KungFu MalaTang — Restaurant in Boston

I never write reviews because typically I don’t have a bad enough experience or honestly care that much, but this place needs an attitude adjustment. First the owner is super over the top about everything. Dude, I’ve been to hot pot before I know how it works.

I’ve had poor experiences with the owner not once but twice! The first time he refused to give me food my boyfriend ordered because clearly I’m not “Dave” and my name was different than what was on the order. Which I understand this but what I don’t understand is I gave him the name and the phone number related to the order. I had to call my significant other multiple times with no luck until the owner realized I had supplied enough information. This 15 minute exchange is over the top. Maybe trust that I’m not stealing food when I’ve provided all the information regarding the individual I’m picking up the food for.

Due to this, I have not ordered from this place for MONTHS because of what I find over the top behavior.

Tonight, I tried to walk in and get a bowl ordered. The owner was overbearing as usual and personally I have very limited patience for him because he is ALWAYS rude. So I grab a bowl and start filling my bowl. I’ve put my bowl on the counter to check out and suddenly his system isn’t working? Or I don’t have enough food in my bowl? Who knows - he doesn’t speak clearly and asked if I could hear him. Which I replied to him as “yes, I hear you - but I’m not sure what you are trying to tell me.” He processed to tell me the same information again which clearly is not helpful because to put it simply he sucks with customers. Dude hire someone to run the front of the house. You are rude and you literally have business walking out the door.

Word travels...

Solid budget hotpot with an old-school charm.

One of my friends gets delivery from here religiously (at least twice a month), so I’ve tried a few custom bowls before finally stopping by for my own hotpot lunch.

Unlike the newer Chinese hotpot spots that lean into the techy QR-code experience, this place does it the old-school way. Right by the entrance, there’s a toppings station where you grab everything yourself, and pay by weight. Honestly, I much prefer this setup. You get to eyeball the quality, pick and portion exactly how you want, and try more variety without overcommitting.

The owner did warn me not to go over 1.5kg, but between all the fresh veggie toppings and solid protein selection—quail eggs, bacon, sausage, frozen pork and lamb—I couldn’t help myself and slightly overshot. No regrets. However, this place is definitely on the no-frills end of the spectrum. No fancy seafood like scallops or lobster, no DIY sauce bar, and only one broth option: a classic mala beef broth (you can choose the spice level, at least). The setup is more cafeteria-style—pick your toppings, pay at the counter, and the owner handles the rest. No mandatory service charges, just comfort food done right.

Allston’s hotpot scene has gotten trendier and flashier in recent years, but I totally get why this spot remains one of my friend’s faithful go-tos. It’s definitely going on my own list for cozy and...

We came here on a Sunday afternoon cuz it’s always so packed at dinner time~ We were greeted right away when we walked in, staff were very helpful and let us took our time deciding on what to fill our giant bowls with… the bowl is GIANT, so pace yourself because I definitely overfilled my bowl.. but they’ll let you take the rest home so no big deal I guess..

They have their own soy milk! Which I’ll have to try next time, but they have most of the drinks you’d want for spicy food, Chinese coconut milk and herbal tea is my go-to and they have both.

Veggie bar! Super fresh, temperature controlled, and filled to the top neatly, their freezer for all the meats and fish balls, tofu, was also plenty good, wide range of noodle selections, and I’d say it’s pretty on par with what happy lamb has across the street.

You weigh your selection and pay at the front, they give you a number tag and your bowl goes into the kitchen to be cooked. We got the Mala Tang which has a nice rich broth and you can select your spice levels, I picked no spice but definitely feel some peppery spices that may not be regular chili peppers? It wasn’t unbearable for someone with low spice tolerance like me, and definitely was a good appetite inducing taste!

My friend got seafood in his bowl and they were fresh and delicious! Definitely recommend this for a cold day, and if you’re not about cooking...