Tian Fu Xiang is HotPot Hedonism

 New Cupertino restaurant offers all-you-can-eat Chinese fare (and sesame balls) in chic venue

While the East Coast has much to offer in seafood–bright crimson lobsters and oysters by the bag, freshly plucked from the Atlantic–it lacks cultural diversity. Since coming to California, I’ve been eagerly devouring the different cuisines that the state has to offer. After my friends first introduced me to hotpot last month, I’ve become obsessed. 

My roommate Michelle and I set out to expand our hotpot palate and test out a new spot–Tian Fu Xiang HotPot, which opened just three months ago in Cupertino.

The hotpot experience (especially in colder weather) feels akin to being a weary traveler who has traversed miles through mountainous terrain for a hot meal. After a day of dragging my feet through my Monday classes, the respite felt necessary, if not deserved. 

After a seventeen-minute drive from campus in Michelle’s dirt-caked white Volkswagen, we parked next to a massive glass-paned restaurant.

Upon stepping inside, we were greeted with high ceilings and walls adorned with stylish wood and white Chinese paneling. Modern lamps hung overhead and an ornate mural in a traditional style occupied much of the ceiling. 

To our delight, this view was accompanied by a massive all-you-can-eat buffet stocked with vegetables, udon noodles, fried rice, a sauce bar with most of the options you could imagine and (to my utmost excitement) sesame rice balls.

Tian Fu Xiang serves hotpot, a traditional Chinese cuisine–patrons are served large, boiling, metal pots of broth which are brought to a simmer during the meal. Customers are tasked with cooking their own raw ingredients–typically different cuts of meat and a plethora of vegetables–in the broth. Most hotpot restaurants have a variety of additional options, such as noodles, tofu, rice and vegetables available as sides and mix-ins to the dish. 

For just $35 per person, we were allowed anything we’d like from the buffet, as well as the choice of two premium cuts of meat each and as many cuts of meats we’d like from a second menu. Our waiter shared that while he had enjoyed the restaurant’s food since he started, the spot was gaining popularity as patrons had recently been excited about the implementation of all-you-can-eat, which was made available for the first time last Monday. 

But this reward came with a challenge: if we were unable to finish the feast we selected, we would be charged a $25 take-out fee. 

My companion and I gorged ourselves on a selection of two trays of Wagyu beef, shrimp paste and angus ribeye, which we accompanied with tomato and pork bone broth. 

Tian Fu Xiang offers plenty of toppings and is a pleasantly cost-effective option for a massive meal for the ever-broke college student. 

The meat was fresh, the plethora of options was impressive and the free sesame rice balls were unbeatable, but unfortunately the broth, a central part of the experience, didn’t quite measure up. 

That said, we were too timid to try the spicier options; our pickiness may have led to our discontentment. 

All in all, the experience was enjoyable–the waitstaff were outgoing, consistently amiable and always eager to help, the options were diverse, the food was good and–the surprise highlight of the meal–we were allowed to eat as much as we could fit in our stomachs. We left Tian Fu Xiang HotPot stuffed with four trays of meat (as much as we could conquer), udon and countless sesame red-bean rice balls.