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The Peninsula is seeing an increase in restaurants devoted to malatang, a type of Chinese street food where customers craft their own hot pot bowls from a wide variety of fresh vegetables, meats and noodles.
At least four new malatang spots have opened this year along the Peninsula, including MiPot in Mountain View and Sunnyvale, Tang Bar in San Mateo and MalaTown Express in San Mateo. YGF Malatang, a malatang franchise with over 5,000 locations in China, opened its first eatery in Daly City in 2021, according to Snackpass.
Unlike traditional hotpot, it’s quick and doesn’t need a big group of people to enjoy.
“(Malatang) is convenient and it’s fast,” said Nathan Wong, a worker from MalaTown Express in San Mateo. “You just grab your ingredients, then choose your broth, and it’s only 10 minutes for food (to cook).”
Ordering can be compared to visiting a Whole Foods hot bar: Customers pick the raw ingredients themselves, with fresh vegetables and meats all stored on metal racks. A large bowl is provided to fill with all the toppings you’d like, but beware – it’s not all you can eat for a set price. Many Peninsula restaurants charge between $12.99 and $14.99 per pound.
MalaTown Express opened in April, and employees say its customer base has grown slowly but steadily.
“On weekdays we sell 100 to 200 (bowls) a day, and on weekends it’s double,” Wong said.
One possible reason malatang has popularized along the Peninsula is the increase in viral videos showcasing the dish on social media. Creators are showing off their assortment of ingredients and attempting to guess the weight before going to pay.
An attractive facet of malatang is the ability to try small amounts of unfamiliar ingredients. Bamboo, beef meatballs, fish balls, fresh tofu and bullfrog legs are some of the many toppings available to add texture and flavor to the soup. This gives customers the chance to sample new foods without having to commit to the large portions.
But be mindful of how many filler ingredients you add to your malatang bowl. Because malatang is charged by its final weight, a pound of sliced wagyu beef is the same price as 1 pound of noodles.
At MiPot House in Mountain View, most customers end up selecting a pound’s worth of toppings, averaging out to $20 with tax, according to staff members.
After weighing your toppings, workers take them into the kitchen, where the toppings are boiled in your choice of soup. Customers can create their own sauce concoction out of the wide varieties of dipping sauces while they wait.
Diced green onions, fresh cilantro and a plethora of sweet and savory sauces are available for customers to make their own sauces. The station is included with the meal and features many Asian condiments, such as sesame oil, peanut sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce and more.
A peanut dipping sauce pairs well with both meat and vegetables. In a small bowl, mix together a generous amount of peanut sauce, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, fresh cilantro and garnish with a dash of chili oil. As you are mixing, take a chopstick and constantly taste your sauce, making adjustments as you see fit.
Malatang is ubiquitous in China, but each province has their own spin on it by varying toppings and soup bases.
The most widespread variation and the one featured in the name is “má là 麻辣,” or numbing and spicy flavored soup. By combining Sichuan peppers and dried chili peppers, the result is a fiery red soup that coats the tongue, leaving a tingling sensation. This flavor profile is common in the Sichuan region and can be found on almost every malatang restaurant’s menu.
In Yunnan and Guizhou, located in southwestern China, vegetables are blanched prior to eating, seasoned with a generous amount of spicy toppings and eaten on the side. Guizhou is known for fresh, sour and spicy flavors, and they incorporate these preferences into their malatang as well. Hot and sour tomato soup, called “suān tāng huǒ guō 酸汤火锅” is a popular Guizhou soup base. At ZhangLiang Malatang in Mountain View, a variation of this tomato soup base is served without any spice, and customers can dictate if they want to kick it up a notch with side condiments.
For anyone searching for a new eating experience where choice, fun and convenience all intersect, malatang might be your next meal.
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