As a vegetarian and spicy food lover I love this place!! I have been here several times and the tastes just hits every time. It's pretty hard to find options in Chinese cuisine as a veg and this place finally sees me. I always get the dry pot and I love how it's so flavorful and not that mala. You can pick however many toppings as you like, my favs are(hotpot noodles, lotus root and bunch of star donut). It's pretty heavy and definitely like a once in a while thing. Cause the dry pot has hella oil but I do think that contributes to the flavor profile. It's mainly self serve, but now they assign you tables and bring out your order to you. Service pretty fast and straightforward. For the best ambiance and taste you should go when it rains or when it's cold, it makes the food taste 10 times better! It's pretty casual and a place you can drop in anytime. read more

I went yesterday for what is probably close to my 10th visit to this spot and it hits every time. This is my friends and I's go-to malatang spot because of its proximity to Stanford campus, the really wide variety of items, the fair pricing, and the variety of soup options. The beef here is decent, the vegetables are quite fresh, and the sauce station has all of the essentials. In terms of soup, I think the best one has to be the classic bone soup. You have the option to choose your spice level from 1-10 (not for all soups though). I've been told that I have a high spice tolerance and I usually get 7 here and it isn't really spicy at all. My friends who self proclaim that they have low to very low spice tolerance will at max get level 3, and they say that that is spicy. Service here is pretty minimal since you just grab everything yourself. Once you enter, you are given a table number so pay attention! After you get to the register, you'll weigh your bowl, choose your soup, and be given a bracelet with a number on it. You will be given the bill after you finish eating. It definitely gets busy during dinner time so plan ahead and/or join the waitlist in advance. Overall, Zhangliang is one of the most solid malatang spots in the area and it is always a good time when I come here. read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Classic bone soup level 7 - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

Delicious! I had the dry mix noodle and it was super salty and tasty, almost too much so. You build your own bowl (the variety of items is super impressive), weigh, pick a broth or topping - and they cook for you! There is a 1 pound minimum which was slightly annoying because I for one, struggle to eat an entire pound of food in one sitting. Plenty of seating inside and outside. The staff were polite. read more

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They have a new soup! Sichuan spicy soup, which is less "creamy" than the classical, and more like medium/mild spice. It might be my new favorite, and it will for sure be my favorite if they can make it really spicy! read more

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Yummy malatang~ have lots of selection with variety of veggies and meat and noodles and mushrooms! Usually packed during lunch and dinner with quick service. The place is not very spacious and pretty packed all the time so prepared to wait if you are going on the pick hours. read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Malatang medium spicy - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

We've been obsessed with this malatang (麻辣湯) spot ever since we discovered it about two years ago. I know there are thousands of malatang shops around the world , but this one is still our go-to. There's usually no wait, but the place is almost always full and lively. Like many Chinese-style malatang shops, the price is based on the weight of the ingredients you choose. For me, it usually comes out to around $17-25, depending on how much I put in my bowl. Leftovers can be packed to go. I'm a huge cilantro lover, so I always add a lot to my bowl--and if you ask for chopped cilantro, they'll add extra for free, which I really appreciate. This location is closed on Tuesdays, so we often go to the San Mateo location instead, but my partner thinks this location seems to have a wider variety of ingredients. You can choose the spice level from 1 to 10, and even level 3 is already pretty spicy. read more

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Good option for malatang with lots of ingredients to choose from. I wish they cut up the Napa cabbage thought so it's not one big piece. Soup broth has more peppercorn flavor compared to other places. They get busy so plan ahead read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

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$14.99 a lb, diy ingredients bar. You pick what you want to eat and bring it to the cashier. Let them know what kind of sauce you'd want, and they give you a number and take your bowl and seat you. I picked out lots of veggies and different types of tofu with some low carb shirataki noodles, cooked in dry pot Mala style. The sauce was vegan. The complimentary condiments bar is amazing for additional toppings. They seat you in an organized timely fashion - managing the chaos nicely. Will be back! read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

