This location is much better than the New Braunfels location. The staff are nice, portions are big and flavorful. Lots of seating . Highly recommend the scallion pancake, yuxiang chicken, lowmein, and their fried rice. The yogurt drinks they sell are pretty good as well! read more

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Both the lamb dishes I had -- the toothpick cumin lamb and the lamb skewers were so so tender and wonderfully flavorful. The toothpick lamb especially had a great crispiness. 10/10 for both. Loved the yuxiang eggplant - also a very large portion and came out in the clay pot. Spicy fried chicken was also good but not the best in the city. Beef dry pot was just okay. Definitely recommend this place! read more

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My go to spot for authentic Szechuan dishes and Chinese bbq skewers. Jumping fish: fish was nice and soft and broth is light and not overpowering. It's mixed with cucumbers for a nice crunchy texture. Grilled Lamb: you get 5 skewers. Smaller cuts of meat and more fatty vs. the Grilled Red Willow Lamb skewers which were leaner and heartier cuts. Fragrant boiled roast duck: maybe my least fav it was ok the duck meat was on the tougher side. I mostly enjoyed the broth, clear noodles and emoji mushrooms. Service is fast and you order everything on an ipad Ambiance 3 booths and lots of tables read more

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I have tried NUMEROUS scallion pancakes and Mala Chili has the BEST scallion pancakes. They are served hot (and better eaten hot). Get them with the vinegar as they balance each other's flavor out. I would get this every other day for dinner for a few months, haha. (Now that I've weened off I share to you this place!) The workers are very attentive and can recommend you anything with your taste profile. Restaurant is clean and if you'd like you can order on their website, pay and it will text you when it is ready. Or you can order through the big tablet screen to-go at the restaurant. read more

Mala Chili - Scallion Pancake 葱油饼 - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

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It located in the Hmart Lakeline Plaza. Authentic Sichuan great taste, fair prices, and easy parking! Highlights: the wontons and shumai were delicious, the green Sichuan pepper chicken was fiery and numbing in the best way, and the high light is lamb skewers, big, juicy, and packed with flavor. North Austin has another great spot for a late-night skewer fix. read more

It's been roughly a year but my husband and I came back for a date night :) sadly no more robot waiter. I wonder why it was phased out? Still a hybrid type of setup tho. Order on the iPads, add dishes as you go, dishes brought out to you periodically by staff, frequent water fill-ups. We did a buffet style type of set up for our meal where we order a couple dishes and shared them all between the two of us. We're vegetarians fyi. We got the veg eggroll, veg dumplings, scallion pancake, veg fried rice, home made tofu, & tea. We were nice and full but not stuffed by the end :) which is a good feeling. Still mega oily, but I knew what we were getting into. Honestly, one of our fav dishes was the veg dumplings. Takes a little longer to come out but well worth it :) Had a nice experience, would return again! read more

First time here. We've been on the hunt for all of the live crawfish, Asian Cajun style in Austin. I found out about Mala Chili via a Foodie FB group I'm in. So here we are. We arrived around 7:40p Saturday evening and this spot is bumpin busy and very lively. The outdoor patio was even packed. We were so lucky as a walk-in party of 2, a table was being cleaned so we were able to be seated quickly. Our server brought us each a tablet to order our food. I ordered the cucumber salad and general tso chicken with fried rice. My man ordered 2 lbs of live mala style crawfish $18 per pound (min 2# per order) with 5 shrimp. He also ordered the sesame chicken dish. Our food came out within 10 minutes, super fast. The crawfish took a little bit longer because I believe they make it fresh. Here's where it gets interesting. My man said his mouth was tingling and his tongue felt funny and when he took a drink of his tea it tasted super weird. Come to find out, the crawfish mala sauce has Szechuan peppercorn which has a numbing tingling effect to your tongue and mouth. We did not know this before we ordered. So He thought he was having an allergic reaction to something. We asked our server and she explained a traditional mala seasoning. I highly recommend that this is listed on the menu item as a forewarning to those that have never had the Mala live crawfish here before. Sadly, there were a lot of crawfish wasted tonight because He wasn't able to eat them all That seasoning just did not agree with his mouth or taste buds at all. :( But....The general tso and sesame chicken dishes were tasty! Another call out, We both ordered ice tea at the beginning and it came out pretty quickly, But no one returned to our table during our time here to offer refills or to check in on us after everything was delivered. I understand the restaurant was busy when we arrived but it slowed down while we were there. We may return to this location if we are in the area to try other dishes but unfortunately, he is unable to eat the live crawfish due to that one seasoning. Everyone was super friendly and I recommend trying the restaurant if you haven't before it. read more

