YGF Malatang’s First New York Location Is a Must for Hot Pot Lovers | Eater NY
I found a fast-food version of hot pot at YGF Malatang, a chain founded in 2003 with some 6,000 branches in Asia — the name Yang Guo Fu roughly means “Lucky Northern China” — which recently opened its first NYC location at 92 Third Avenue in the East Village near 12th Street. The narrow storefront’s green-and-orange design and peppy slogans set the tone for an efficient, solo-friendly meal: instructional placards present hot pot in a grab-and-go format, there are no big tables, and it was already jammed with students when I visited. I built my bowl from 60 tubs of raw materials — frozen curls of marbled beef, pork, and lamb; marinated chicken; greens like baby bok choy, Chinese cabbage, celtuce, kelp, iceberg lettuce, and spinach; seafood such as fish balls, fish tofu, surimi, fish filet, and frozen shrimp; dried ramen-style noodles; dried black mushrooms, pickled wood ears, and fresh enoki; squash and root vegetables; fried eggs; tomato wedges; offal including cow aorta and tripe; and several permutations of tofu — at $15 per pound. I then chose one of three finishes at the counter (a bone broth with Sichuan peppercorns offered in three spice levels, a milder sweet-and-sour tomato broth, or a dry pot with a spicy peanut-and-sesame dressing) and had chefs in the back cook it for me in black uniforms with stiff-flapped caps; after taking a number and mixing a dipping sauce at the condiments bar (sesame oil, tahini, and soy sauce with crushed garlic is a classic), my bowl arrived from a runner in about ten minutes. - Robert Sietsema