Back again for more malatang. Got the bone broth medium spice. More chili flakes in the soup doesn't make it more spicy...tone it down. Broth temperature could have been hotter. Good selection of toppings as usual. Everyone in my party enjoyed their soup. Everyone except for one young gentleman. Here is his honest review ""Loved the food, the bright clean ambiance, good noise level even at peak lunch hour, and very fast service. However, staff is inadequately trained in guest photography. 3 stars." read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Waiter took our photo... - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

Lots of variety to choose from. Sadly there was tiny fly in mine.... Soup base was so so. Would not recommend going if you are cautious about food safety and sanitation. Super crowded like you'd need to be super skinny to not feel claustrophobic. read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

Busy on a sunday evening, but malatang is perfect when the weather is cold Broccoli is a no go for this, it kind of takes over the mushroom broth taste. read more

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I way outdid myself here. I came here for the first time with a friend who recommended the place and told me about the self-serve and per pound pricing model. She said if the contents of my bowl didn't equate to a pound, I would be sent back to add more fresh ingredients to my bowl for the dry pot stir fry or soup. Upon entry, I received a large bowl to add uncooked dry pot/hot pot items into and when I saw the selection of ingredients, I started heaping all of my favourite into the bowl. They didn't have a station to weigh my bowl at the food bar, so I didn't know how much I got, and even when I went to the checkout station, I for some reason only saw my friend's item. When my dry pot bowl arrived to my table, it was massive and looked like it could feed a family of 4 in comparison to my friend's very reasonably sized bowl for one person. It wasn't until we got the check at the end of the meal that I was able to see I got 2.82 lbs worth of food, almost triple the weight my friend ordered. Let's just say I have leftovers for probably a day's worth of food, which is great because I love all the flavours and textures. read more

Zhangliang Malatang - dry pot - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

My Go-To Malatang place!! Remember to get side sauces by the register. Recommend getting dry stir fry on hot days and broth on cold days!! Can't go wrong with either tbh read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Beef Broth Medium Level - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

Pros-quick, customizable, consistent, tasty, reasonably priced Cons-none really While I'm not vegetarian, I have friends and family who are. There's potential cross contamination for vegetarians. Tonight, I observed an employee returning items from an uncooked bowl that included both vegetarian and non vegetarian items. Also to reduce cross contamination risk, it'd be great if the restaurant could consider placing the vegetarian items first. It might help the line move along quicker too! read more

Awesome place! Lots of options here for ingredients and the areas are kept clean and organized. The restaurant itself is bright, large and airy. It felt like I was in China bc of the vibes and design. I got the classic bone broth level 10 and loved it but it's pretty spicy, I started coughing but checked myself so I didn't look weak. read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Classic bone level 10 - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

We came at around 7pm and waited maybe 30-45 minutes. I feel like the layout of the restaurant isn't optimal. It was super crowded at the front, and people kept cutting in line. It's a bit frustrating since we trying to check-in, and other groups skip the line to try checking in first. Other than that, the food was good. Good quality meats, veggies, fishcakes and fish balls, and delicious soup! I would come back again, but maybe when it's not so busy. read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

unfortunately i did not have a good experience here and would not recommend this restaurant. the staff are extremely unprofessional and disrespectful at this location. the location in san mateo is much better. each person must have at least 1 pound of food in order to proceed with checkout (totally understandable). when we got to the counter, my bowl did not meet the weight requirement so i had to go back and add to my bowl. immediately, we let the staff know that since my friend's bowl was 1+ pounds that we were going to redistribute the weight and i would add a little bit more to my bowl. despite this comment, they proceeded to take my friend's bowl back to the kitchen any way. when i returned with more food, i was surprised to know that my friend's bowl was no longer at the counter so we could no longer redistribute the weight. i politely explained that as previously mentioned, our intended plan was to to redistribute the weight and the worker proceeded to cross his arms and reaffirmed that it was their policy that each bowl had to be 1+ pound. i then explained that we did not ask for the bowl to be taken back to the kitchen yet and that we told him what our plan was beforehand. he did not seem to care, stopped talking, and continued to cross his arms. eventually, he decided to talk my bowl back due to the growing line. i wish i could say that was the only poor interaction we had with the staff that evening. when we sat down, the food came out within a few minutes. we began eating and about 5 minutes into eating a female worker came by and requested that we return the tag to them. i explained that we did not receive any tags and the lady took her hands and patted her waist requesting that we check again. we both patted our waists and again told her that we did not receive this tag to which she said she would be calling over her manager. being treated like we were stealing or lying over a soup tag was incredibly off-putting. this was a bizarre and accusatory escalation over a mistake the staff made at the counter. the food is good, but with so many other malatang options in the bay area with better service, i will not be returning. this restaurant needs to do better. read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Tom Yum Malatang - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

