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    Mala Kitchen

    4.1 (79 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:30 pm

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    Seafood soup
    Meredith R.

    I guess it's unrealistic to expect a lunch special when you arrive past 2:30, but nonetheless my friend and I enjoyed our impromptu meal. (We weren't necessarily headed to Mala Kitchen, but it was raining, we were hungry ... Mala was there, and we ducked in.) Having once mistakenly ordered numbing mapo tofu, I made it clear to our server (who spoke limited English) that I wanted it mildly spicy. Chef complied -- it was still pretty spicy -- and I was pleased. I call the restaurant out for charging $2 extra for a scoop of steamed rice -- how expensive is a 20 lb bag?! -- but this dish definitely calls for rice. I'm not sure what my friend got. She said it was delicious. Five stars. I thought she asked for seafood soup, but when I checked their website at home, I didn't see it. If I ever return that's what I would get. A lot of vegetables, noodles ... it looked great. Off-hour the restaurant wasn't busy. Service was fine and we left full and happy.

    4. Pork Dumplings in Chili Oil
    Justin L.

    Over the course of my life I have been to China multiple times! I am always looking for good authentic Chinese food! I was in New York on a business trip, and accidentally happened upon this place! The food at Mala kitchen was so good! I love spicy food so I would suggest being careful on the spicy, but I am so glad I popped into this place! The service was a bit slow, however, I think that had a lot to do with the fact that I came at dinner time and there was two waiters in the restaurant. I would say just be patient because the food is so good. The restaurant was not loud, and all of the people in the restaurant were laughing and having a good time! I felt very comfortable in this restaurant and felt like this would be a great place to spend time with people! I don't believe there is a bad dish at this restaurant, however, the chili oil dumplings, and the dry pot beef were incredible!

    Black bean fish Black Bean Style 豆豉系列 and tofu Garlic Sauce Style 鱼香系列
    Beth K.

    Everything was excellent! We started with the hot and sour soup and it was great. The steamed veggie dumplings were delicious. We ordered the fish with black bean and the pressed tofu with chili sauce and everything was so flavorful. The prices are worth every penny! I live in so cal now and you can't find Flo or in Chinese food like this!

    Hot and Sour - They do not forget the sour!
    Chris S.

    Got takeout from Mała Kitchen while I was in NY for work. Was relieved when the storefront looked clean and bright. Food was ready on time, which was fairly quick. I started with the hot and sour soup, which head great flavor but was more broth than veg etc. Would recommend. After that I had the dry pepper chicken which I ordered mild. It was about 80% pepper and even though I largely avoided them, it was spicy. The chicken was over-breaded and fried a little past crispy. With the chicken, I had dry stir fried string beans. These were the star of the show. Delicate and with what I would consider mild spiciness. I enjoyed these. Don't forget to order rice - it doesn't come with.

    Exterior
    David H.

    We were doing our touristy sightseeing for 5th Ave and its surrounding on Christmas Day. We parked on 47th St. right next to Mala Kitchen. How convenient! They had their picture menu advertised outside the restaurant on the sidewalk. The point is, they successfully planted the "mala" euphoria in my mind the moment I got off my car. Despite the allure of many well known lunch trucks which we walked by, such as Biriyani Kitchen where my family got their bites, I held my urge till we returned to our car so I could get that mouth watering mala spicy chicken lunch box. Needless to say, such high pent-up expectation was doomed for a bigger disappointment. The spicy chicken looked delicious -- I think it's supposed to be the well known Chengdu Chicken -- and with a price tag of $11.99 in mid-town Manhattan it is most definitely a steal. However, the dish turned out to be mostly inedible dried chilly peppers and some green peppers; there weren't many pieces of chicken to speak of (see photos). What's worse? Each piece had more batter than chicken. It felt like I was eating salty spicy deep fried batters. The lesson? You get what you paid for. They absolutely exploited the use of batter and cheated as much as they could. I think a dish that is not deep fried would stand a much better chance of an OK experienced here.

    Adam G.

    Food 10/10 Before I knew it, I've always been here twice in the same month, now this is midtown, I like to come here after work, I am not really expecting food that makes me wow, but I always leave wife a food belly and happy Service 10/10 Food came really quick, and no one was rushing us to leave after the finished the food. The waiter also gave us food recommendations. Overall it just feel nice to eat here

    Lily S.

    Decent Chinese food near time square off 5th Ave. we got the: Dry pot veggies 麻辣干锅 Chicken in garlic sauce 鱼香肉丝 service was attentive and the lady was soo friendly!

    Beef dry pot
    Joanne L.

