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I have been to Malatown on 4 separate occasions per the photos below AND door dashed it! I have to say I am a huge Malatown lover! My favorite broth is their signature broth with mild spice, and Tom Yum! I just love the concept of being able to make your own bowl and having someone cook your own hot pot with ALL the add ons you put in the bowl. And if you're not feeling hotpot, you can get your bowl dry with spice/ seasoning! Fact: My lowest price I had to pay for my bowl is $21 and my highest was $39. The more I paid, the more I was left with leftovers which was still super tasty the next day! Favorite toppings at Malatown: - Enoki Mushrooms - Baby Corn - Lotus Root - Spinach - Mochi Fish Ball - Shrimp Fish Ball - Rice Cakes - Potato and glass noodles - Quail Eggs - Tofu - Pork - Marbled Beef - Australian Lamb The Service is quick and you can tell that people have gone here multiple times for a quick and hearty lunch meal. Malatown, you have my heart!
When you don't know what to eat, there is always Malatown. Savory mix-in (5/5): This was dry and mixed with peanut sauce. Super flavorful, but a bit too much sauce in my opinion. Still my favorite malatown place.
Ordered Malatown through Uber Eats and was pretty impressed with how well everything was packaged! I also really liked the ingredient selection and appreciated that their Uber Eats menu was much more extensive than a lot of other mala spots I've ordered from. There were so many options to choose from, and everything I picked tasted fresh. My only issue was that the broth was WAY too spicy for me, to the point where I unfortunately couldn't really eat much of it. I didn't choose a spicy broth, so I definitely wasn't expecting that much heat. That being said, take my opinion on the spice level with a grain of salt because I have a pretty low spice tolerance LOL. What's painfully spicy to me is probably completely manageable for a lot of people. I'd still give it another try because I really liked the variety and quality of the ingredients -- I'd just be extra careful with the broth next time!
This is a good place to go either with friends or alone. You choose what's in your dish and they'll cook it in the broth you choose. They also have a sauce bar with garlic, green onions, cilantro, and several asian sauces and oils. Service is fast as well.
We were really craving some malatang, so we decided to come here for dinner. It was peak dinner time so it was a bit crowded, but we managed to grab a table. The self-serve bar ingredients were really fresh, and they offered a fairly large selection of different items (e.g. veggies, meats, seafood, noodles, etc...). There was also a self-serve sauce station. I did go a little overboard and overloaded my bowl a little, but I haven't had malatang in a long time, so I decided to treat myself. I ended up getting their beef bone broth base, medium spice level. I felt they did go a little heavy handed on the spice, but it was still at a spice level that I can tolerate. I somehow was able to finish my entire bowl and I was stuffed. A little pricey, but I really enjoyed my meal. Service was casual and parking is convenient since they have their own designated parking. Pretty good place to satiate my malatang cravings.
My fav mala spot, service is fast and a large selection to pick from Would recommend and large variety of drinks!
I keep coming back here since they give out deals and/or coupons. Ingredients are not placed in the right areas or empty. It's pretty messy and not immaculate like a year ago. Variety and quality have gone downhill. The keyrings provided that have your food number are super worn down due to use. They've installed an awning over the sauce bar which doesn't do much except for have people run into it while getting sauces. Food looks more like slop than soup and/or stir fried. They no longer serve tea and one of the water dispensers is labeled as broken. Mala Town has definitely fallen from top spot for hot pot since so many other competitors have opened.
My first time trying Malatown and it was incredible! - I will definitely be back. You get to build your own hot pot with your own veggies, meats, seafood, fish balls, and choose your own broth. I got the mild signature beed bone broth, and it was delicious and flavorful, not too spicy. They had a great selection of all items - I got beef chuck rolls and pork belly, spinach, enoki mushrooms, lotus root, cabbage, and fish balls! They also have make your own sauce - I loved the peanut seasame. Their selections also included black vinegar, soy sauce, cilantro, green onions, seasame and chili oil, and garlic. My mouth is watering just thinking about malatown, and I can't wait to be back. Bowls were out in about 10 min during lunch time. If you can, come before 12pm to beat the lunch rush!