Solid Malatang! Came around 7pm. We joined the waiting list and probably only waited 10 minutes before being told to line up to make our bowls. We asked for the first available table and ended up being seated outdoors. They are busy, and the sauce bar always has a line. They also stored the soup spoons with the sauce bar, which I found a little annoying since it made the crowded corner even more crowded. They have great toppings. The meat section is first and everything is fresh and often replenished. I liked that the filling on their fish balls and beef balls are tasty--quality! Classical Bone Soup is passable; the spice carries it. Good spice, but I prefer Malatown's bone soup more as they have better broth flavor. read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Classical Bone Soup (Mild on bottom, Medium on top) - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

Had dinner here today. You can pick out whatever veggies, tofu, noodles etc you want in a bowl. Then they will make it in the style you prefer. I opted for spicy stir fry. The food was good. It is a high volume and turnover restaurant The service was good and minimal There is no ambiance per se Will come back again read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Stir fry dry pot vegan option - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

Zhangliang is like YGF's crowded but mildly less numbing sibling. Join the waitlist from the Yelp app because you'll have to join in-person anyway. Their vegetable selection is not quite as good as YGF but I think the quality is a little better? I like how they bring it to you so you're not as overwhelmed trying to carry a big bowl of hot malatang. They don't do split bills per table and you're required to at least get a pound worth of food. read more

Zhangliang Malatang - medium spicy bone broth - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

Went on Christmas day and was not too busy! Hit the spot on a rainy day. Toppings were good and the soup was good. Malatang is always something I crave. read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

My friend and I came here because of another friend's recommendation, and we both left disappointed. I read a previous review saying that their tom yum broth tasted like a candle. Initially, I thought it was an exaggeration until I finally tried it myself. It tasted more salty and lacked any sour/lemongrass flavor, and had a somewhat artificial flavor. Maybe their other broths might be better. The ingredient and meat options were decent though. read more

I came here with a friend on a Friday night, and although there was a fairly long wait, it went by quickly since there's a lot to see around the area. Once we got in, we filled our bowls, which was a fun experience with a great selection of ingredients to choose from. Afterward, we weighed our bowls, and I chose the classic bone soup to go with mine. The bone broth had a great flavor and wasn't too spicy. The interior of the restaurant was nice, although the tables were a bit close together. Overall, the food was great, and it came out quickly. read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

The mala craving is real. I've been here several times and have always enjoyed it. The staff members are always courteous and helpful. When you enter you are assigned a table (if no available space, you will join waitlist) and can start loading up your bowl. Once done, at the cashier you inform them of how you want your meal to be cooked and you pay by weight ($14.99 per pound). You receive a number for your order and wait at your table. There's a sauce station where you can customize. The wait isnt too long, I want to say 5 minutes. There's a consistent churn of people coming in and leaving. So wait time to dine here isnt too bad. read more

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I really wanted to love this place and it seemed promising. They had so many stuff to choose from that other places don't have like the tempura, fish cakes, and crawfish. I also like that they offer fresh egg noodles not all places offer that. Fixings were great, but the broth was not my favorite there was tang to it and no so much of a beefy flavor. They do offer non spicy since my daughter can't take spicy whatsoever, but to her disappointment it was spicy for her, which I didn't understand since I ordered hers non spicy. It is pretty decent, flavor is not bad, but it's not number 1 in my book! read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Beef bone broth medium TO GO! - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

