Mala Project knows dry pot, and their LES location delivers. The entrance is a bit chaotic, there's not much space in the narrow area, and the host desk is merged with the bar. But once you make it past there, the restaurant is a bit more roomy (relatively) and spread out. The dry pot is indeed fantastic. Lots of spice to keep things interesting for the main, and both the tofu and pickled veggies appetizers were just as delicious. All at a price that keeps the NYU students and early career twenty-somethings filling seats every night. I'd recommend making a reservation to preempt said crowds, and more generally because you'll be in for a fantastic meal. read more

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First time here and we loved it. We of course both ordered the dry pot, which is clearly the star dish of Mala Project. The restaurant makes its own signature sauces ranging from soy ginger (no spice) to extra spicy. While I usually go for a medium spice level, I had to choose here from 'little spicy' and 'spicy'. I went with the former, which I still found to be plenty spicy, with a healthy offering of chili oil and a whole host of other flavors, like soy, fresh pepper, garlic, and ginger. It's absolutely delicious and completely makes the dish. My husband got the spicy, which to me was really spicy... manageable, but for my palate, it kind of overtook the rest of the flavors. The list of meats, seafoods, veggies, and other items is long, and 3-5 items per person are recommended. I got the pork belly, glass noodles, king oyster mushrooms, baby corn, and potatoes. The ingredients went well together and were tasty, though some pieces were slightly overcooked (pork belly) or undercooked (potato). The mushrooms were super meaty! My husband got the chicken thighs (so good), glass noodles, shiitake mushrooms, and asparagus. I also enjoyed a Yuzu pilsner, which had a light fruitiness that blended well with the pilsner flavor and cut some of the spiciness. One slight bummer, since it was a nice night, was that I was expecting the back garden to be open air. It was actually enclosed, though the temperature was comfortable. read more

MáLà Project East Village - Yuzu Pilsner - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

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The dry pot is a must-try and definitely what they're known for! I love that you can customize it with so many ingredients and flavor options. We played it safe and chose the soy ginger flavor since we wanted something mild and non-spicy, and it was delicious with just the right amount of flavor. We also got the sirloin with baby corn and asparagus. The meat was decent--not as tender but it was well-seasoned and packed with flavor. Overall, a great spot if you're craving a customizable dry pot! read more

MáLà Project East Village - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

Food is pretty good! We got the beef noodles and fried rice pork. Would Recommend the rice. Ambiance was nice!! However service wasn't the best or friendly, which was a bummer, changes the ambiance of it. read more

MáLà Project East Village - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

Delicious as always. No one does it better than mala project. I just wish it wasn't so expensive. We got it delivered and it was still hot and traveled well. read more

We went in the evening and the restaurant was very dimly lit, but gave a good vibe. Food was pretty good. Definitely not as spicy as other dry pot places, but it was still good. Service was quick and they were very attentive read more

I ordered online for pick up. My food was ready when I got there and was package great, nothing spilled. I got the beef noodle soup which I really enjoyed the flavors were delicious and it came with a little jar of chili oil that was also delicious and a great addition. I also tried want want milk for the first time and really liked it. I will be going back to try some other things. read more

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The food was here was so flavorful! I will most definitely come back. The noodles with pork are so flavorful. I also loved the spritz because they were paired with a free shot! The ambiance was nice and dark; very intimate! read more

Came here for a quick bite before watching a mysical nearby. This place is a really good night out/casual date situation dinner. We saw several couples and groups. The main sell is there dry pot where you select ingredients (paying per ingredient) and it is sauted with their special mala sauce in a dry pot as opposed to a standard hot pot where the food is cooked in a broth. Highly customizable and the sauce itself you can specify spiceness levels for people who are less spice inclined. The sauce was really good and they have a description of what spices they use and it's a very long list. Highly recommend! I also liked that they had coat hangers!! Every restaurant should have hangers and bag storage! read more

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This is our favorite spot as a couple or family gatherings. Excellent customer service and helpful in creating your dry pot. Dimmed lightning Outdoor seating Small bar New wine and beer rotation read more

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My favorite location as the ambiance is the best and it's a bit less crowded! Friendly service, food comes out fast, and portion size is bigger than you think. I wasn't able to finish mine and got to have a second meal the next day! They were out of mocktails so I got this tea which was pretty herbal and interesting but paired well with the kick of the mala read more

