Tag: ma la tang

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Chinese

Chungking Malatang (渝人麻辣烫) – Burwood NSW Restaurant Review

Chungking Malatang in Burwood, not to be confused for Chungking the formal sit down restaurant, has a few things going for it.

While I don’t have any photos of the fridges and freezers of base ingredients that one has to choose from (amateur move from me), I did feel like Chungking offered a wider than average selection, almost equal to a larger Yang Guo Fu Malatang outlet like the one in Kingsford. One specific innovation that caught my eye at Chungking was the use of not only fridges but freezers to hold ingredients, particularly the raw meat rolls, in order to maintain their freshness for longer. This approach really does make sense if you think about it – these meats generally come frozen regardless – and I’m quite surprised that I’m yet to run into another restaurant that does this. It sure beats watching staff smell the meat at Number 1 Malatang in Kingsford (now permanently closed).

The second thing that’s a bit different about Chungking is the availability of premium ingredients for a premium price – mostly seafoods like scallops and salmon – that occupy a separate fridge in plates akin to those at a sushi restaurant. Though I didn’t partake myself, this does add a bit of a high brow quality to this store.

We enjoyed both the standard spicy malatang as well as the preserved vegetable soup base. There’s no point really in commenting on the bowls themselves outside of the soup, as we essentially just got what w liked. Unlimited coriander garnish was on offer, which is excellent.

On a subsequent visit I had my meal stir-fried. It was alright, a bit spicier and saltier than I would have wanted, and with a degree of strictness of minimum portions even though my partner had ordered a huge wet one (pictured below).

THOUGHTS
Chungking Malatang in Burwood is a pretty strong contender for best Malatang in Burwood, especially as the Yang Guo Fu near the plaza has made way for a different company. Chungking’s extensive opening hours (closing for dine-in at 11:30PM most nights) and frozen meat fridge might just give it the edge over its nearby competitor Zhangliang.

Chungking Malatang (渝人麻辣烫) Burwood
158 Burwood Rd, Burwood NSW 2134
(02) 8385 2444

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Chinese

Long Men Zhu – Mascot NSW Malatang Restaurant Review

Long Meng Zhu is one of many restaurants that serve Ma La Tang in Mascot’s recently developed high-rise area, located mere footsteps away from its nearest competitor.

The concept is much the same as every other Ma La Tang restaurant. There is a refrigerated display of a variety of meat, seafood, and vegetables. The selection is a bit narrower than what you would find at a larger competitor like Yang Guo Fu Ma La Tang, but still reasonably appropriate. The meat are fresh and were still being actively topped up by the time I visited at around 10:30PM. What sets Long Men Zhu apart from many of its competitors is the array of soup bases on offer. Along with the classic spicy malatang soup, Long Men Zhu also offers a pork bone broth, a laksa broth, and a chicken broth.

I had a selection of sliced meats, vegetables, balls, and tofu in the pork bone broth. Service was fast however I did notice that one of my fish balls was still cold inside. The rest of the food was thoroughly cooked, and I did not get sick afterwards. The pork broth was quite nice and umami, a lighter option in terms of flavour than the usual malatang soup. It was actually so good that I drank most of it at the conclusion of my meal.

A shoutout should also go to the nice man working front of house, who was friendly and made me feel welcome as someone who pretend not to speak Chinese. He is probably the reason why there is a reasonably multicultural patronage at Long Men Zhu.

VERDICT

Pretty good, worth a try! The boss asked me if he would be seeing me at his restaurant more, and I told him to be honest probably no as I’m moving away from the area soon. I do want to bring my girlfriend back though.

Long Men Zhu
1/56 Church Ave, Mascot NSW 2020

Categories
Chinese

Yang Guo Fu Ma La Tang – Kingsford NSW Restaurant Review

So fresh! So clean! After having an awful time the previous week at No.1 Malatang in Kingsford, we went just 190 metres up the road to Yang Guo Fu Malatang. The difference was immense.

Malatang, for the uninitiated, is basically a form of hot pot where you choose your own raw ingredients, pay for it by weight, and have them boiled for you in a soupy and generally spicy broth. There are a number of vegetables, meats (lamb, beef, chicken, pork), tofu, mushrooms, quail eggs, and seafood on offer, so it’s quite easy to build yourself a bowl that suits your own preference.

We’ve had malatang from Yang Guo Fu in Hurstville, Burwood and Eastwood before and have generally enjoyed it. The ingredients have always been fresh, the soup tasty, and we’ve kind of made their our go-to. Keeping in mind the general good quality of YGF MLT, their Kingsford location was even better.

Yang Guo Fu in Kingsford is a larger location than its more suburban counterparts. There was ample distance between tables, and it didn’t feel as claustrophobic as some of those other restaurants do.

The ingredients were very fresh, even as we were making some of the last orders for the night. We also got the option of several different broths, which isn’t available at some of the smaller YGF Malatang stores. Unlike some of the other stores, the responsibility of saucing our meals was put on ourselves via a self sauce station. This was nerve-wracking (what if I put in the wrong ratio of ingredients!) but ultimately paid off.

A special mention needs to go to theses housemade meatballs. I haven’t seen these at any of their other stores. Their texture and taste are quite good, and I would recommend you try them. They also had ham hock, also a good and rare feature.

One weakness of Yang Guo Fu Kingsford is that they are connected to a bubble tea shop called Hey Fresh, which I have briefly written about before. Hey Fresh tends to underperform, but the restaurant staff voiced no objections to us bringing in Beautea from down the road.

I would definitely recommend Yang Guo Fu Malatang Kingsford for any malatang or hot pot lovers. They really elevate the standard.

Yang Guo Fu Ma La Tang Kingsford
520/522, Anzac Parade, Kingsford, NSW
+61401035858

Yang Guo Fu Ma La Tang Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato