from using gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks to people.

The ban on shock gloves will take effect next year and remain in place until 2030. It comes weeks after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement moved to equip its officers with the gloves, which are designed to gain compliance from combative individuals. Last month, the agency awarded a nearly $17 million contract to buy 6,000 pairs.

“Trump has put his political interests above the health, safety and livelihood of American families,” Newsom said in a statement. “California is taking action to strengthen transparency, accountability, and oversight around immigration enforcement in our state.”

The law is the latest example of how Democratic-led states have been pushing back against President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts since he took office last year. In California, lawmakers passed at least two dozen bills this year seeking to fortify immigrants’ rights, restrict cooperation with federal immigration agents and tighten regulations on immigrant detention facilities, among other things.

Nationwide, 17 states with Democratic-led legislatures have passed a total of more than 100 pro-immigrant bills this year, according to an Associated Press analysis using the bill tracking software Plural. The most common purpose is to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agents.

Democratic California Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins said she introduced the shock-gloves legislation to “put a pause” on law enforcement’s use of the devices while the state examines their potential risks. The law requires the state’s Justice Department to study their safety and report to lawmakers by 2029.

“There’s a lot of unrest and a lot of uncertainty,” she said in an interview. “A lot of people are scared.”

The law will again test the state’s authority to restrict federal agents amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. A federal judge earlier this year blocked the state’s first-in-the-nation law barring federal officers from wearing face coverings, deeming it too selective because it applied to local and federal law enforcement but exempted state officers.

Lawmakers passed a new bill this year to make the ban apply to all officers. Newsom signed that legislation.

Kevin Johnson, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Davis, School of Law, said courts are likely to ultimately rule that the state cannot bar federal officers from wearing shock gloves or face coverings. The laws are well-intentioned, he said, but likely conflict with the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which generally sets federal law as supreme over conflicting state law.

“The state has very limited, if any, powers in dictating to the federal government how its officers are armed,” he said.

California law enforcement groups broadly opposed the ban.

Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper, a Democrat and former state lawmaker, said banning shock gloves “really makes no sense” because they are among the non-lethal tools officers can use if necessary.

“When the federal government does something, the state Legislature wants to ban it,” he said at a news conference. “They’re making our job harder.”

Sharp-Collins said ICE’s plan to use shock gloves was the catalyst for the ban. But she cited their use by other officers, including a case in which a Kentucky family alleges a man died after being tased and shocked with the gloves dozens of times while in law enforcement custody in 2024.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat who wrote last year’s mask ban, also authored this year’s measure to expand it to state officers.

“California must use every available tool to stand up for our communities under attack from ICE’s secret police terror campaign,” he said in a statement after it passed the Legislature.

Associated Press writer David A. Lieb contributed to this report from Jefferson City, Missouri.

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed two bills that would have helped improve the insurance-claims process for consumers but signed one that also addresses claims-related issues, leaving Los Angeles County fire survivors and others wondering whether the vetoes were retaliatory.

One bill, Senate Bill 877, would have required insurance companies to explain in more detail to their customers how their claims payments are calculated. Another, SB 878, would have required insurers to pay claims within a certain amount of time, and imposed penalties for delays.

In his veto statement Sunday, the governor said the bills codified existing regulations and were “unnecessary at this time.”

But he signed SB 876, which among other things requires insurers to send their customers a status report within 15 days of assigning a new adjuster to their claims; doubles penalties during a declared emergency when insurers violate fair claims practices and settlement law; and mandates that insurers send a disaster-recovery plan to the Insurance Department.

Newsom’s office would not provide more information. Spokesperson Anthony Martinez said the governor’s veto message speaks for itself, and pointed to other legislation Newsom signed that helps survivors, such as setting new smoke-damage standards.

Martinez did not respond to a question about an accusation that the governor vetoed the two bills because they were sponsored by fire survivors and a consumer advocacy group who fought against his failed effort to reduce utilities’ liability for wildfires they cause.

Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, told CalMatters that all three bills “were along the same vein, addressing claims-handling problems,” although they did not overlap. The difference, she said, was that the two bills Newsom vetoed were sponsored by her group and Every Fire Survivors Network.

“It’s a real black mark on the governor that he would throw survivors under the bus in that way for what appears to be a petty reason,” Balber said.

Democratic state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez wrote SB 877 and 878, prompted by experiences of fire survivors she represents in Altadena. She pushed back against the governor’s veto statement, saying existing regulations have not been enough to avoid insurers’ delays and denials of survivors’ claims. As an example, she pointed to the insurance department’s findings that State Farm violated laws in its handling of L.A. fire survivors’ claims.

“I would hope (the decision) is not because of politics and petty infighting,” Pérez told CalMatters.

The senator added that her bills got bipartisan support and that the insurance industry eventually dropped their opposition to them. She noted that some survivors of the January 2025 fires are still navigating their claims. “The reality is that this decision is going to have an impact on survivors’ recovery,” she said.

Every Fire Survivors Network agreed.

“These vetoes mean more families will face what we have faced: rebuilding stalled, bills piling up, and lives on hold while waiting for insurance money they are owed,” said Joy Chen, executive director of the group, in a statement.

Pérez, Consumer Watchdog and Every Fire Survivors Network vowed to try again next session.

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara was also a co-sponsor of SB 878 but had no comment on the governor’s veto, although his office issued a statement celebrating the signing of SB 876: “It holds insurers accountable when they drag their feet.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

Los Angeles County will begin sending mail-in ballots starting this Thursday ahead of the Nov. 3 elections. Counties across the state have until next Monday, Oct. 5, to begin mailing out ballots.

In the June primary, nearly 82% of the total ballots cast in L.A. County were through vote-by-mail ballots.

State and local officials are encouraging people to vote early.

When can I turn in my ballot?

L.A. County elections officials say voters can turn in their ballots by mail as soon as they receive them. No postage is necessary.

They can also turn them in starting this week at official dropboxes across the county, which are often found at parks, community centers or libraries.

Voters can also turn them in or vote in person at the county’s Vote Centers, which L.A. County officials say will start to open on Oct. 24. Officials say all Vote Centers will be open by Halloween.

What about in Orange County?

Orange County officials say U.S. Postal Service officials are scheduled to pick up about 1.9 million ballots from the county elections office on Saturday and start delivering them on Monday, Oct. 5.

The Trump administration has tried to restrict mail-in ballots. Will my ballot be affected?

The California Secretary of State’s office says nothing has currently changed. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month issued an injunction on President Trump’s executive order requiring states to turn in lists of voters and ordering the USPS to send mail-in ballots to the people on the approved lists.

"Voters will be able to cast their ballots without uncertainty, without hesitation, and without fear that their voices will be questioned or their ballots rejected," said Secretary of State Shirley Weber.