MáLà Project East Village - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

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Delicious Dry Pot The restaurant is unassuming from the street. The interior is comfortable and can get crowded. The Happy Hour drinks are a good deal. The Dry Pot is very good. The Beef Tenderloin and Pork Belly were flavorful. We also enjoyed the Spicy Popcorn Chicken appetizer. The service was attentive. read more

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Went in a group of 4 and shared a dry hot pot bowl, little spicy. You choose whatever noodles, meat, and veggies you want in the bowl so it's easy to customize whatever you'd like and the portion size. We probably chose roughly 7 different items to put in the bowl and ordered 3 sides of rice The little spice level was a perfect amount of spice that you could taste, but didn't make it difficult to eat. This was also a good amount of food for 4 people to finish and be full read more

MáLà Project East Village - Dry hot pot, little spicy - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

The food is delicious if you love authentic spicy dry pot. Not too salty or oily like a lot of places can be. Their beef tendon is big and tender. Only disappointment: If you make a custom lunch bowl with a lot of ingredients, you don't get more food. You just get more variety and it's very expensive. If you want a variety of ingredients, maybe try ordering multiple lunch bowls for better value. Update: I tried ordering a lunch special with fewer ingredients and I did get less food with that (I halved the number of ingredients and ended up with about 70% of the food I got last time). But I have no idea if I keep ordering like over 7 or 8 ingredients if they will ever give me two boxes or if there's like an upper limit to the size of these lunch dry pot boxes haha read more

I'm always on the hunt for a good dry mala pot place and this is it for me in NYC!! I love that you can fully customize what you want and your spice level. Yes it's on the pricier side for mala dry pot but it's NYC and I've accepted it. I love the multiple options for mushrooms and types of noodles as those are my favorite parts of mala dry pot. We also got the mala fries which were yummy and to top that off the waiters at the end were really nice and told us there were some mantous left over that would be going to waste and gave us a plate of them and they were delicious too! Would recommend and I'll be back! Only minor downside is it's pretty dim and loud inside which makes it hard to have a convo while eating but the food is solid. read more

MáLà Project East Village - Mala (NEW) ML Fries - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

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I LOVE this place! We came for dinner without a reservation and were still able to get seated immediately on a Sunday night. You should definitely come with a group and share one giant pot since you pick ingredients and pay by that. We got around 10 items for the three of us, which was just the right amount of food. I loved the beef tenderloin, quail eggs, and fish fillet so much! Definitely recommend getting those. The sauce is so flavorful and everything soaks it up perfectly. Such a good trusty reliable spot! read more

MáLà Project East Village - Mala dry pot - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

One of my favorite New York restaurants. The dry pot kicks ass and the 1000 year egg is very special. My friend loves the Málà peanuts very much. This place has its own flavor and it's a delicious one. read more

MáLà Project East Village - dry pot - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

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Came for dinner with a friend on a Monday night and had no trouble getting seated without a reservation. There's plenty of seating inside, and the restaurant is on the dimmer and more crowded end, but we could hear just fine. My friend and I split one big dry pot between us: we ordered the beef tenderloin, pork belly, lamb, firm tofu, potato noodle, lotus root, cauliflower, and bok choy, as well as two sides of white rice. The dry pot came out surprisingly fast, and the portion was huge! We got the normal spice level, which was actually spicier than I anticipated, but the spice mix was aromatic and savory and delicious in all the right ways. We ended up splitting leftovers to go, which was enough for both of our lunches, and the bill came out to ~$40/person, which I thought was pretty good for NYC and what came out to four meals! read more

MáLà Project East Village - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

We came here at first without a reservation for table of 2 but was still able to get seated right away which was great. This restaurant is so interesting to me because its essentially just mala dry pot that you can get at a Flushing food stand for a lot cheaper. But I guess because its in one of the most popping areas, the pot becomes a lot more expensive. We ordered the mala dry pot with small spice and broccoli, lamb, pork belly, rice cakes, bok choy, etc. and it was delicious. I love that there was still a bit of spice throughout the whole thing but it was very flavorful and I appreciated the garlic flavor throughout. I especially liked the lamb as it soaked up all the spices and we very well with rice. Honestly the flavors here are not bad at all but I just kept thinking about the fact that in Flushing it would be so much cheaper and I would feel a lot fuller. I did really appreciate the haw flakes that they passed out at the end, really reminded me of my childhood. read more