No wait on a Saturday mid afternoon (2:30pm ish). This establishment is located in downtown Mountain View. There's plenty of parking behind the building. Zhangliang is clean and ingredients are fresh. It has a modern feel for a Malatang place. + Location is key to success and they are centrally located with street and back parking lots (5 stars) + Love their orange accents, clean facilities and sense of style with matching to go bowls (5 stars) + Ingredients such as raw meats, meatballs, vegetables and condiments are freshest compared to all the places I've been to (5 stars) + Although it's self service here, my water was surprisingly refilled just in time as I was sweating bullets from all of the extra chili I added (5 stars) + Bone broth spicy wasn't spicy enough for me and I felt the broth wasn't as rich as others but the rest of my family thought it was great (4 stars) read more

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This is one of my favorite spots for malatang! I've been to this location numerous times over the past year or so and they never disappoint! They have such a great variety of options for their malantang both in the filling option (veggies, meats/seafood, noodles, tofu, etc) + soup/flavoring options! Came here recently on a Wednesday night around 6pm and there was no wait, but the restaurant was still pretty packed! I'd say expect a wait for weekends around lunch/dinner times but generally their service is pretty fast so the wait shouldn't be too bad! They also have a yelp wait list! ~The Food~ You pick out all the ingredients you want in your malatang and then choose what soup/seasoning you want! My personal favorite flavor is their Stir Fried Spicy pot! It has just the right amount spice and packed with flavor! I gave their new Golden Green Sichuan Peppercorn Soup a try and it was pretty good! I personally think it could've had a bit more spice/mala flavor, but I liked that the broth wasn't too oily or heavy. ~Parking~ This location is on Castro St so they have plenty of public parking lots + street parking around! read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Stir Fried Spicy Pot - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

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$14.99 per pound, lot of selection of meat and vegetables. The foodstuffs are all fresh. Line was long on Monday dinner time but the line moved fast. The service is quick and staffs are friendly. I had the dry pot and it's great read more

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This place is actually pretty good. I like this version a little better because the soup does not get cold too fast. They have all the offerings as traditional hotpot and they have a double sauce bar so it doensnt get crowded. The mild broth was good and filling, it felts like eating a home cooked meal. It's located downtown and there's plenty of parking in the area. I would come here again if I was in the area. read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

My favorite personal sized hot pot spot in all of the Bay Area! Zhangliang Malatang is one of the only places that still serves Tom Yum soup while still allowing personalization via the ingredients bar. With the price still at $14.99 per a pound, the restaurant has kept their pricing low to similar restaurants. They also offer bottled drinks free on weekdays! I have heard they offer stamp cards for visits in SoCal locations and wish they would bring the concept to the Mountain View location. The Thai Tom Yum soup is spicy but is rich in flavor. There is a slight sour taste accompanied with sweet. Additional flavors can be added from the free sauce bar (garlic, cilantro, green onions, peppers, spices, and sauce) I always find myself coming back here for the unforgettable soup and have been a frequent diner the last few years. Zhangliang Malatang is undoubtedly the best place to eat malatang! read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Tom Yum Soup - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

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Hands down, the best malatang spot in the bay area!! This place is 20 minutes away from us but we'll always make the drive for it! We always get the tom yum soup base and it's soo flavorful and soothing! They have lots of great toppings to choose from! Staff are kind and always walking around to make sure we have water! It can get super busy during lunch time esp on the weekends, so I'd highly recommend putting yourself on the waitlist on Yelp! read more

Zhangliang Malatang - tom yum soup base - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

The food here is always good, and I always order with my eyes more than with my stomach. It's easy to get carried away here, but this was my first time ordering a bowl weighing 2.1 lbs. I have food for days! The service is definitely a no frills vibe, as expected. Don't expect the friendliest servers here, but you come for the food. I ordered the Tom Yum Broth for my malatang. I would rate this overall a 8/10. I always ask for extra seasoning and flavor and they always deliver. read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

