Sophia S.
Yelp
Our first time having malatang was pretty great, even with a number of food restrictions at the table!
Here are a few things to note:
-There's some peanut in the broth, so if anyone has a peanut allergy, make sure to let them know when you place your order.
-Even the mild has some spice, so be aware for anyone who can't eat spicy, whether for preference or due to dietary restrictions.
-There is a minimum weight of 1lb for each order.
-There are two restaurants in the plaza with the same name, and they are indeed the same place!
-Valet parking was $5 for an hour and $7 for up to 4 hours within the plaza. For those parking here and going elsewhere, it's a flat $20. Make sure to check your time to ensure you pay the right amount - for some members of our party, they charged $7 until we checked the time stamp and had them correct the cost to $5 since they were there for less than an hour.
Now, for the food!
-Chicken and lamb skewers: tasty - well seasoned! We enjoyed both! While there were some chewy parts on the lamb, some parts were nicely tender. The chicken was more consistent in texture - juicy and tender.
-The malatang broth was super tasty! A number of us were sweating, some of us from the mild and others from the medium, but almost all of us finished it anyway! I got napa cabbage, cabbage, baby bok choy, ramen noodles (think Japanese, not instant), cilantro, tofu, bean curd, quail eggs, and beef. Everything was cooked well, which made it easy to enjoy every bite!
-The sauce bar had some great options: soy sauce, vinegar, chili oil, numbing oil, garlic, sesame sauce, sesame oil, green onion, and cilantro (I might have missed something, but this is what I remember!). We didn't need much sauce to dip our food in, but it was nice to have tasty options to mix things up.
Overall, we really enjoyed eating here! The food was super good, and the service was really prompt and made for a positive experience.