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I've heard good things about this place and my friends and I finally got a chance to try it out! The one on Research Blvd opens really late which is nice as a late dinner option. We were super hungry and that first bite of eggplant really hit the spot! The more we ate it though, it definitely needs to be eaten with plenty of rice as it can get a bit salty. We also enjoyed their fried fish, which was tender with a light, crispy batter which was addictive. It tasted very fresh- my friend also really enjoyed her yogurt drink. This restaurant is one of the best asian options in town and I would definitely return. Service was prompt and friendly as well. read more

Mala Chili is hands down one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in the Cedar Park and Austin area. If you love bold, spicy, and flavorful dishes, this place does not disappoint. Our go-to orders are the mapo tofu, string beans, and their eggplant dishes--each one packed with that addictive mala flavor that keeps you coming back for more. The prices are very reasonable, and the portion sizes are generous, which makes it perfect for sharing (or enjoying leftovers later ). As a vegetarian, I really appreciate how many plant-based options they offer, and every dish we've tried has been consistently delicious and well-seasoned. If you're craving authentic Chinese food with great flavor and solid value, Mala Chili is absolutely worth a visit. A must-try spot! read more

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Great food; good portion size, nice staffs Got noting to complain about! Great for family style dinner! read more

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Fast service, great food, happy customer. We came here today with some friends at around 4:30pm and it was easy to get a table and order. Today, we went with the Westlake Soup, Chinese Eggplant, Green Beans, Spicy Fried Fish, and Cumin Lamb. It took less than 10 minutes for everything to come out hot and fresh. As always, the food continues to impress us. Each dish was uniquely prepared and seasoned for a balanced meal. We were given a batch of rice which we were able to get refilled easily when we ran out. For a group of 5, five dishes were just the right amount of food with no leftovers. They do have private rooms if you'd like to host a gathering here. Ordering is the same as dining in the main dining room and a server checks in throughout your time there. Parking is easy with the shared lot and other businesses next door. Home Depot is within walking distance here and its parking lot could be an option if all the parking spaces are taken up in front of Mala Chili. Our bill came out to be just shy of $100, tip included. That's a fair price given the portion sizes and quality of food and service. We'll be back! read more

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Overall this place is great! I loved the mapo tofu. It was delicious. The skewers are also a must order. They were so good! read more

Mala Chili - Mapo Tofu - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Good lunch special, egg drop was good - fine general tso - all worked out well for lunch read more

Mala Chili - General Tsos Chicken 左宗鸡 - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

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My son visited from San Antonio and was craving for crispy duck and there's no other place I would come for it to brag on than Mala chili. It comes with the yummy soup! The hot sauce and duck sauce combined was a topper and the crispy duck was a great amount of yummy serving. Service was great as usual and the iPad ordering system was very efficient. Clean and hope we get to try the outdoor skewer food truck they showcase! Also the best fried rice it brought me home read more

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This place was pretty decent. It is pretty oily and the portion size is small. Nothing really stood out to me with any of these dishes, but they were able to accommodate our large party of 14 ( I think?). There's two private rooms so that was nice and you can order everything off an iPad. read more

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Recently ordered the yuxiang chicken for take out and it was a great sized lunch special! I have never had a bad experience here and always love the food. read more

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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 2 egg drop soups, scallion pancake, and chicken dumplings, General Taos 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 was palpable however my date hated it. He simply refused after the egg drop soup. I tried chilling oil too but it didn't work. read more

Mala Chili - General Tsos Chicken 左宗鸡 - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Ok now they have a truck outside from 4pm till midnight that serves up skewers and other flame (bbq) dishes!! I had their lamb skewers and lamb kidney skewers! They were so tasty! You can get no spicy, mild spicy, and spicy heat. Nice seating outside for after restaurant hours. The service is awesome as well they are so friendly and attentive. The prices are great also!! I'm going back there for sure!!! (Note: ya gotta go there as they are not on any delivery service for the skewers!!!) read more

