Individual hot pots with assorted meats, noodles and vegetables fill the square table. As the bubbling broth releases steam, tender beef, fish balls, vermicelli noodles and tofu simmer in savory Taiwanese spices.  

   On June 10th, Tasty Pot, a chain of Taiwanese hot pot places, opened its 50th location in Roseville. Throughout the United States and Canada, there are 50 total locations with 10 more coming soon.  

   Unlike the traditional communal pot, Tasty Pot serves individual hot pots. Tasty Pot offers 12 different pre-cooked hot pots, each named by the featured ingredient, such as lamb, kimchi dumpling and seafood lobster. The hot pot comes with a choice of rice or vermicelli noodles. 

   Each person receives a hot pot with a burner underneath to keep the food hot. The hot pots are pre-cooked with all the ingredients already in the soup. With the work process removed, it makes it easy for first-time hotpot eaters who are concerned about cooking their own food. You can also add extra toppings like mini sausage, tempura and enoki mushroom.

   The soup base sets Tasty Pot apart from other hot pot places in Roseville. Tasty Pot broth is blended with a delicious basic pork bone broth that is simmered for over 5 to 6 hours. You can adjust the spice of the hot pot from “plain” to “flaming spicy.” 

   I ordered the Taiwanese spicy hot soup and the taro boba tea. The bowl comes with a variety of meats such as beef, tempura, Fuzhou fish balls, shrimp and additional egg noodles. It is slightly more spicy than the other hot pot combinations.

   For the soup, I chose “mild spicy.” Note the food is on the spicier side and you may want to go with a lower spice level than your usual. Each bite enriched with Taiwanese flavor provides an extra spicy kick. The fish balls were so fluffy and the thin-sliced beef was the perfect amount of chewy and tender. I love that this hot pot comes with two kinds of long noodles: glass noodles and ramen noodles. 

   The portions are huge and can even be shared. Priced from $19 to $24, the hot pots can be a good value for the amount of food. Customers can also choose from authentic Taiwanese appetizers, boba milk teas and desserts. 

   As a boba lover, the taro boba tea was delicious. The taro tea nails the sweetness and taro flavoring. The pearl boba is soft and squishy. Besides the taro boba, there is a wide selection of flavors to choose from: green tea, mango tea and tiger milk tea. For dessert, there is a self-served station of fresh fruit. 

   The dining room is spacious and comfortable. Most booths sit about 4-5 people comfortably. The restaurant has friendly and fast service. The servers come around to refill the broth and adjust the burner underneath your pot.  

   What I love most about the restaurant is the variety of flavors, ingredients, and noodle selection inside each hot pot. Tasty Pot is certainly one of my go-to restaurants for a fun meal. I would rate this restaurant a 10/10.

   Tasty Pot restaurant is located near the back right corner of the CVS Pharmacy at the address: 1020 Pleasant Grove Blvd #170, Roseville, CA 95678.