MáLà Project East Village - Mala ML Dry Pot (build your own combo) - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

So yummy, I was so sad to have to share with as many people as we did. The mapo tofu and the house pulled noodles were the absolute favorites!! The improved lychee martini was also a fun and yummy happy hour favorite!! The staff were very fun and helpful! It was such a prime location to grab a bite after a show or between plans in the city! read more

MáLà Project East Village - MP Tofu // House Fried Noodle // Purple Rice // Eggplant with Roasted Garlic // Pork Belly With Preserved Mustard Greens - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

My husband and I really enjoyed our dinner at Mala project. The staff were friendly and able to seat us when we arrived earlier than our reservation time. The spice is no joke, we ordered the mild and found it more like somewhere between a medium/spicy level. The only con is that the amount of fish we received was very little, only 5 small pieces of fish. read more

MáLà Project East Village - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

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This was really good. We went as a group of 3 on a Saturday night and were seated immediately. Service was quick. The dry pot was great and they put in a good amount of glass noodles and meat. I loved the bok choy in it the most. One dry pot is enough for two people if that's the only item you're getting. I didn't get a picture of the mapo tofu but I think that was actually my favorite dish with their purple rice. The lychee martini was good and strong. Not as sweet as other lychee martinis I've had. Will come back! read more

MáLà Project East Village - lychee martini - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

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Málà Project is a highly rated spot for neo-Szechuan mala dry pot, aka a must visit for any spice lover. The space gives a funky and hipster vibe with neon light decors. I highly recommend building your own dry pot for the full experience. I am a sucker for dry mix pot and this one 100% satisfied my craving. They also offer mala dry pot lunch combo for $15-16. ＊Mala Project Dry Pot 麻辣香鍋 $75 *** First, don't be scared by the price--we literally had to split the whole dry pot into 4 servings lol (for small appetite girls). We splurged on the marbled beef ($22) which tasted like premium hot pot cut. The beef tenderloin was a cheaper option ($9) and it was very tender. Glass noodle is the perfect carb to absorb the flavorful sauce. We picked the spiciest soup base and it was really numbing (but yum). They also have soy ginger sauce and less spicy base available. ＊Eggplant with Roasted Garlic 蒜蓉茄子 $12 * My fav starter! They plopped minced garlic on top and vinegar as the sauce base. It was delicious to mix the eggplant into your dry pot and enjoy altogether. ＊Pig Ear in Chili Oil 紅油豬耳朵 $14 * SPICY ALERT. My friend has a high spice tolerance but the dish had her keep chugging water. We both still thought the pig ears were really good in terms of texture and flavor. ＊Hot & Sour Noodle Soup 酸辣粉 $18 The glass noodle was chewy and soaked up the vinegar-y broth. I liked the spicy and sour flavors, yet the broth was quite oily. It came with beef belly, lobster balls, tofu pockets, and bok choy. ＊Crispy Ube Mochi 紫薯餅 $9 I don't care how full you are--YOU NEED TO ORDER THIS DESSERT! It was crispy on the crust, chewy on the inside, served warm, and NOT TOO SWEET. ＊Herbal Jelly 燒仙草 $9 A cold, sweet dessert to cool down your numbing tongue after indulging in so much spicy food. It was on the sweeter side, and I loved the grass jelly and red bean. read more

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Ordered the chicken wings, leftover fried rice, pickled vegetables, and the eggplant, and everything was really good! The fried rice was one of the best I've had in the city. it was super flavorful and perfectly seasoned. The eggplant was tasty too, though I wasn't expecting it to be served cold. I'm used to getting this dish hot with garlic sauce, so it was different, but still good. Lots of diced garlic gave it great flavor. The pickled vegetables came with chili oil, which added a nice kick, and the chicken wings were unlike anything I've had before, unique, but with great flavor. Overall, it was really good and I'd definitely come back, especially for that fried rice! read more