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Meh. Wasn't that impressed. Soup dumplings were basic - almost no soup in them. Peking duck skin wasn't crispy and there was too much fat. Yu Xiang eggplant was fine, nothing special. Also got the special fish dish which isn't anything different than typical water boiled fish - though it did come with a LOT of fish and it was nice and tender. read more

Y'all crawfish here is on point! If you are looking for a different spin on flavor for your crawfish, Mala flavored crawfish will not disappoint. They do not skimp on the sauce and you can taste it with every bite. The crawfish size is also great. A good mix of large and medium. They have a special on the crawfish as well. Buy 2 lbs and get the 3rd pound for free if you share on social media. read more

Mala Chili - Crawfish with Mala sauce - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

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! read more

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This place is delicious . The menu has a great selections of dishes . You can adjust the spiciness of the dishes . The portions are very generous . The service was very fast and friendly . Only I guess issue we had was figuring out how to pay that was a very minor issue other then that . I really enjoyed mala chili and I would definitely recommend it especially for the north side of town . read more

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This place deserves more attention. 1000% worth every bite and $$. Chill ambience, great food, clean and just a perfect spot that deserves more attention. read more

Loved the food!!!! My family always gets Sichuan food when we're out of town and this place hit the spot. Fuqi Feipian aka "Beef Delicacy In Chili Sauce" was 3/5, a little too oily and there were many pieces of the tripe which were unable to be chewed through. The "Spicy Boiled Beef In Chilli Sauce" was 6/5, very good with tender meat. The "Dry Fried Spicy Fish Fillet" was 2/5 due to being overly salted, but lovely presentation. The "Dried Fried Intestines" was 5/5, very well-done. Service was fast and consistent with rice and water refills. Lovely location with nice furniture and comfortable booths. Would love to try the skewers in the food truck outside next time! read more

Crawfish is surprisingly great! There's a non spicy version. Others are good, not typical American Chinese food. read more

Mala Chili - Promo May 2026 - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

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As a native Houstonian who loves Szechuan food, this place is amazing.. every dish was so authentic and flavorful. Portions were great. The service was even better, and the restaurant was very clean and comfortable. Great ambience, we will be coming back at every opportunity. Best wontons I've ever had in my entire life. read more

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If this was 1995, and Mala Chili would have been here, Mala Chili would have been one of the best, if not the best, Chinese restaurants in Austin. However, Mala Chili showed up just a few years before the Great Austin Chinese Food Upgrade. Suddenly Four Sisters Special Noodle shows up. (Chinese Letters Special Noodle for us mortals who don't read Chinese.) Bamboo House shows up. Breakfast House shows up. House of Seven Gorges had already been here for a while. Asia Cafe had been the reigning Queen of Chinese food in Austin for a solid three decades. Asia Cafe is just as good as it always has been and - thankfully - is not going away any time soon. Mala Chili - which is a perfectly wonderful place - is now suddenly at the back of the pack. It is at the back of a pack of wonderful establishments. Mala Chili is also better than the two hundred neighborhood American Chinese places that the Austin Metro has. (Unless you are dying for standard American Chinese. Some times its just gotta be beef with broccoli and orange chicken. Nothing else will do.) * * * What are the specs on Mala Chili? It is a Szechuan menu. The menu is smaller than Four Sisters or Asia Cafe and larger than your neighborhood Chinese place. Nothing we have had on the menu is bad. I had a clear noodle soup that was first rate. We ordered three other items and those were less exciting. * * * Mala Chinese suffers from being near the HMart food court. The restaurants in the HMart food court are pretty darn good. However, Mala is pleasant enough in its own way. If you are looking for destination Chinese food, Go to the nearby Four Sisters. But if just happened to be by Mala Chili, Life would not come to an end. If this had been 1995, And Mala Chili had been where it was, You would have sworn you had found El Dorado. read more