The food was pretty tasty. The only weird thing for me was I got a beef bone broth, but I had a weird citrus aftertaste and could not get that out off my taste buds. Please let me know if im just trippin or not. Overall similar to malatown and ygf but I like the options for the spices. read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Beef broth level 7 - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

I really want to like this place as I love the concept but it fell short of expectation. The added star was just for the efficiency of the wait list. That the only plus. The soup all have msg in it and we woke up with headache the next day. I also found it overly salt. Also I didn't like that they only put certain starch up front. I felt compelled to take one and they are big chunks only to find fresh noodles later in the line up. Lastly if you are allergic to anything this is not the place for you, each person use their own tangs but can pick up seafood meat whatever with the same tang so the food itself has residuals of that from other dishes. Not going back read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Looked good but too much msg. Got the bone broth. And salty - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

My first time ever trying Malatang and it was a cool concept which attracts the younger crowd. Being able to customize your bowl and broth to your liking along with making your own dipping sauce afterwards. I just visited another branch in Sacramento and I have to say that this location is much better. In comparison, this branch gives the option of choosing your spice level while the other spot didn't. Also the ingredients are more fresh and refilled frequently which is a plus! I recommend the Classic Bone Broth but I do want to come back and try their tom yum broth which was sold out the day that I visited. read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Level 2 Spice for myself - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

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This place always has a line out the door whenever we walk by. Today we got there at 5:30pm and were able to walk in without waiting at all. You get in line, grab a big plastic clear bowl and a tong, and you start grabbing whatever ingredients you want from the buffet line. However, beware of what and how much you grab because you pay by the weight so you need to be somewhat skillful in the amount of ingredients you choose for your soup. My bowl came out to be about 1.3 lbs just the way I like it, but my friends miscalculated and their bowls came out to be over 2 to 3 lbs each, making it into a pricey meal. Doh! I chose the Tom Yum soup base. My friends chose the tomato soup base and mushroom soup base. Then you go to the sauce bar next to custom make your dipping sauce. They give you a # tag bracelet for your order and you get seated to wait for your food. The final product in the bowl were huge, savory and delicious. I really love the Tom Yum soup with all the ingredients handpicked by me. Overall, this place is quite an experience. read more

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Coming on a Monday late lunch, I thought maybe it'd be easier to get a table. Didn't seem like it, still had to wait about 10 minutes to get seated, and it being MLK, maybe that's why. There were plenty of ingredients to choose from. I must have gotten almost 2 pounds of food since my total came to around $29. Though, admittedly, this did serve me for about 3 meals (2 nights of leftovers). The ingredients quality was pretty good, and overall, the place felt clean, though the fact that you had to use the same tongs for every section (including the meat and veggie sections) felt maybe slightly unsanitary, though I'm sure it get boiled out when they prepare the meal. I got the classic bone broth, mild, and it still got me a little sweaty. But generally speaking, it was all really tasty and I liked the variety of ingredients. Service was also fairly quick and courteous. read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Free drink during weekday lunch. - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

There's always a big line for this place but wait time is never toooo long! It's quick easy and delicious! You get to pick the toppings and have them cook it for you in a soup/stir fry of choice. The location is definitely very packed tightly so I wouldn't say it's a great date spot but definitely a must try because the food is delicious. I always go for the medium spicy beef bone broth! read more

The service was super quick and really nice! I got the Tom Yum soup base and it was super flavorful and tasted really good! The one problem was that you pay as a table, so my group was not able to split the check. read more

Zhangliang Malatang - Comfort Food Near Me - Mountain View, California

This is a whole new way to do a hotpot. Usually I have tried doing shabu shabby where you cook it on your table. This one , you choose your proteins, seafood and veggies. You also choose your own broth: classic bone broth , Tom yum, tomato or mushroom. It came out pretty good. I got the Tom yum and it came out hot , tasty and spicy. Just the perfect combo on a cold freezing night . My daughter got the bone broth and it was good too but with no spice. You also get to choose your own sauce or any condiments you want . Altogether very good place to eat and priced just right. It can get a little crowded but wait was under 20 mins. Sign up ahead and try it. Service was very efficient. Quick and friendly! read more

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