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    Mala Panda

    4.6 (104 reviews)
    ModerateChinese, Seafood, Hot Pot
    Open 11:30 am - 8:30 pm

    Order Mala Panda Takeout or Delivery

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    Hot pot and dry pot
    Tiffany L.

    I was craving malatang when visiting NYC and this place came up on my search. Honestly, it's a great malatang establishment when it comes to fresh ingredients, but I'm giving it 4 stars because I asked how spicy was the medium and he said "if you can handle spicy it's not that spicy". I got the dry pot and I came with two others who got the hot pot. We all asked for medium spicy and it turns out, we all thought it was too spicy. Normally when I visit a new restaurant I err on the side of caution and get the mild, but I think something about being in the city made me feel like being a risk taker. I wanted to enjoy the dry pot but the heavy spices took away from the individual flavors of the ingredients I got.

    Veggie bar
    Kimberly N.

    Very cool concept! They allow you to pick your own vegetables and stuff. There's also a freezer of more meat options behind it on the other side which I didn't realize. I thought it was ice cream lol. The service was nice and she explained it after I paid

    Boyee C.

    this place you can get as much as you want or as little as you want. they have a lot of options to choose from. great selection of veggies and meat. the service is also great.

    Dry Pot
    Jacquelyn C.

    Portion sizes here can get massive especially if your eyes are bigger than your stomach. I got the drypot and the seasoning here is flavorful and yummy, but was a little watery the day I came--not sure if this was just a fluke. There's lots of options to choose from which I love and there's a tax-cut if you pay with cash!

    Kailyn L.

    Nice quick casual place to grab malatang near midtown. They have a good selection of vegetables and meat, and there's a sauce station where you can mix your own dipping sauce. Solid place!

    dry pot
    Fiona O.

    Did a custom dry pot. Ended to be around $50 with tip which is a bit pricey for two people. However, food was great! It took 15 minutes before they got the food to us, and everything worked together well. There's also unlimited white rice which is a plus. -1 star for the price, but service and food was good!

    Nhi B.

    Omg, I wish this existed in Orlando!! I love Dry Pot and this is pretty much my heaven. Like most reviews have stated -- you can either order off a menu or create your own dry pot or malatang. We got one of each where I got the medium and my husband got the spicy. Trust me when I say it's HOT. The medium was perfect for me, but it packed a big punch. Both dishes were amazing, but I preferred the Dry Pot. It's $15/lb, but make sure that your eyes aren't bigger than your stomach! I finished my pound of food and was soooo stuffed. It's definitely good for take-home, but we were only visiting and didn't have a convenient way to reheat leftovers. Variety of meats, seafood, tofu, veggies, and more was really good! So many good options to choose from. We also ordered rice on the side to eat with the dishes. Service was good and attentive. The staff here are really friendly. The interior is bright, eclectic, and fun. Maybe it's good they're not near me because I would be here every week. Highly recommend!

    Interior
    Matthew H.

    I'm surprised that I haven't heard of this place before recently, considering how yummy it was! I was very impressed with the selection of ingredients available -- so many different types of fresh veggies, noodles, fish balls and the like, and a variety of cuts of meat. I did feel that the meats were just a tad lacking in terms of quality (just didn't taste the most tender), but also I didn't notice the frozen meats until I was nearly done assembling my ingredients (and I think they were better haha). You can choose if you want the type with broth (mala tang) or without (mala dry pot) and the price is based on the weight of your ingredients (I think $16/lb now). My order ended up being around 1.3lbs, which was super filling (and only around $20!) Other than the mala tang/dry pot, there's also a menu that you can order off of (hot pot, etc.). Prices are especially good, since there's also no tip (mostly self service) and no tax if you pay with cash. It also comes with unlimited rice for free (you just get it yourself as much as you want). Definitely super impressed at how tasty and affordable my meal here was -- will definitely be back :)

    1.55 lb
    Christina L.

    Such a delicious but dangerous experience..... Kind of lost control my first time here and ate my entire 1.55lbs of food and was so full I had to stand 45 degrees while waiting for the train. They have a large variety of options for you to choose for your pot at $15.99 per pound which you can do dry or soup. I like the dry pot here: their sauce is full of flavor and I love the mala spice which actually leans more towards spicy than numbing. I find the mild still has a bit of a kick, and the medium was a bit overwhelming for me as someone who can do about 2.5-3/5 on the spicy scale.

    Foodie E.

    From picking my favorite ingredients to crafting the ultimate custom sauce at the sauce bar, my dry mala bowl at hits every flavor note -- spicy, numbing, and totally addictive. You can build your own mala bowl exactly how you like for just $15.99/lb. Don't miss the crispy fried pork and fried tilapia, and finish it off with the brown sugar jelly that makes this spot even more irresistible. Follow me @foodie.elite on IG and TikTok for more!

    Ray E.

