Hot Hot Hot Malatang — Restaurant in Sydney

Hot Hot Hot Malatang is the most popular malatang/che zai mian (车仔面) place in Mascot. Conjoined with a bubble tea store to quench the spicy soups, it is only natural that returning workers and residents flood the doors of Hot Hot Hot Malatang.

Although they are pricier than the other che zai mian restaurants I've been to, the immeasurable range of ingredients may as well justify the price tag. They have a cornucopia of vegetables, fish balls, noodles, particularly meats and innards coated in an intimidating chilli pepper marinade.

But while the grandiose sight of food is bedazzling, on closer inspection, the quality of freshness is below standard and that managieral sloppiness is visible everywhere in the restaurant. We went at around 5 o'clock, way before dinner peak hour, yet there were no signs of regular hygienic maintenance or care. Scraps of food were scattered across the floors and tables and there were sure to be bits stuck on the bottom of your shoes. The sauce station was absolutely filthy with every ingredient and liquid available split on the bench top, merging together like a saucy Murray-Darling basin.

What I really dislike about Hot Hot Hot Malatang is their ordering requirements. Your chosen ingredients need to weigh a minimum of 400g. Otherwise, you will receive no service. Our duo had to improvise by transforming our individual 300g bowls into one gigantic bowl to share in order to suffice.

We settled for their tomato broth that pinpoints the mild tartness of the fruit/vegetable and has a soothing warmth. However, the soup is a tad too artificially sweet as if they squeezed tomato sauce from the bottle.

Call me a coward for not picking any of the spicy marinated options but as a middle ground, I went for their coriander beef that unfortunately only has coriander in the name. The seasoning spotlighting the beef had dissipated in the flavoured soup, depreciating it to a dull cut of meat.

Taste-wise, I don't see the appeal of Hot Hot Hot Malatang that constantly draws flocks of patrons into the night. Perhaps their malatang base or peppery meats really knocks the socks off of people. But what hopes do I have if a malatang place can't have proper upkeep of their ingredients and...

We’ve tried the dry malatang here twice to give it a fair chance.

On our first visit, the proteins had an unusual taste and the base wasn’t as flavorful as expected, which made it a little difficult to finish. On our second visit, we ordered the spicy base. While the chicken and beef still had a similar taste to before, the flavor overall was much better. The spice level was stronger than what we requested, but still manageable. Across both visits, we found the malatang to be on the salty side.

The self-selection section is a highlight, with plenty of vegetables and add-ons to choose from. On our first visit, protein options were limited, but the second time there was a better variety (perhaps they had run out earlier on the first visit). Labels on the ingredients are helpful, but clearer labeling — especially for proteins — would improve the experience. The sauce station is a nice feature, though it and the selection area could be kept tidier.

Atmosphere-wise, the restaurant is usually busy, which adds to the energy, but it also means tables aren’t always cleaned promptly. Communication with staff can be a bit challenging due to the language barrier, though service was otherwise polite. The wait for food can be a bit long, but having a Cotti milk tea shop right next to the restaurant is a convenient bonus while waiting.

Overall, the experience has been mixed but promising. With a little more consistency in flavor, tidiness, clearer labeling, and easier communication, this could be a really solid spot...

I had a very frustrating experience at this restaurant. The whole process was incredibly slow because the same person handled both checkout and food delivery. The layout of the restaurant is also very uncomfortable — we had to constantly give way to previous customers searching for the water tap while we were trying to pick up our ingredients. On top of that, the waitresses kept interrupting the queue to refill vegetables and seafood, but the space was so tight that only one person could fit at a time, leading to constant interruptions.

When we finally collected our takeaway order, there was no lid for the takeaway bowl, and the bowl was so hot that we couldn’t hold it. Despite asking for help multiple times, the lady at the counter ignored us and eventually threw a piece of cling wrap at us, expecting us to wrap it ourselves at the crowded collection window. To make matters worse, the sauces were a disaster — the sesame and peanut sauces were so sloppy, it took the customer before us five minutes just to scoop them out. We were in such a rush to avoid blocking the collection window that we had to give up on getting any sauces at all.

Thankfully, we had friends with us to help, but the complete lack of service and poor attitude made this experience unacceptable. We will definitely not be...