YGF Malatang Noodles & Pots - Cupertino — Restaurant in Cupertino

I was here for the first time as my friend mentioned this authentic place. Since it was Friday we decided to come early at 11 am and to our surprise there was already a big line up at this place. You pick up a bowl and choose what you want and how much you want. There's a good mix of fresh vegetables, fish in the form of fish balls, meat, seafood, tofu and many more leafy vegetables, noodles of all kinds. Once you select it they will weigh it and will give you a table number to be seated. Based on the base sauce selections out of three kinds - sweet tomato base sauce, mild spicy which is with beef bone broth and the last with spicy yet with peanut sauce. Your food that you selected is taken inside their kitchen to cook and based on that your food is priced. I found this very reasonable from the point that you don't have to waste food. Usually when the soup bowl comes out it's huge enough to be fed to three people and one person can't finish that all. So this is good that you can pick and choose. I chose the mild spicy one it came as a soup bowl. The aroma of the spices were so tempting that I started tasting it. The staff is extremely helpful and courteous. They will place the bill but will tell you not to worry or hurry, just enjoy your food. I really loved the ambience It is really good with lots of sunlight, numbered table seating inside, and giving more details about the type of their food. It seems they have more than 6K franchises opened around the globe. This restaurant just opened recently as they call it soft opening. I will definitely go back here to try out other flavors and food items. It's always advisable to come early as later at noon the line was outside the restaurant. I find this place very neat and clean. I will highly...

Update: OVERBEARING male staff with glasses, no need to policing customers. Do you like to be told how to behave and what to do? Little children should be aware of the environment under their parent's guidance, not you the waiter. You shouldn't instruct a customer how to act, when it's none of your business, as we have freedom of movement. A prevalent controlling autopilot stemmed from Asian culture. See how you feel when your own freedom being stripped away. This happened 10/19 lunch time. Glad we went elsewhere.

You pick your own food. They placed seafood first, noodles/vegetables/tofu in the middle, and sliced meat selection at the end. There are four types of soup bases you can choose plus two types of chilli dry pot style. The raw material all looked fresh and well-maintained. My favorite is the wife purple potato starchy noodle, beef tendon/tripes and various sliced meats. After picking the food, take the bowl to the counter and get weighted. It prices at $14.99/lb. We tried the beef bone broth soup base, and it was very good! The soup was not too spicy, full of flavors and it had no msg. Service was helpful, friendly and non-intrusive. The waiter volunteered to take a picture for us, which was kind. At the end, a staff came and asked us about the feedback. I might be too excited as a first timer and loaded too much food. The bill was unusually high. My suggestion is go easy on selections, skip weighty noodle and go for meats first. Overall the experience was quite enjoyable. Will be back again to try...

stopped here on two separate trips and during both visits, I really enjoyed the milkiness of the spicy beef broth along with the flexibility to choose how much to eat. there's a good variety of veggies, meat, and seafood. however, i did have a friend bring up a really valid concern with cross-contamination as a vegetarian and how each item was placed and everyone just going back and forth between each fridge of veggies, meat, and seafood. definitely would be interested to see if there's any way YGF can improve this process as their concept is so fun to be able to DIY your own hot pot!

i also recommend for yall to check out this spot as it allows each person from the party to get the amount of food that they feel is suitable for them. their ambiance is super casual and can be a bit intimate as each table to closely lined. their staff are very chill and laid back - in a sense it feels like a cafeteria-style because you pick up the food, drop off your food, and it's brought back cooked along with a sauce bar in the back for easy access.

tip: lots of parking available but this plaza does get busy so there might be some wait time with parking lots of great desserts/boba options available nearby perfect for small groups (friends,...