Mala JJiang Mala TTang Starling 麻辣将麻辣烫星岭店 — Restaurant in Petaling Jaya

Unsure of what to have for lunch on the second day of Chinese New Year, we chanced upon this Mala eatery situated at the basement of The Starling, that had just opened for business. WHAT A PLEASANT FIND!

Although not cheap by Malaysian standards (although to be fair, we did choose a lot of pricey ingredients), the piping-hot, capsicum-sarurated and Szechuan pepper-riddened bowls of Mala Tang (麻辣烫) from this establishment turned out to be the best we have had in Malaysia since we moved to Malaysia last summer. We had tried at least 10 others recommended by reviewers online, but none of them satisfied our Mala cravings.

You pay for what you choose, from two fridges-full of meats, vegetables, tofu derivatives, noodles and such. We loved the establishment's marinated beef, marinated chicken and - surprise, surprise - luncheon meat, which has a meaty bite, rather than being stodgy and fake. 👍👍👍

Interestingly, instead of the usual garnish of roasted peanuts, our bowls came with these little deep-fried pearls of mystery. Regrettably, we forgot to ask what these deep-fried pearls were before we finished and left - completely full and absolutely satisfied.

WE WILL DEFINITELY BE BACK to try the other soup bases - notably the sour and spicy preserved Szechuan mustard green soup base which...

Mala tang is one of my favourite food in China. The sichuan pepper + sesame sauce + broth soup makes the ingredients taste good.

Saw this shop at Starling mall, the deco is simple and clean. They are many varieties of vege and meat available. They allow you to choose different level of spicy and type of soup.

I have selected the mala soup to check whether they are taste the same like China Mala tang.

The soup is a lot, normally the serving of mala tang is very little soup + the sesame sauce. Too bad the soup is tasteless, taste like boil water add in Mala chilli. Totally not the same like the original mala tang. According to the staff, the sesame sauce is out of stock.

The pricing is not cheap though. If you are looking for original mala tang, this is...

What can I say. These restauranteurs should know we the customers have the capabilities to go around trying food. This malatang place is more expensive than midvalleys LG floor malatang shop (this is excellent)and in terms of food and offerings it's below standard. The prawn paste sold (to the idea is the most popular) - has NO taste, BLAND as can be, texture the worst plastic-ky, full of some type of flour. I am just.shock anyone would sell it as their best item. There is no self help condiments like chilly., garlic or soya sauce to take. The staff has to take from inside. The food takes too long to prepare as compares to other malatang shops. I wouldn't come back here. But don't take my...