We were looking for a dinner spot and randomly stumbled upon Mala Project. There was no wait so it was perfect. It seemed like a hip spot with a cute little courtyard outdoor seating situation in the back of the restaurant. I've never had dry pot so I was excited to try. First you choose your sauce base then you can pick as many toppings/ingredients as you want added into your pot. You also have a choice of sides. If you don't want to DIY, you can also order a dry pot combo. This isn't all you can eat so the ingredients definitely add up. We chose a little spicy and it was a good amount. Beef Wrap (4/5): The scallion pancake wrap was nice a crispy. It also had beef shank, cucumbers paired with a sweet bean sauce. Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables (3/5): This was super fatty and oily. It paired well with the veggies but was a little too much for me. Overall, it was a nice dinner spot. I really enjoyed the mala dry pot. We got a lychee martini too and it was very strong. Food was pricey but I enjoyed it. read more

MáLà Project East Village - Lychee Martini - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

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This place is great! A nice bars from the entrance and Large table sheets in the deep side! The lychee martini hits the spots with spicy Málà dry pot! We chose beef and squid and stuff but I hoped they put more vegetables. We got a green cabbage but I expect more of them not so much protein but was opposite lol Spicy lover! Try mala spicy but it is pretty spicy with peppers lol this is fantastic place I'll come back xx read more

MáLà Project East Village - Spicy dry hot pot! With White Rice/Purple Rice - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

Excellent service and attention from the staff! Not only was the indoor decor very modern, but the red lamps set a nice atmosphere by our table. We ordered the lychee martinis that were perfect tasting fresh and not too sweet. We shared the spicy popcorn chicken dim sum as well as the spicy dry pot with vegetable house fried noodles, eye of round steak, pork belly, tofu pockets, broccoli, lotus root & enoki mushrooms. Even though my friend and i have a high heat tolerance, the regular spicy had us sweating not to mention the portions were huge so we loved having more to take home! So yummy-Cannot wait to return the next time I'm visiting ! read more

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It's on the pricier side for dry pot especially with all the newer openings but you get what you pay for--consistently good execution and a fun ambiance. The quality of the ingredients is great and lots of options. Friendly service! read more

Down one star because it's pretty pricey for what it is, considering it's a dry pot where many of the ingredients can likely be bought in bulk. That said, I loved the ability to mix and match whatever you want. The options list was impressively long! I went with the third spice level, and while I usually handle heat pretty well, I found myself struggling to finish because of the spice. I'd recommend going with level 2 for a more enjoyable (and still flavorful) meal. Spacious interior, easy to get a spot during the week. Staff were helpful with suggestions. read more

Dry pot was absolutely delicious, I think about this place from time to time. Love that you can create your own and choose the spice level. We got one pot to share between two people and even had leftovers for the next day! Service was quick and attentive, space was comfortable. I would come here again! read more

MáLà Project East Village - ML Dry Pot (build your own combo) - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

The dry pot here is absolutely delicious. You get to customize your bowl and select your spice level and it comes out hot and fresh. Highly recommend sharing! I also tried the husband and wife lung slice, but this was okay. The beef was a little too tough, I enjoyed eating the intestines/tripe more. read more

MáLà Project East Village - MALA DRY POT (build your own combo) - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

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Knocking down a star for it being rather expensive for what it is (dry pot), which they can buy several ingredients in bulk and then rake that dough in. My Taiwanese partner remarked that the flavor profile didn't taste super authentic, but that might've been because we were playing the safe side and didn't order the third and last level, Mala, but opted for the middle one instead. The dry pot was delicious and great to share amongst us two. We ordered the: lamb, beef tendon, pork intestine, wood ear mushroom, tofu skin, potato noodle. The ensemble of flavors themselves were delicious. Just enough kick to keep things interesting and beckoning you to come back for more. Our favorite toppings were the beef tendon and the potato noodle. Then we got the dish with the century egg, which I was rather excited about. To my disappointment, the egg portion was rather dismal! It seemed like they quite literally take ONE EGG and slice it into really small sections (even smaller than quarters...eighths perhaps?) and distribute it amongst eggplant and peppers. I thought the peppers were a wondrous touch to the dish itself. They were addictingly spicy and were super absorbent of the flavorful sauce. Also had ordered a little pot of lychee tea on the side to wash down the meal and cleanse the palate every now and then. Decent tea for $9 a pot (about 3 rounds for 2 people). Not sure if I would get it again. Overall place is pretty decent as a catchup dinner spot amongst friends. There's a good amount of seating and reservations are rather easy to secure, although I must warn about the no-show/cancel fee if you make your reservation under the typical apps. I would come here again if I wanted small portioned/shareable Chinese food in the EV. Hits the cravings right and is pretty solid. Just not the most affordable option by any means! read more