There are so many hot pot restaurants in the South Bay. I don't think Mala Town compares to the other options available. It's way too pricey and your bowl is required to weigh a minimum amount. It's true that there is a wide selection of ingredients, and the staff keeps the ingredient and sauce bars well stocked. Nice for customizing to your tastes. However, the broth is just okay in my opinion. Nothing special. I really do think there is better hot pot elsewhere that will give you a better bang for your buck!
I was really excited to try this place out. When you walk in, it can be a little confusing as there is no one to check you in to be seated. You simply walk in, and then stand in the line to your left. You grab a bowl and a pair of tongs and you work your way down the veggie, noodle, and meat selections. Your bowl is then weighed at the checkout counter where you pay. After you pay, someone will assist you in finding a table. There's a station in the back, where you can choose from different sauce options, or make your own combination. We weren't sure which broth to choose. But because we're huge fans of mala spice, we went with the mala broth. Although it was tasty, it was SO oily we could barely eat it! For that, we were disappointed. But we'll probably come back just to try the other broth options. Unless we find another spot similar to this to try out.
How could you take the drinks away again? It's getting expensive to eat out these days. The problem with taking the fresh tea is that some of us had expectations. We wanted something refreshing without the extra cost. You had it there initially when you first opened, took it away, brought it back and then it's gone again. What's with the back and forth? I still love your food. My previous reviews still stand minus my comments on the drinks. You have a decent sauce bar and it's always a good crowd here. I'm sure you guys are making money. It's ok to give a little back even in the form of fresh brewed tea.
I am extremely disappointed and disgusted by my experience at Malatown after discovering maggots. This is completely unacceptable and raises serious concerns about the establishment's cleanliness, sanitation practices, and food safety standards. No customer should ever have to encounter something like this when visiting a business, especially one where food is served. Management needs to take immediate responsibility for this issue, investigate how this happened, and ensure proper sanitation measures are implemented to prevent it from happening again. This is not something that should be brushed aside or ignored. If this matter is not taken seriously and addressed appropriately, I will be filing an official complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and reporting the incident to the local health department for further investigation. Customers deserve a clean, safe environment, and this experience has seriously damaged my confidence in this establishment. I hope management takes this complaint seriously and takes immediate corrective action. Absolutely unacceptable.
I like Mala Town. It's good and the concept is fairly straight forward. There are only a few adjustments that I think would make Mala Town pretty excellent. We have visited this location twice now. Ordered different items both times, but the consistency feels a bit off in terms of the spiciness. We also had a nice drink the first time that we didn't get the second time. And I do wish there was a bit more at the sauce bar-it felt limited and bare. The broth are fairly good, but your options are pretty much just non-spicy, little spicy, and burn your mouth off. The space inside the restaurant can be quite crowded. As in elbow to elbow seating. The service are friendly and nice. I'd come back, but would also be very open to trying other options.
I've never been a huge hot pot fan but Mala Town lowkey changed my mind about that. I got the mild beef bone broth and it was delicious! I couldn't finish the whole bowl so I took it to-go and the leftovers were just as good the next day. I love their self-serve sauce area and I ended up adding a lot of chili oil to the broth to make it a tad bit spicier. It's pretty cute inside with plenty of tables. I'm definitely coming back! read more
WOW just wow! I have been coming to a similar restaurant close by, and randomly decided to try this location and very happy that I did! First of all the prices are much better Second of all OPTIONS options options! Wish they had a little more options for vegetables, but they have all sorts of mushrooms, proteins and an assortment of different (uncommon) options which I am sure many people appreciate. Like all locations you can get dry or soup with different soup options. The presentation is always amazing - their dishes are very elegant and they have a sauce bar right next to a FREE beverage bar (3 options). We sat down and right away it got extremely packed so come early and enjoy read more
I freaking love Malatang so I was thrilled to give Mala Town a try. I've been here a few times now and I like it a lot! It's hard not to compare this establishment with YGF Malatang as they're in the same plaza. Between the two, I prefer this for the complimentary drinks and more spacious interior. However, if you prefer dry mix, YGF's is tastier and has more depth of flavor. I found that the dry mix at Mala Town is more one note and mostly peanut flavor. Still tasty and I suppose you could customize it further with their sauce bar. The ingredient selection is nice and appears "fresh." What stands out here to me are their house made shrimp balls and snakehead(?) sliced fish (similar to what's in suan cai yu). They also have other less common ingredients like kombucha mushroom and "cheese" tofu. My one gripe is that the staff isn't super attentive when it comes to refilling ingredients and tongs. However, I don't think this is an issue during peak lunch/dinner hours. I typically go for their flavorful beef bone broth. It's very savory and delicious without being overly salty. Sukiyaki isn't bad but is definitely too sweet for my liking, as someone who prefers savory. I usually get ~1.5 lbs of food that costs me ~$20-25. They have togo containers readily available for both soups and sauces. I always have leftovers for the next day :) There's ample seating that can easily accommodate for group sizes 2-6. Anything more than that may require some mix and matching or staff help for table arrangements. read more
