Ah Xin Malatang Review: Ma La Stall Featuring $1.80 Meat And Seafood Ingredients At Chinatown

Despite the ma la fever, ma la tang is a dish that’s remained in the shadow of its xiang guo brethren, receiving notably less fanfare. The same few stalls always headline the conversation between ma la tang fans, notably Gong Yuan Ma La Tang. But in the basement of Chinatown Point, Ah Xin Malatang has been shaking the status quo, gradually drawing queues with their affordable quotations—over $1 per 100g less costly than its counterparts.

Food at Ah Xin Malatang Ordering ma la tang is similar to getting ma la xiang guo , except with one extra step. Aside from picking your components and heat level, you get to choose your soup base from a selection of six—from the classic, fiery Mala Bone Broth to gentler soups like Wild Mushroom . That’s especially good news for meat lovers, because filling up your bowl with mountains of pork belly or stacks of prawns cost the same as picking a garden of veggies.

Considering we were reviewing ma la tang , we couldn’t skip their Mala Bone Broth . As suggested by its appearance, this is a notably mellower ma la soup.

Rich pork bone taste stands at the forefront, signalled by the creamy and cloudy appearance of the soup. It was reminiscent of tonkotsu ramen broth, possessing a depth of savour that can only be the product of hours stewing in a pot. The ma la heat was more of a backup singer for that pork bone creaminess rather than the star of the show.

We ordered zhong la , and while there was a consistent wave of heat to make our lips tingle, it never challenged the deep porky flavour of the broth. We tested all four of their meat options, and the fatty strips of pork belly stood head and shoulders above the lean cuts of chicken, pork and beef . As a result, all three lean meats were dry and tough, while the fat in the pork belly was just enough to keep it tender.

It may be predictable, but there’s a reason pork belly is found in every ma la xiang guo order. If you’re full from your bowl of ma la tang , you can complete your meal with a Chinese Burrito ($4 for a set with ma la tang , $5.60 a la carte) — as well known as jian bing guo zi .

It shared more similarities with popiah in terms of savour though, thanks to the blanket of sweet sauce that strangely evoked memories of the sauce found in Ramly burger. The bacon stands out most clearly, permeating the burrito with whiffs of its distinctive scent and lending an edge of salty flavour. There aren’t any seats, with only a small counter top for you to devour your ma la tang on the spot.

In spite of that, hordes of staff flock here all the way through lunch hour—mostly to dabao a bowl back to the office. Ma la addicts can in addition satisfy their fiery cravings by checking out our lists of ma la snacks and ma la restaurants in town . 7 Ma La Restaurants In Town To Satisfy Your Spice Cravings Let us know your favourite ma la dishes in the comments below!