    Dishes were good overall, but not as spicy as I hoped. The beef in the dry pot was really good but didn't really like the vegetables in it. The house special fish fillet was ok. Service was attentive and lots of seating with large tables.

    As a Chinese stomach This restaurant is not an authentic Chengdu restaurant. Don't order lamb chops!!4 pcs for $32 and too salty, We gave suggestions to the store but they ignored us, the portions were small and full of seasonings.

    Hannah L.

    Great food and very friendly service! A casual spot for food that tastes like Chinese home cooking. The whole fish was incredible, as was the lotus root stir fry. Definitely check out this spot!

    Nicole K.

    Went for a team lunch and ordered bunch of entrees to share. They do have a lunch special but it looks like it's only for takeout given it wasn't on the menu when dining in. Really enjoyed the fish filet with pickled veg in broth but all other entrees were tasty. Coworkers thought the entrees could've been spicier but to me it was the perfect amount of spice (low spice tolerance). The food came out really quick and the servers were attentive and friendly.

    Spam disguised as pork with no beef . House special
    Donna D.

    We arrived with a party of four which included two adults and two kids. We ordered a house special low mien and a chicken low mien and a chicken fry rice. The house special request was chicken,beef, and pork. When the dish arrived it was very salty so we investigated and the pork was SPAM and we got no BEEF, We called the waitress over and she confirmed it was spam in the Tin as pork . UNBELIEVABLE!!!! I am a chef and I know cheap food disguise and quality food . Will we be back ? Absolutely NOT But I must applaud her for removing the item from the bill after we brought it to her attention.

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    11 months ago

    Awesome, authentic Chinese food! Was great! Looking forward to coming back again soon!

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    1 year ago

    Good food and good service! The dishes were very flavorful and came out quick. Nonchalant atmosphere with jazz great for groups

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    1 year ago

    The food was absolutely delicious! We liked the fried rice specifically. The service was great. Hardly any wait and were very attentive.

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    Mala Kitchen Reviews in Other Languages

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    Excellent Dumpling House - 5 Pieces Steamed Shrimp Dumpling

    Excellent Dumpling House

    4.1(870 reviews)
    1.2 miChelsea
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    As the name implies, it really is an excellent dumpling house!…read more Me and my buddies were in Jersey and New York for some hockey games, and wanted to go to a deli, get some Chinese food, and a slice of pizza. Got off the E train and when we looked for Chinese food, this place popped up with good reviews and it was just a short walk from where we got off the train. My buddies ordered the special lunches and we also got two types of xlb's, beef chow fun, and some fried dumplings. The special lunches come with a little fried rice, cold garlic flavored noodle, choice of egg drop or hot and sour soup, and main side. My buddies all enjoyed their meals. The beef chow fun was also really good and beef was nice and tender. The xiao long baos were excellent and is comparable to any place in California like DTF. Nice and juicy and great with some ginger, soy sauce, and spicy chili. Friendly service and food comes out pretty quickly. Credit card is accepted. Bathroom was also very clean, which is sometimes rare in some Chinese restaurants I have been to. If you're looking for a good Chinese meal, stop here when you're in the Chelsea area.

    I've been looking for a place open late-ish to get food in Chelsea now that the Malibu Diner is…read moresadly gone. I hadn't been to EDH in a while and was happy to see they do have later hours (with a smaller late night menu). The place was pretty busy at 10:00 PM last Saturday, with a wide range of diners, which is good for business. The food though, at least that night, was really disappointing. My friend had the chicken dumplings. He said they were okay. I thought they were overcooked. My steamed shrimp shumai were fine, but steamed, they didn't have much flavour. The edamame, on the other hand, had way too much when it should have almost none. I don't know if it was excess salt, MSG or something else, but not good. I should have sent them back. I hope this was just an off night for the kitchen.

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    Buddakan

    Buddakan

    4.1(4.9k reviews)
    1.7 miMeatpacking District, Chelsea
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    Ambiance beautiful sat by Buddha wall, food was amazing had edamame dumplings, tuna tartare spring…read morerolls, Cantonese spring rolls, general tso dumplings, chili rock shrimp, Cantonese steamed sole, tangerine chicken, sweet & crispy jumbo shrimp, black pepper beef, Asian stir fry, garlic fried rice and dessert selections of pastries Family style to accommodate the party size Everyone was very well fed. Food was delish Servers were very pleasant Drinks r great