My favorite spot in the east village! The marinated cucumbers are truly the best appetizer I've ever had read more

MáLà Project East Village - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

Dry pot was pretty good but more soupy/saucy than the ones I'd normally get in Flushing. The add-on's do get pricey for the portion - some items they gave a lot of while others were skimpy. Flavor was good, not too spicy at all and I appreciated not having to pick out peppercorns between every bite haha. Dan Dan noodles had such a good kick and tasty, but the mung bean noodles weren't my favorite, especially as they were diced up into bit sized pieces instead of as noodles. read more

MáLà Project East Village - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

Soooo good. Especially recommend the spicy popcorn chicken, Dan Dan noodles, and leftover fried rice. The hot and sour soup is unusual but good. I found the pork belly with mustard greens underwhelming. read more

Giving this place a 2 because something definitely gave me food poisoning - my guess was the short ribs in the dry pot. The restaurant is super cute and the food comes pretty fast. For appetizers, we got the Eggplant with Roasted Garlic and Spicy Chicken with Cucumber. The eggplant was ok - very light flavor and I've definitely had better eggplant dishes. The chicken was good though - great flavor! For our mains, we got the Fish with Pickled with Pickled Peppers & Mushrooms and the Mala Dry Pot (spicy). The fish was delicious and super soft. The dry pot while delicious, was very oily and the short ribs tasted very unfresh/almost rotting. Unfortunately, I will not be returning here :( read more

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Came here with some friends as a backup to our original lunch plan that was unexpectedly closed. I must say, this should've been our first choice! Very quick service, really good value for your money, and friendly staff. The food had so much flavor and definitely hit the spot. Gotta come here! read more

MáLà Project East Village - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

Good dry pot! The little spicy is a good level for me (without the numbing spice) and you can pick and choose a bunch of meat, mushrooms, noodles, etc to add to the dry pot. Better to come with a small group so you can share a big pot. The steamed egg appetizer is also really good. The food comes out really fast and the restaurant is good about indicating allergens on the menu and also asking about allergies. read more

MáLà Project East Village - ML Dry Pot (build your own combo) - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

Ok I love Chinese dry pot, and normally I'd rate Mala Project much higher, but my most recent visit was pretty disappointing due to a couple reasons. For reference, I ordered the dry pot with spicy sauce and 6 items (beef tripe, shrimp balls, enoki mushroom, bamboo shoots, quail eggs, and bean curd). Pros: - authentic dry pot - mala spicy sauce that is actually spicy - decent service Cons: - the ratio of ingredients was wayyyyy off. I got maybe two tiny pieces of tripe and a bit enoki strings (no actual pieces) and a TON of bean curd. I mean the entirety of the bowl was basically bean curd with a couple of extra things thrown in there. Super disappointed in this, especially because tripe was one of the more expensive items I ordered. - the wait time was much longer than expected. we were told that we'd have seating within an hour, but ended up having to wait an extra 30 mins on top of that. - it's pretty pricy for what you get. this is not something that's exclusive to my most recent visit, but worth mentioning still. read more

MáLà Project East Village - Szechuan Near Me - New York, New York

An East Village staple for Sichuan eats, best known for their dry pots -- this dish was easily the star of the show and I cannot recommend it enough! They're popular but it isn't too hard to snag a reservation. The waiters are helpful for recommendations and very attentive. They have an outdoor back patio which was lovely in the summertime. IMHO, the appetizers are alright but the dry pot was DELICIOUS. When I come back, I'd probably skip the apps in favor of adding more ingredients to the dry pot -- I love how highly customizable it is, but do think it's easy to get carried away (and kind of pricey) if you're not paying attention. That being said, literally every single bite was fire and worth it to me. Highly recommend the lotus root for crunch, fish filet for protein and glass noodle to soak up the flavor. I'll be back soon! read more

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