Did you love The Melting Pot the first time you ever ate there? For some people, dipping cubes of bread into boiling hot cheese or meats into equally hot oil is just a little too adventurous, while others love it so much they choose to enjoy it for Valentine’s Day or another big night out.
Invoking that same spirit of adventure is Fushia Asian Bistro, located in the Shoppes of Amberly plaza in Tampa Palms (next to Crunch Fitness), less than five miles south of the Pasco County line. Fushia owners Sharon and Chef Charlie Wang say that theirs is the first Asian restaurant in the Tampa Bay area to offer an authentic Chinese hot pot buffet and they have spared no expense to bring it to you, hoping to capture a new audience for my favorite Chinese restaurant in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel (see pgs. 38-41).
In the newer side of Fushia, where the restaurant also offers its private karaoke suites for 6-20 people, there are now multiple tables where each seat has its own stovetop burner. Each person at your table will have their own stainless steel pot which they will fill with one of about ten different kinds of broth — from Japanese-style miso to Thai curry to spicy red (oil) broth and literally any other “stock” you can imagine.
Then, you visit large refrigerated cabinets which offer a variety of flash-frozen meats — lamb, pork, beef, chicken, etc., as well as beef stomach and other choices less commonly known by the average American diner at the place.
For those who aren’t allergic to shellfish (like I am), there also is a huge selection of not only white meat fish, but also raw shrimp, clams, squid, crab claw meat and others, as well as a variety of dumplings, wontons, ramen noodles and a huge selection of veggies.
Each person at your table selects his or her own selection of these items to place into their own hot pot. Most of the items take only a few seconds to cook, while the dumplings and noodles take a few minutes.
While your hot pot is simmering, there is an ever-changing variety of appetizers for you to enjoy. On our most recent visit, for example, there was a spicy cucumber salad, spicy chicken chunks, Korean-style pickled kimchi vegetables (also spicy), and others. You also can choose from a dozen different sauces, some spicy, some sweet and mild.
Once your ingredients have been simmered in your hot pot, you pull them out using a ladle that is provided to each person with a hot pot. The food comes out piping hot and most of the fat on the meats are rendered into the pot.
“It’s a really healthy, lower-calorie way to eat,” Sharon says. “Hot pot buffets are very big in major cities like New York and even Miami. We think people here will love it, too, if they give it a try.”
Although I really enjoyed the hot pot buffet, there is an element of chance involved — you have to figure out which broth to start with because different broths definitely bring out different tastes. I really liked the so-called “fatty lamb” and “fatty pork” the most, but I preferred them in the butter broth rather than any of the spicy broths. The fish filets also cooked up fluffy and white and were particularly good with a mix of peanut sauce and Thai chili sauce.
Young people, especially college students like my WCNT-tv production assistant Gavin Olsen, really seemed to enjoy the hot pot buffet the most. Staff writer Celeste McLaughlin and billing manager Stephanie Smith (bottom right photo) also really enjoyed the adventure of the hot pot, although Celeste said she probably wouldn’t bring her younger children to try it because of the heat, although I do see kids enjoying the hibachi tables at Japanese steakhouses, which also can burn them.
Your hot pot buffet also comes with unlimited desserts (including delicious ice cream) and soft drinks, all for $25.99 per person — and yes that price is the same, whether you enjoy the hot put for lunch or dinner. The good news is that with the coupon in the Fushia ad on page 42, up to eight people in your party can each receive $2 off that cost, although the coupon can not be used on Friday or Saturday. Even so, my employees all agreed that it was well worth the cost.
Old Favorites, Too!
Of course, there were no hot pot buffets when I learned to love New York-style Chinese food during my youth growing up in Long Island. For me, Chinese food is still about great egg rolls, fried rice and spicy beef and pork dishes with traditional Chinese vegetables.
My favorite traditional dishes at Fushia are the Yan Jian pork, which is made spicy by being sautéed with jalapeño peppers. It’s amazing with Fushia’s Yong Chow fried rice, which is a savory combination fried rice with pork, beef, chicken and shrimp (I order it without the shrimp), plus some onions, egg and veggies. Yum.
I also love Fushia’s beef with Chinese broccoli, which is like broccoli stalks with spinach leaves instead of florets, as well as the true New York-style egg rolls, spring rolls and pan-fried dumplings.
I also really enjoy Fushia’s Mongolian-style chicken, the crispy Beijing (Peking) duck and so many other dishes on the extensive menu. If you want the hot pot buffet but your significant other isn’t that adventurous, you can both get what you want and enjoy a great Chinese meal.
And yes, you can even get a private karaoke suite for your party (at no additional charge) and entertain each other after dinner while you enjoy a glass of plum wine, hot or cold sake or a delicious Tsingtao or Kirin (or domestic) beer.
Fushia Asian Bistro is located at 15315 Amberly Dr. and is open every day for lunch and dinner except Monday. For more information, call 903-6705 and tell Sharon we sent you!
ame time this issue reaches your mailbox. We also got word that a second Wesley Chapel Chick-fil-A was being built near the Walgreens on S.R. 54 at BBD. The land next to the pharmacy has been cleared for some time; we’ll let you know when it goes vertical.