1 year ago
First timers be careful, this is not cook yourself hot pot. Once entering the store, you get a ball and a song and pick all ingredients you want in the bowl. Then you pay by weight. $15 per pound. Then you choose the super base, and a staff will bring your bowl inside to cook it for you. I don't like it that way because everything was cooked at the same time. The vegetables became too soggy, beef too well done, and my taro melted to paste. read more
22 days ago
2 months ago
This place had its dozens of tables filled just half an hour after opening time on a weekend. Mala Town has a build-your-own hotpot concept, where you are able to line up and grab different ingredients ranging from vegetables to meats to fish balls with roe (my personal favorite!) While the meat selection was not as wide as I had hoped, I enjoyed their spicy beef and Australian lamb meat the most. Their selection of other ingredients made up for the lack of meat selection in my opinion. At the end, we were able to choose our broth, and the bowl we had chosen was sent back for the hot pot to be made. My friend and I ended up with the same number of pounds for our bowl (1.27 pounds) and paid around ~$20 each. Next to the golden/green themed chairs and tables, they had a sauce bar where we could bring back our own sauces made in little metal pots. We fully finished our bowls and were satisfied! I would love to take friends here to enjoy this hotpot experience in the future! read more
11 months ago
Always come to this place. The place is big and clean. Service is great. Food usually comes out fast. I went to a different mala restaurant chain and end up having diarrhea. As for Mala Town, I've been to their two locations and nothing bad happen, ever. Recommended. read more
I've been to several hot pot places in the Bay Area and so far, Mala Town has to be one of my new favorites! The concept of this location is create your own Malatang bowl. You grab a large bowl and tongs and help yourself to their extensive ingredients bar. I was very impressed by their large variety and freshness of ingredients. Some toppings I included in my bowl were sweet potato noodles, enoki mushrooms, lotus root, marble beef, premium beef, fish tofu w/ cheese, and my favorite, the Korean handmade fishcake (I think it was stuffed with rice cake?!). Just be aware that this location prices the bowls by the pound ($14.99/lb). If you come super hungry, the price can add up very quickly! At the end of the ingredients bar, you hand the cashier your bowl and are able to choose the soup base for your Malatang. They had many choices such as their Signature Beef Bone Soup, Tom Yum Soup, Tomato Soup, Chicken Soup, and a Spicy Mix Dry Pot. Since I'm a spice girlie, I opted for their Sichuan- Style hotpot base. If you get this soup base, make sure to grab plenty of napkins to wipe the sweat and to stop your nose from running! As I waited for my bowl to be cooked, I noticed they have a really nice complimentary sauce bar that also serves two types of tea! This sauce bar also had some helpful sauce recipes to try for your Malatang. I saw some common hotpot sauces and some that were more unique like sa cha sauce (Taiwanese BBQ sauce), pepper oil, and sugar. They were all delicious! Although this location gets really packed and the tables are close together, I had a really good experience here. Not to mention, the cashiers are really friendly and the food comes out pretty fast. I'll be coming back to this location when I'm craving Malatang to warm me up! read more
7 months ago
Best malatang spot in the bay. Rich broth with strong spice levels and love the build your own bowl aspect. Quality of meat is not bad and the ingredients seem pretty fresh. Fast service and average pricing. read more
Mala Town is another restaurant that serves malatang soups and dry pot options. You start by grabbing a bowl and a pair of tongs. There is a huge variety of veggies, fish balls, meats, etc to pick from. Before paying, the cashier weights your bowl by the pound and you pay according to how much yours weigh. Then you get to pick a soup. I picked the signature beef bone broth soup with mild spice. The broth was very flavorful but had a good amount of kick. Service was quick and restaurant was clean, spacious. I would recommend trying this restaurant out if you like malatang. read more
This place can get packed real quick during the weekends and any lunch/dinner rushes. But the wait for whatever you make is worth it. As a person who finds comfort when eating soup this is the best place because I can choose what gets to be in my soup. But beware it's 15.99 a pound so choose wisely but if you got it like that, get whatever you want. Depending on how busy it is you're likely to get your food ready in about 15 minutes after turning it in to get cooked in the choice of broth. The service is quick but they're also ready to kick you out if it is too busy and they need more tables. Slow eaters will get stared at by staff or parties that love to chat after their meals. The food is still worth it and the environment inside is so comforting. Even on hot days this place has been a hit. read more
2 months ago
So much variety at Malatown! Compared to other malatang places, malatown has the most variety in food and broth options. I got the mild beef bone broth and my favorite cuts of meat were the beef belly and pork belly. They have complimentary jasmine tea which is so delicious and a sauce bar. The service was quick and we got seated in 15 minutes during dinner time. read more
5 months ago
Love love love mala town so much, always a go to when I'm hungry and don't know what else to get and it never disappoints! read more
2 years ago
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9 months ago
Business owner information
Fico C.
