Mala chili 麻辣川味

Came here for the first time, and what a great surprise! We were just roaming around the shopping center when this restaurant caught our eye. At first, we were debating between grabbing a drink or having some Chinese food, and we’re so glad we decided to stop in for a meal. It turned out to be one of the best choices of the day! The highlight for us was definitely the mapo tofu—without a doubt the best we’ve had in the area. The flavors were bold, the spice level was spot-on, and the peppercorn added just the right kick without being overwhelming. We also ordered the eggplant dish, which was just as impressive—tender, flavorful, and perfectly cooked. Everything felt authentic, fresh, and thoughtfully prepared. The atmosphere was welcoming, and we left excited to come back and try more dishes. This spot is a gem, and we’ll definitely return soon. Cheers 🥂 They have a robot machine running around which was cute! ☺️

Cedar Park has very few decent Chinese food spots, so happy to have found Mala chili. Things that stand out are the expansive and creative menu and good portions on the appetizers. They do have many of the typical dishes (sweet and sour pork, orange beef, etc,) but they also have many things we've never seen that we'd like to come back to try. And they don't skimp on orders like dumplings. Service is great as well.

Is it authentic? Yes! Is it good? No! The coolest thing about this spot is the tablet ordering system that sends orders directly to the kitchen. We ordered two egg drop soups, scallion pancakes, chicken dumplings, and General Tso's chicken. The soup had a crap load of gluten in it as it was gummy. It was not just broth. The scallion pancake was greasy, and the steamed dumplings came out dry. The chicken was definitely large chunks, moist, covered in sauce, but it was thick and unflavored. I came for a day date. I was impressed, but it wasn't palatable; my date hated it. He refused after the egg drop soup. I tried adding chili oil, but it didn't work.

We had nice experience on 10th July 2025 at this restaurant. Food was very good and tasty ,served hot hot soon after our order. Serving staff were courtesies,but little confused while taking orders and serving. Ambience still to be improved.

If you're craving authentic Sichuan with a fun unique robot experience, Mala Chili is the spot! We had heard a lot about this hidden little gem inside the H-Mart parking lot, but didn’t expect the flavors to we ate to be so satisfying and soul warming! They even have an adorable and hilarious robot server that had us giggling and grinning from the start. FYI- The menu is HUGE—like, "you’ll need a second to process this" kind of huge—but thankfully, the manager was incredibly informative and helped us narrow it down based on our flavor and meat preferences plus gave us some insights on the spice tolerance. While everything we ate was SUPER tasty, let’s talk about the stars of the show: The Mala Dry Pot Fish — hands down a must-order! We’re always hesitant to order fish at a Chinese restaurant, because we get nervous that it will smell or taste fish, but we can hands down say that this was one of our FAV’s!!! It was perfectly crispy, not fishy at all, and PACKED with flavor! The Spicy Chicken and the Fried Shrimp with Crispy Rice felt similar in flavoring as the dry pot fish and super easy to pop in your mouth and eat! So crispy such a MUST! The Male Lamb Shank is a MUST for lamb lovers! Massive in size and the accompanied veggies were also to die for! The Scallion pancakes were a classic and so crispy! The 1/2 order of Peking Duck to make duck tacos and enjoy some glass noodle soup was also super fun and we LOVED the sauce and broth it came with! Don’t skip the bubbly drinks! We got the Golden Bubbly with no added sugar—and it was perfectly refreshing and just sweet enough to cool the spice. Passion Fruit Panna Yotta was the perfect dessert finish!! Creamy, sweet and tangy! Bonus: you can BYOB, and we did just that with some cerveza! Portions are generous (come hungry or bring a friend with big chopstick energy), service is speedy, and the whole experience was way more fun than your average dinner out! Whether you're a Sichuan pro or curious newbie like us, Mala Chili is absolutely worth checking out!

We visited Mala Chili for the first time and were seriously impressed — the food absolutely lives up to the hype! We sampled a variety of dishes: egg rolls, soup dumplings, red chili wontons, chicken lo mein, and sesame chicken. Everything was flavorful and delicious. Ordering was super convenient with the tablet right at the table, and our food arrived quickly. The staff was friendly and attentive throughout our meal. A fun bonus? Our food was delivered by a robot, which added a playful touch to the experience. We’re already looking forward to our next visit!

The food is great for a small local spot. The service can be improved, my waiter was very friendly but I didn’t see him often and he didn’t check in on me. I needed to ask for a Togo box and after packing up my food I sat there waiting for them to deliver a check so I could pay. Atmosphere is pleasant with table and booth seating available. You order off a tablet so it makes getting the correct order great.

best Sichuan food in Austin. most of it was gone before I got a chance for a photo... my favorite is the pork rib dry pot (extra spicy). kinda salty but ok with rice. I don't recommend their Beijing duck - bland. overall the portions are a bit small for the price but nothing super unreasonable.