It has been a hot minute since I've had authentic Chinese food that's not Americanized so I was thrilled to have discovered this place. I always see it every time we go to H Mart and finally thought, why not and gave it a try. Best decision ever. Now, every time I miss the food back home, I just go here to satiate my cravings. Since it's located in the same plaza as H Mart, it's also super convenient for us to eat here and do our grocery shopping on the same day. Surprisingly, it's never busy every time we've went. They definitely try to incorporate tech into their restaurant. When you dine in, they give you a tablet that you can order from. I like how you can toggle between English and Chinese, which was helpful when I took my parents here. All the tablets they provide each table are synced so if someone selects an item, it will show up on the other tablets as well. They also have this robot machine that plays music and brings the food to your table which I think is pretty neat. It always amuses me whenever I see it. As for their food, they have an extensive menu with sooo many good items. I haven't tried them all (yet) but here are the ones I have tried so far. - Pork with bean curd (5/5) - It has been AGES since I've had this. I'm so happy the quality is comparable to what I can find in the SGV in CA. This is usually my go to item but I really need to branch out more often as everything here is so yummy. - Spicy Boiled Fish in Chili Sauce (5/5) - This dish is MASSIVE. We always have leftovers from this to last us another meal or two. I want to caveat that I don't normally eat cooked fish. It literally has been decades since I've had cooked fish so I'm even shocking myself that I'm reviewing a fish dish nevertheless giving it a 5 star rating. It is pretty spicy but the flavor is great. The fish doesn't taste fishy either which is a huge plus for me. - Jumping Fish (4/5) - Like the previous dish, I was surprised how there wasn't a fishy taste to this. - Spicy Beef Noodles (4.5/5) - I like this but would usually go with their other dishes first since they're more shareable. I've been to other places in the area that serve this dish but they usually use hot pot meat instead of the stewed beef chunks that they use here, which I feel like gives it the more authentic taste. - Homemade Tofu (5/5) - I love everything about this dish. Highly recommend! - Red Oil Dumpling (5/5) - It's spicy and yummy! Definitely has a ton of flavor. read more

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I can't comment on the service or ambiance as we ordered takeout. The Peking duck was amazing and comes with duck soup as well. The flavors were on point and it came with everything we needed - Peking duck, wraps, cucumbers, green onions and the sauce. Our family enjoyed this at home. read more

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The food is decent. The chongqing fish is very good. 4/5 stars for the food 5/5 for the service. It's fast and friendly. 1/5 for hygiene. There was a big fat cockroach crawling around on the floor read more

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We had pecking duck, red oil dumpling and westlake beef soup. The pecking duck comes with a duck bone broth soup which was soooo good. Pecking duck could be a little crispier on the skin in my opinion, but it was still pretty decent. Westlake beef soup broth was also very savory and soothing, but the red oil dumpling was a bit underwhelming as the filling inside was a little dry and tasted blend. Overall, it was good and I'd come back for pecking duck for sure. read more

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Mapo Tofu (veg) and their vegetable chow mein is some of the best I've had in Austin. Spice level is perfect and so flavorful. They also have a cute robot come to serve your food read more

This place has a wide variety on their menu. I got the spicy beef noodles but wasn't impressed. It was good, but the mala pepper flavor was way too strong. It made it almost pungent. I'll be back to try other dishes. Great service and a comfortable atmosphere. read more

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Food was great, service was just fine. Very tasty! We had fish in chili sauce - a huge amount! And delicious eggplant. Very impressed and will be back read more

The food was great. It was so flavorful. The fried chicken dumplings, to the duck was amazing. Service was quick. The staff was attentive. The aroma when you walks in makes you even hungrier I swear. This place was cozy. This place if it's not in your radar should be. 10 out of 10. Will be going back. This is my new favorite place for Asian food. read more

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Oh my goodness! My boyfriend and I were craving some mala spice so we came here to check the place out. We ordered the peking duck, dry mala beef pot, stir fried green beans, mapo tofu and the Yomie yogurt drinks. The yogurt drinks were a great pair to the spicy dishes so good thinking on selling these too! When food came out, there was a robot that delivered it to us but the waitress came and set it on the table for us. She was extremely hospitable and we were grateful for all the considerate things she did for us, like checking in, pouring soup into our bowls, and etcetc. She also did this for other tables so service is top notch here. Food wise, everything came out super delicious and well-seasoned. Our favorite dishes were the beef pot and mapo tofu because they tasted like heaven! (Surprisingly not too spicy either). Peking duck is always delicious too of course but I guess we're probably more biased towards the spicier dishes because of our cravings that time. Green beans were yum too. Not bland nor salty so it was perfect and crunchy! Honestly though, I love everything so far and can't wait to try out other dishes. I have a strong feeling that you can't go wrong with anything here and my fingers are crossed! (And thank you to the woman for showing us amazing service! You're a rock star!) read more