Hi, Janelle.…
I love Mala Town in Union City. This place felt more crowded and didn't have much room at the sauce bar or entrance. I was disappointed when I visited that there was no ponzu sauce. Overall, love the place and the concepts of picking your ingredients, just prefer my other location. Tip: don't look with your eyes. It can look like you're not eating a lot, but you will possibly be full. read more
1 year ago
Smells so good looks so good it's everything I love in a pot. Update: just ate it all. Holy so good... spicier than I thought though (I ordered mild). read more
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7 months ago
Doordash orders here are stingy. 42 bucks excluding Dasher tip. Added 3 additional side. Base price (1.5 lbs food) plus add-ons, they give you half the portion you'd normally get. Its not my first time ordering here and the last 2 times they have ripped me off. Would your business go under by providing $1.99 worth of Napa? I added that as a side and got 2 tiny pieces. That's crazy. Don't dash here. read more
Business owner information
Fico C.
Hi, Julie.…
1 month ago
TLDR good soup but beware of plastic from the imitation crab sticks I come here for Malatang soup often and it's as standard as it gets. You get your ingredients and put them in a bowl, tell the cashier what broth you want and get assigned a seat. Food comes out at a reasonable time. I wanted to make a good review since I come often but unfortunately this visit was not the case. First, they didn't have some of the veggies I really wanted- but thats really no big deal. But secondly, I didn't realize the imitation crab sticks were individually wrapped in plastic and when I got my soup, I finally noticed the plastic on the crab. I waived a person down and he confirmed it was from the crab stick (lol). But what is disappointing is that he didn't apologize or bother to bring in a supervisor to comment on it. So it was an awkward exchange. I might just go down the street for now. read more
Not a bad experience! I love the variety, complimentary tea, sauce bar, and decor. This malatang spot is a bit more expensive than others though. Can get super busy on the weekends too! The tom yum broth was SOOOO good. Full of flavorful; perfectly savory and sour. Be aware, they add a little lemon slice in there. The enoki mushrooms, kobe wagyu, and mochi-filled fish cakes were my favorite and soaked up the broth well. read more
I was so let down by my most recent visit here:( When we first arrived, we were greeted by a long line which is fine. It actually got me a lil excited bc it meant to me that my meal is about to be so good. We waited for around 20 or so minutes and then we were able to order our food. I got the dry pot and was really looking forward to it bc it made such a good lasting impression on me the last time I had it at the union city branch. When it came, the ingredients were barely cooked and it tasted like they blanched it for 0.000000001 seconds. The vegetables were lowkey still crunchy and my taro was straight hard. The sauce was also mid and had no depth of flavor. They just poured a mid sauce on top of barely cooked ingredients and called it a day. I could just go to target and buy myself a can of Skippy and bag of salad and make this for myself at home :) read more
1 month ago
1 month ago
More info about Mala Town
438 Barber Ln
Milpitas, CA 95035
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(669) 315-1414
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http://malatown.us
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Are any of the choices vegetarian?
a good variety of vegetarian options! I have a vegetarian friend and she LOVES coming here!
When will the chicken broth come back?
Are any of the flavors / broth options gluten-free?
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314 reviews that are not currently recommended
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