    One of the best dry hot pot places I have been to in the city. Staff is very chill and restaurant is roomy and comfy. Selection of veggies and meats are great. Can't wait to come back

    Nicole N.

    I was craving mala dry pot and mushrooms so I decided to stop by this newly opened restaurant! Similar to places in China, they offer a fridge wide of ingredients for you to select and you pay by weight. I picked a whole 2.5 pounds which came out to about 45 dollars, which is on the pricey side for this type of food - but I'll take it because their sauce was flavorful and savory enough! Although I initially opted for medium spicy, the server advised to try mild first and I wish I didn't follow her recommendation. I appreciated how the ingredients were cooked thoroughly, even those with different cooking time (veggies vs potato glass noodles). Loved the variety of ingredients like fish balls, noodles, veggies. Their meat was also solid! The beef pieces were very tender. I would be interested to try their malatang next time! I would like to point out that the counter space and tables weren't the most clean (just some grease on surfaces or unwashed herb). Staff were nice and diligent. Good amount of seating. Food came out quick!

    Carmen P.

    When you walk in, grab a bowl, and fill your bowl with ingredients. There's a huge wall with different meats, veggies, seafood, and noodles. Then bring your bowl to the register and pay by the weight and choose the flavors/spice level. They take your bowl to the back to cook and you can head to the back seating area. The dry pot here really hit the spot! I enjoyed my meal dine in but did notice a few flies flying around.

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    5 months ago

    Great atmosphere! I enjoy the selection of over 100 option that they have. Excited to try

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    2 months ago

    -- Would recommend for dry pot! Lots of options and great service. We were seated right away, given suggestions, and tried dry pot

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    Page 1 of 3

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    Review Highlights - Mala Panda

    Like most reviews have stated -- you can either order off a menu or create your own dry pot or malatang.

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    Three Hotpot Bbq

    Three Hotpot Bbq

    4.4(137 reviews)
    0.5 miMidtown West

    This AYCE hotpot and BBQ spot in Midtown is a great casual spot for dinner with friends. For their…read moredinner menu, you can do AYCE hotpot and bbq for ~$43pp, which also includes appetizers and some drinks. For alcoholic drinks, such as soju and beer, you can add ~$7pp for AYCD. The tables are spacious and the place is bright. We ordered a variety of meats and veggies for hotpot and bbq and it was alright. The hot pot is definitely better than the bbq as the meat quality was too fatty for bbq. Moreover, because they don't change the grills, the oils from the meat just pool onto the grill and the meats get really oily to eat after a while. We also got the fried chicken, spring rolls, and fried buns apps and I thought that the chicken and buns were good but the spring rolls were okay. The only thing I would have to say is that the service isn't the best. Although they are kind, half of the things we ordered never arrived or we had to constantly ask them to bring it out/check on our order.

    I loved this place!…read more I came here on a late Friday night, probably around 8pm and was glad that they were still opened. We were greeted very welcomely and was seated right away. It was unusually cold in NY during this time (5/23/25) and initially we were seated by the door where we would catch the cold draft every time the door opened. We asked if we can switch seats and the waiter was more than helpful. I feel bad for not getting his name, because he was very helpful throughout the entire dinner service, but, I've been walking around in the cold all day and the only thing that was on my mind at that time, was a nice warm meal. I've done a lot of Chinese hotpots and this was the first that we get the soup and grill without a price difference. The selections were typical, some may say less than other places, but, I felt that less was better. When there is too much to chose from, you don't know what to pick or pick too much. The one thing that I did missed was fresh tofu. They had a variety of tofu but not fresh tofu. But, I probably shouldn't waste my stomach space on tofu for and AYCE, anyway, lol! We opt for an non-spicy and a spicy soup base. If you are like me and do not like mala (numbing spice), I would not recommend getting a spicy soup base. Even my cousin, that does like mala, said it was a little overbearing after a while. If you do love spicy, like me, they have a condiment station to make your own sauce and have several chili options to chose from that is not numbing spice. For the price and selections, I feel that it was very satisfying. I really enjoyed their homemade peach and kumquat lemon tea; but, order fast because once it's gone, you are out of luck! The place was clean and the noise level was average. I think this is the best Chinese hotpot place that I have experienced in USA and would definitely go back!

    Photos
    Three Hotpot Bbq
    Three Hotpot Bbq
    Three Hotpot Bbq

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    The Dolar Shop

    The Dolar Shop

    4.5(570 reviews)
    1.0 miEast Village
    $$$
    Locally owned & operated
    Certified professionals

    It's pricy, but you can taste the quality of the meats and other ingredients. The lamb and beef…read morecuts are so tender and marinated well that I don't even add any of the other sauces. The make a house sauce at the table, but the self-serve sauce bar has a bunch of the classic sauces, along with some fun snacks (kimchi, seaweed, prawn chips, taro balls, etc.) I really liked the chewy mochi texture of the taro balls. They all serve some complimentary chicken portions. The fish tofu, Napa cabbage, udon noodles, and Wagyu scallion pancake were all great as well. I'm also obsessed with the complimentary soft serve at the end--I don't normally like soft serve, but the milkiness of this one and the cone really hits the spot! I like how everyone gets their own small pot and can choose their individual broth. We walked in for three people at 6:15 on a Saturday (after calling ahead), but it was pretty busy by the time we left.