    The quality of the food, particularly the desserts, was relatively good. We did the tasting menu…read morenumber 2 and particularly enjoyed the rock shrimp appetizer and the black pepper beef entree as well as the dessert sampler. The pacing of the meal for the quantity of food received seemed very rushed, and we didn't really have a chance to relax and enjoy any of the courses. However, the quality of the experience was a complete disaster particularly for the price. Clearly, the packed restaurant would disagree, but for the four of us anyway, we would not return. It started with the check in process at what felt like a long hotel front desk with multiple, self important hosts and hostesses overseeing your entrance to the cavernous bar/waiting area. One problem is the noise is so deafening that you can't really hear what they say to you but we check in a few minutes early and waited obediently in the bar area chatting. After about 30 minutes (15 after our reservation time), and watching numerous parties large and small who arrived after us be seated by the hostesses wandering through the dimly lit space who peer quizzically and ask your name, my husband went to ask for an update. (We joked that those vibrating lighted buzzers alerting when your table was ready would have been super helpful, but it was amusing to watch while we waited). It was clear they somehow lost track of us as she had him repeatedly spell our (not unusual) name. Anyway, after that, within 10 minutes after that we were taken downstairs to our seats (but not before standing awkwardly in the large dining area near packed tables waiting while our table was cleaned). Server with a heavy accent was kind and mostly helpful so none of this is on him. The busser who managed to spill half a pitcher of cold water on my husband's back, soaking his shirt and jacket and barely apologizing, is a whole other story. We managed to get a glass of his mediocre Cabernet comped for the experience. If I sound annoyed, I guess I still am. I had high hopes for a fun and tasty experience in a cool part of the city and it just wasn't.

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    Chop Shop

    Chop Shop

    3.8(286 reviews)
    1.4 miChelsea
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    Absolutely delicious! Gorgeous fresh ingredients, super friendly and prompt service. We had the…read moredrunken noodle and the coconut curry. Both were 10/10. Can't wait to have it again!

    File under "Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover" - because you'd never even realize this was a…read morerestaurant when walking by and even after you knew... you might be inclined to keep walking to find something a bit more 'bright' and 'inviting'.  (And you'd totally miss out on a great little joint.) I'm a lower middle-class Jersey guy - what the heck do I know about cocktails?  But I dove right into one ("Jade Collins") and it was firing on all cylinders.  Crisp, clean, strong enough to knock over an ox. Then we got a handful of apps - everyone else swore by all the ones they'd had - but I just tried the Salt & Pepper Shrimp and... sweet baby Jesus, this little plate had a wicked amount of flavor from every angle.  "Aggressively seasoned" might be an understatement.  Wild. Onto the mains and I ventured towards their Spicy Drunken Noodle (my go-to whenever I'm hitting a Thai restaurant on my home turf) and... yeah, you probably guessed it - incredible. Not the biggest portion but they made every single component sing with flavor. With so much going on - of course I needed to indulge with another drink (hey, I wasn't driving!). There were six of us, it came to about $100 a person... welcome to NYC. But we did get a wide selection of plates/food and those two drinks accounted for about $40 of my tab. (And you'll never see such a heavy wine pour at a restaurant... they filled the glass almost to the rim - which was not even something I'd do for myself when I'm home.) Definitely recommended.

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    Philippe Chow - Peking Duck

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    Yeah Id say that was a pretty splendid meal. Shared everything thank goodness…read more Started with the wok fried beef dumplings which were good on their own but had this fire ahh spicy honey mustard wow. Then the scallion pancakes which were crispy and airy paired with this very interesting sauce that was clear but tasted like sweet and sour sauce. For mains we got Kung Pao Chicken which was pretty delicious but my star of the show was the Crispy Beef. It was crispy asf and skinny too I didn't know you could make beef skinny like that. Sauce was super tasty and thick. On the side was broccoli which was fine and eggplant which was fine on its own and good with the chili sauce. Split the Fortune Cookie Red Velvet Cake which okay I thought there would be more creativity with adding fortune cookies somewhere in the cake but it was just a cake with fortune cookies on top. Also they put 2 when we had 4 people like lowkey they couldve just put 2 more on there but anyways the cake itself was pretty tasty so can't complain there.

    Philippe Chow is why Yelp exists. You would otherwise never know that this upscale Chinese…read moreRestaurant blasts club music and mandates 20% gratuities. The food is all over the place but the main theme is that everything is over-seasoned to please the crowd of people who all were gulping down colorful sugary cocktails with dinner while wearing athletic clothing. Peking duck (for 4-5) had great accompaniments (rare to actually get bao with it) but it was a lackluster portion of duck. Salt and pepper shrimp were offensively salted. Special "mignon" was great. The hand-pulled noodles *gasp* weren't hand pulled. "BBQ" chicken in the other noodles was very dry. Sea bass portion was very small. Scallion pancakes were good. Shrimp dumplings were the highlight. I recommend skipping this restaurant.

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