Mala Chili - Peking duck, mapo tofu, stir fried green beans, Mala Dry Pot Beef, Yomies Purple Rice Yogurt - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Tried this crawfish spot and it did not disappoint. The crawfish were super fresh, perfectly seasoned, and incredibly tasty. Every bite had that juicy, flavorful kick you hope for. Definitely coming back for more! read more

Mala Chili - The crawfish is fresh and tasty! - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

Back again, this time for early Mother's Day. Went on a Friday and walked in around 6:40. There were a few empty tables but it filled up right after we were seated. The Peking Duck takes 30 minutes. Tip: order it and send to kitchen right away, then order rest of your food. My son got the sesame chicken again and inhaled it all except one piece he left for me. It was sweet and crispy and the broccoli was fresh and cooked perfectly. 9/10. We had the cucumber salad, which was honestly better than Din Tai Fung's iconic one. Nice bite of garlic and heat. 10/10. I also ordered the Spicy Chicken based on the rave reviews here. Tip: it's not under the Chicken section, but in the Szechuan Specialties area. So crispy with a nice bit of heat. It looks scarier than it is. I thought the heat was perfect and really enjoyed it. 9/10. (This stayed crispy and was delicious cold the next day!) Lastly the Peking Duck arrived. We got the half and it was a generous portion. Came with scallions and cucumbers and perfectly thin crepes. I asked for the skin to be crispy after reading the reviews, but it still came out with the fat unrendered. It was moist and delicious and perfect with the crepes. I did pick the fatty skin off, which if crispy, would have taken this over the top. I'll throw it in air fryer at home to crisp it up and enjoy tomorrow! 8.5/10 because of that. It was supposed to come with duck bone soup but they forgot it, so I asked for it to go. Haven't tried it yet. We also got an egg waffle because it looked kind of funny...and it was amazing! Super light and crispy and a perfect way to end the meal. Would have been even better w ice cream but we wanted to try it alone. 10/10. The service was less attentive this time around but was still good and they were slammed by the time our food came out. Delicious meal. Glad we went. I would order everything again, but I'm also enjoying trying new things on the menu each time! read more

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I'm not sure why there are not more reviews on this place. The food is good, the staff is friendly and I adore their ordering system. They have a little tablet that has pictures and description of each dish so you have a better idea of what you are ordering. There is a lot to pick from and it is worth taking sometime to get acquainted with the menu. If you want to get some items togo they have an ordering kiosk with photos at the front of the restaurant. Each table has a QR code that allows you to place your order and pay. If you order a bunch of dishes they have the cutest little waiter robot to carry the food to you. This evening the robot was wearing western gear. I am not sure if the outfit is seasonal. I will need to check it out next time I visit. Another thing about this place is that it is consistant ..... this is not my 1st time visiting and I can tell you I always enjoy my food. I tend to order the salt and pepper ribs. I really like it and find it to be seasoned well and never dry. I assume this is because they use the best cuts of pork to ensure it's tender. They also have great desserts and fruit flavored tea. Don't skip, you want to try the fruit flavored tea, I like it just a little sweet. I think it showcases the natural fruit flavors of the drink. I noticed that they have soup dumplings and next time I plan to try them. read more

Mala Chili - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Hey there North ATX peeps. here's my quick synopsis on my experience at Mala Chili. The service was good, but it could be better! The seating/waiting method is a bit weird as you'll walk in and sit where there is a table. You will technically have a waiter/waitress but order directly from a QR scan. I wish there was a sign in system and then be seated in order rather than just walking in and looking around confused until someone seats you. The food- WOW! The food was amazing! I highly recommend the Duck fried rice. The duck was so tender and juicy and the rice had tons of flavor in it! Spicy pork boa's were the bomb as well. The beef soup was decent, the potatoes in it weren't all that great so the at would be where my food criticism lies. Try their yogurt drinks as well, you will not regret it. I'll be back to try more dishes as well because the menu was loaded with options galore. The atmosphere is nice. A bit small and intimate but not overly quiet at all. Overall a solid 4.5/5 for me and my girlfriend. We will definitely be back. read more

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