    Busy on a Saturday evening but for good reason - excellent hotpot!…read more We had a reservation through Yelp but it might've just been that thing where it holds a place in line for you? We arrived on-time and waited another maybe 5 mins for our table. No biggie. I really love that each person gets their own soup pot. Makes it much easier when you've got a variety of spice levels to deal with. Everything we got was fresh and good quality. The restaurant space itself is very nice and modern feeling. Pretty large with a variety of table spaces and sizes. Everyone we interacted with was friendly. Service was good and they were pretty busy but it was only felt in my drink being delayed from the bar (placed before we ordered any food but showed up only after food arrived. Husband's beer arrived super fast though fwiw) My only gripe is the menu on the iPad thing - there are no descriptions of anything (including cocktails). We kept trying to click stuff on the iPad to see the description, but it was adding it to the cart. It would be great if there were descriptions, so you could see more detail about each item before you order (at least for the cocktails). We ate à la carte but the AYCE was starting while we were there and it looked pretty dope. Lots of good stuff laid out in large qty. All in all we will probably add this to our hotpot restaurant list and will return again.

    Photos
    The Dolar Shop
    The Dolar Shop - Interior

    Interior

    The Dolar Shop - Vanilla Ice Cream

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    Vanilla Ice Cream

    Da Long Yi Hot Pot - Including 57 Items + Broth+ Drinks
9:00pm-11:00pm (10:00 Last Seating) Monday- Thursday

    Da Long Yi Hot Pot

    4.7(266 reviews)
    2.6 miLong Island City
    $$$
    3 years in business
    Free WiFi

    Made a reservation for a party of 5 on a weeknight. We were running late so we called them ahead of…read moretime to let them know - they said it was no problem and take our time. When we got there, there were only a few other tables seated so it was pretty empty. We got à la carte style, they only have AYCE options after a certain time at night. The meat was fresh tasting and same with their vegetables. We got the Benz option for hotpot, a spicy broth, pork bone broth, and tomato broth. The servers were attentive in helping us refill the broth and refilling our water. Definitely a lot calmer on a weeknight. Would come back again!

    This was a good hotpot place. I dined with friends as a party of 4, and we paid about $50 each and…read moreleft pretty full. You order a la carte here, which racks up the price pretty quickly. However, this means if you don't finish any of the ingredients they pack it up for you. There were certain misses such as the staff not providing any serving utensils (tongs, ladles, etc.), but there is a call button on the iPad, to which they respond quickly. The volume is medium in the space, and their hot pot tables are quite large that we felt really far away from our friends on the opposite side lol. While this meant that we had ample room for the food we ordered, it wasn't the easiest to have a conversation, so keep that in mind. They offer an AYCE option but only after 9pm, from what I understand.

    Photos
    Da Long Yi Hot Pot - Counter Bar

    Counter Bar

    Da Long Yi Hot Pot
    Da Long Yi Hot Pot - Private dining room1

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    Private dining room1

    Mala Hot Pot

    Mala Hot Pot

    4.4(36 reviews)
    0.5 miMidtown West

    Don't let the single picture fool you. I considered for a second to gate-keep this place. Easily my…read morefavorite hotpot place in Manhattan. The service is quick and efficient especially considering the lively atmosphere around us. I'd highly recommend trying out the sichuan style beef tallow broth and if you're feeling adventurous one of my favorites, the fresh duck blood, specifically stands out and is the only place in New York that I know of that offers it. When I'm on this side of the city and I'm craving some spice and meat, I don't have to think twice about coming here.

    Biggest gripe is that we made a reservation, and still had to wait half an hour to be seated. But…read moreother than that, we really enjoyed our meal! Love that they put your coats and bags in a big plastic bag to protect them from that distinctive hotpot smell. And that you get an apron. And that they give you gum at the end of your meal! The workers are all really friendly and the food is pretty good quality! And it's super easy to just order off your phone at the table. We did wish the meat portions were a little bigger, but dishes like the tripe and fish came with more than we expected. We got the medium spicy beef tallow, and it was kind of too much for us! The initial flavor was so delicious, but it just builds more and more the longer you eat, so keep that in mind. I'm also super curious about the duck blood broth, so maybe I'll try that next time.

    Photos
    Mala Hot Pot
    Mala Hot Pot
    Mala Hot Pot

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    Mala Panda - chinese - Updated May 2026

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