Sorimmara Duluth (소림마라 둘루스점) — Restaurant in Duluth

Second time my girlfriend and I have been here. First time we went for their soft opening.

I do not write reviews, but I had to for this.

During our first visit, we got a malatang, mala xiang guo, and shrimp guobaorou. We were the third customer there. When the food came out, we were eating it and then I realized they switched the bowls, so the bowl for malatang was the mala xiang guo and vice versa. When I brought it up to the manager, she just said "sorry about that, but you can still eat it." No offer to re-make or effort to make it right. Taste wise, I'd say the malatang was better than the xiang guo. The malatang was spicy and tangy, while the xiang guo was just spicy with no real flavor. The shrimp was too sticky to our liking and was fried as one big piece. Taste wise it was nothing special (comparable to a honey walnut shrimp without the walnut).

We went back today giving them the benefit of the doubt since it was a soft opening, but again we were disappointed. We got the malatang and a shrimp fried rice. The fried rice wasn't special but it was better than the malatang. Our malatang this time around was very sour, no tang, and something was just missing. The fire went out after a couple minutes, asked the server for some more fire, and it went out again after a few minutes. Our thick noodles weren't cooked through so we left most of it untouched and most of our broth as well. When we were checking out, I brought it up to the manager and she proceeded to say "we've been getting that complaint all day." Then we were sent on our way. If that's the case, something should've been done. Customer service was horrible, again. Luckily we had a 50% off for the fried rice so I guess that was a positive for our visit today.

I've had a lot of malatang and mala xiang guo, and heard a lot of good things about Sorimmara, but not sure what that hype is. We will probably come back one more time. I always like to give a place 3 chances to do it right before...

This was my third time. First 2 times it was delicious, level 3 spice. It wasn’t too spicy but spicy enough. Today my daughter did the same level, but it was much more spicy that her lips were swollen and couldn’t eat after a couple of attempts. The owner was nice enough to try to dilute at my request. It was also missing cilantro which they usually toss on top fresh. We figured there was some mistakes going on in the kitchen and maybe they gave my daughter the level 4 which I asked for and I got her level 3. Mistakes happen whatever. Owner asked if it was better. Told him no problem, we will just take it home and make it work by diluting at home. He insisted he will try again. I didn’t want to over cook it again and again but he was being nice so we said ok. We ended up taking it home after two tries and thankful that owner tried. But my problem was not the inconsistency in the spice level from the first two visits. There was an employee walking back and forth giving my daughter the dirtiest looks behind her. It looked like she thought we were being difficult customers keep sending it back to the kitchen when it was the male owner who suggested it even if we said don’t worry about it, we will just fix it at home. I thought I was maybe reading her face wrong but I caught her giving us the same look 3-4 times! I followed her eyes and when our eyes finally met, she quickly gave me a big fake smile and quickly turned away. So uncomfortable and scary lol. I understand difficult customers sometimes exist but don’t be doing that to your employer’s business. It’s unprofessional and just scary. He’s so nice we would come back but you are stopping us...

This was my FIRST TIME trying malatang, and I absolutely fell in LOVE! Mala pricing was super fair at about $14.99/lb. My bowl wound up being a little over $25, so don't be overzealous with what you want! They had a great range of meats and veggies. There were some chair/table and booths in the back. Parking was convenient and easy, free parking lot in front of the restaurant.The people working were really nice, especially when I told them it was my first time. This place has a lot of options like different types of mala and other food combos. It was a great introduction experience. The food came piping hot and within 15-20 minutes? There was some waiting time but I think that's fair considering that they are essentially making your food into a hotpot. I chose the second level of spice, and they don't joke around with their spice level. I could definitely feel the numbing spice feeling. Also, I was able to get my soup to go because I could not finish.

I'd love to come back and try a different...