The Dining Divas & Dudes entered a brave new world when they dined at YGF Malatang (110 S Chauncey, WL) and it was an amazing new world! Kiki, our Indonesian host, showed us the ropes. You grab a big bowl and a pair of tongs and go to the wall of food arrayed near the entrance. Fresh vegetables, lots of different kinds of noodles and mushrooms, seafood, sliced meats, dumplings, tofu concoctions, fish balls, lobster balls, pork balls, lotus root, things you’ve never seen before, and you just start filling your bowl.
Take the bowl to the counter to be weighed and pick either spicy beef broth, tomato broth, or dry spicy sesame sauce to complete your order. The bowl is sent to the kitchen and you are assigned a seat (individual seating). There’s a little door in your cubby through which your meal magically appears. It’s too hot to eat, so take it to the condiment table and add your choice of chile, chile sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, green onions, ginger, cilantro, chopped peanuts and dig in.
Malatang means “spicy numbing hot soup”. It originated as a kind of Chinese street food and evolved to what we found on Chauncey Ave. Similar to hot pot, but different in that hot pot is a communal meal with a simmering pot of broth in the middle of the table that a group of people sit around and cook their raw ingredients. The malatang experience is individual as you can see in the set-up of the eating area. No group seating. You can even make your space private by pulling out little doors to separate you from your neighbors. There’s also a call button on your table if you need something from the kitchen. This is not a service-intensive place, but it doesn’t need to be. The fresh food and steaming flavorful broths are the stars.
Our thoughts:
If shrimp is on the menu, Linda is in heaven: “It was great. I had lots of shrimp, dumplings, and fish cakes. The condiments added to the flavor of the broth. All in all it was fun and tasty!”
A taste of Whitney: “I was so surprised by this place! I freaking loved it! I suppose I get credit because I added all the stuff I wanted, but that spicy beef broth and table of condiments were straight fire! My heart was en fuego, and I’ll tell everyone I know about it!”
Jo really enjoyed her experience: “I’ve never had a meal like this, but I really liked that I didn’t have to ask for the menu items to be adapted to my needs. I could pick whatever I wanted! Which was plenty of greens and shrimp topped with the tomato broth. I appreciated that it was not creamy like tomato soup, but a clear broth, and I loved how the cilantro, peanuts, chile, and spicy oils enhanced the meal.” And we are all happy when Jo is happy. She foots the bill!
Ken and Kay unknowingly had almost the same combination: 5 types of mushrooms, beef, chicken, lots of shrimp, fresh vegetables, quail eggs, some mystery items finished off with the spicy beef broth. Ken said “It was phenomenal, and I will be going back, but I may try the dry seasoning because the hot pot was too much to finish”, which sums up Kay’s impression as well.
Jerry “liked it enough I’m going back this coming week. I had 3 different noodles, a great selection of vegetables and bean curd prepared in a SPICY beef broth. The staff was great from front man to the kitchen.”
Margy can create her perfect meal here: “I guess my dish is referred to as a “dry pot" since I opted for the dry spice mix rather than the tomato or beef soup broth. It was incredibly good. I love that you have so many ingredient options with a “build your own bowl” menu style (sort of a Chinese Chipotle 🤣). I had corn noodles, broccoli, spinach, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, cilantro, Bok choy, and every mushroom variety they had. From the condiment bar I made a small bowl of nearly everything they had to offer: minced garlic, green onion, cilantro, minced pepper, sesame oil, vinegar, pepper oil. It gave an additional spicy kick I found very tasty. Kiki the server was so helpful and friendly. On the way home Jerry and I talked about going back and who we would invite to come try it out again with us. Malatang is definitely a keeper!”
Tetia: “Malatang was such a surprising food experience! The individual food stalls provided a unique setting for our creations. I enjoyed checking out the additional privacy panels and call buttons that were made available to each of us. Whitney’s participation in the exploration of the panels made it more of a food adventure as we both anxiously awaited our meals to arrive from behind the curtain.
I committed to a pescatarian blend for my meal. There were a lot of toppings that I had never tried before which turned up my excitement meter. I chose the dry spicy sesame sauce to accompany my selections of the following: black rice noodles, fish tofu and dumplings, bean curd roll, shitake and white beech mushrooms, and lotus root. I went all in on the condiments and added green onions, fresh garlic and chile oil (in excess). SO. GOOD. I was so impressed by the meal that I scheduled a lunch there with a friend and fellow foodie before I left.”
The best recommendation any restaurant can get is when the diners are planning their next visit on the way out the door, and that is just what the DDD’s were doing!
