Over the last couple of years, hotpots have become a very fashionable way to eat out in Xiamen. The hotpot originated in the north, where it was a particularly warming way to eat in winter. The first one I had was at the flat of a friend in Xi'an after a visit to the Terracotta Army. Why I was there is another story, but suffice it to say that the heating in his block of flats had broken down and the temperature was -16º C! I don't think I would have survived the evening without the hotpot his wife had prepared.