Chao Tian Fu Spicy hot pot

Non-spicy eaters BEWARE. Mild here is still very spicy! There are so many dried chili peppers all over my MILD dried pot! The server was not helpful, although he apologized but i still couldn't really enjoy my $20 mild dish when its still VERY SPICY! Whats the point of asking if i want mild, medium or hot season? Very misleading, And he didnt offer to remake my food. Needless to say im not coming back. Very disappointing

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 2

Stopped in with my fiancee and mother in law after a wedding consultation next door. The two of us are pretty adventurous eaters but she is not, we still managed to convince her to give it a try. This is not classic table hot pot like you may be used to, these are individual bowls that are filled and then brought out. You can also select your ingredients and then get them as a stir fry instead. I think it works well, there's little guess work to the cooking and no arguing about ingredients, everyone can get their own. That also enabled us to try 3 different soups and all manner of add ins. The hot pot itself was delicious. I got the mild green Sichuan soup which was full of flavor and still boasted both some piquant heat and numb-spicy flavor from the Sichuan peppercorns. The heat is absolutely not to be underrated, my heat loving fiancee was enjoyable sweating through her spicy Sichuan bowl but it was hot enough to have given me stomach trouble. If you want to kick it up there's sliced red Chili's that can be added on the side bar. I was a little worried about getting my flavors to go together while creating the bowl but the broth is strong enough to melt fairly disparate ingredients. On the note I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of ingredients on offer. Plenty of unusual to western palates but standard for hotpot ingredients like lotus root, Shanghai spinach, fish balls, and fried tofu, plus quite a bit of raw seafood. At 12.99 a pound for the hot pot the value felt very good. You'll definitely end up with more than a pound of food but even a big eater is unlikely to finish a bowl that has even one measure of noodles.

Counter service was helpful and gave recommendations when asked, much appreciated since none of us had much experience with hot pot.

The restaurant is small but the fixtures still feel pretty new, and everything is clean which is hugely important for any kind of buffet. The only thing I think it could possibly use is some example bowls, the sheer amount of choices available was overwhelming. Possibly that's what the Chinese posters on the other side of the room were, I'm not sure if the English text on them was a direct translation.

Verdict: Highly recommended, tasty, unusual, fun and felt like a great value.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Pick Your Own Hot Pot

Very disappointed. The so-called Malatang even omits the basic peppercorns and coriander. It only has Tianjiao and nothing else. It’s so expensive.

Food: 1

If you love hotpot but don’t want to pay the expensive prices or don’t want to stuff yourself at Hot Pot 757 then this is a great place to go. I think this would be a great place for people who are new to hot pot food (even though you won’t get the traditional hot pot experience) so they can see what the ingredients actually look like. My ingredient bowl came out to 1.5 lbs which was about $20. I chose the bone broth while my boyfriend got the rich tomato broth (tasted really good and was smooth and comforting). I wish that I asked for the spicy chili oil on the side because when I ordered mild level spicy it really felt like medium spicy. It overwhelmed the bone broth flavor so I will have to try plain bone broth next time. I was pleasantly surprised that the fish ball had delicious sliced beef in it (I think the owners should add that to the sign for the pescatarians). I had never tried the taro and (I think it was zucchini) noodles. I thought they would be ribbons of raw vegetable but it was actually a chewy noodles which was delicious! The udon was cooked well. I wish that more noodle options were available (like perhaps egg noodles). The only other noodle at that time was ramen. I also wish that they had watercress available because I always get that with my hotpot. The dipping sauces were delicious (I mixed together: sugar, sesame oil, house sauce, peanut sauce, and garlic). Also, it was a nice surprise that there were unlimited fountain drinks (Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, tea, etc). The ambiance was great with booth tables and Chinese pop music. Overall, we had a great time and will be back soon.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Pick Your Own Hot Pot

All ingredients are out in the open. Not the freshest looking ingredients, many were thawing. Was super expensive.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 1

Me and my fiancé come here regularly now to the point that the staff know to get us two bowls as me and my fiancé share one bowl of hot pot! This place is a gem here in Richmond area and I’m so thankful we stopped in one day to give it a try. The food is flavorful and the selection of ingredients is unmatched! We love it here and will keep returning!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Lots of good choices for your bowl; tried some new things I liked; first time here and the process to make the meal was explained well. You have a choice of not spicy or spicy. Nice clean restaurant . I will come back ?

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Hot Pot

Me and my pregnant girlfriend had hair in our food

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 5

Hair in food ?

Best spicy hot pot in Virginia. It’s not the traditional Chinese hotpot. Instead, it’s a MALA TANG! My favorite!As a Chinese, this feels so authentic to me. Price is super reasonable!Must try: Green pepper soup. - get ready for lip numbness.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Hot Pot

Excellent hot pot, can’t wait to go back!!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Hot Pot

At $23, lunch was ridiculously overpriced and not very good. Got a dry pot that was ruined by the offensive green chili paste they use and eventually I could no longer eat it. The ingredients I selected ended up cooking down to a very small amount, and since they weigh the pre-cooked amount, it's going to cost over $20 to get at least a decent size bowl. Complete rip off. They don't peel the shrimp either so you have to put your hands into your dish to peel them. There are much better all you can eat hot pot Korean barbecue places that charge much more reasonably than this establishment. Avoid!

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

My favorite restaurant in all of Richmond. It's very expensive, I spend a min of $50 but it feeds me for 4 days lol. I always get it to go bc I can't eat enough to make a dent in their giant servings, and bc when I try to pour into the to go containers, I spill half of it on the table.They can do gluten free hot pot!! And not the dumb chicken stock or veggie stock only stuff.

Vegetarian options: Dry pot is vegetarian

Dietary restrictions: The hot pot is gluten free, dry pot and appetizers are not.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Seafood, Pick Your Own Hot Pot, Hot Pot

Amazing food! I lived in China for over 11 years and can tell that the food is 100% authentic! It’s super yummy and amazing. If you are looking for a legit Chinese food, you should visit here!

Very impressed! I really loved the different topping options from meats, seafood, and vegetables. The food was delicious and was excited to see that they have broth and dry pot options. I am looking forward to going back again!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5