Mala Town 自选麻辣烫 — Restaurant in Jersey City

I tried mala tang for the first time at Mala Town. I came back to satisfy my hot pot cravings, and it hit the spot again!

With mala tang spots popping up everywhere, Mala Town still tops my list. It’s only $14.99 per pound. I like the premium ingredients and their super clean self-serve setup. I’ve been to both their Upper West Side and Jersey City locations. The JC one is located at a food hall inside Harborside JC with ample seatings and restrooms.

Lunch special: Get 10% off for two, and 15% off for three. Available Mon to Fri 11:30 AM - 4 PM.

＊Spicy Mixed Dry Pot 醇香麻辣拌 I highly recommend their dry pot. It’s a brothless dish made with satay sauce, bursting with sweet and savory peanut flavor. It’s the perfect summer alternative if you’re craving hotpot but don’t want to sweat through the meal. It was spicier than I expected, even though I chose the mild level!

To cool off the spice, I got their old Beijing yogurt (老北京酸奶). It is creamy, slightly tangy, and not too sweet. So good I could drink it every day.

＊Sukiyaki Soup Base 壽喜燒湯底 If you’re sensitive to heat, their sukiyaki broth is a great option. They also offer other soup bases like beef bone broth, tom yum, and tomato.

The meat quality is top-notch, and they refresh the toppings regularly with new batches. My favorites were the wagyu, garlic beef,...

Came here for a quick lunch. The ordering system is nicely streamlined though can take some time to get on line. Large selection of food and the preparation time can be long since they do cook each bowl individually, which also means the ingredients are fresh.

One of the main con is the price which is uniform across all ingredients. Understanding some items, such as cup noodle, udon (definitely not worth $15 a lb), can be heavy but also necessary if you need to make a tasteful bowl of meal. If you don't pick them, you might end up with a sad, costly bowl of dry, savery, spicy dish with no rice to go along with. (A lot of malatang places give you rice on the side).

Also, they told me there is a deal if you install their app, but their app is only available...

Awful service. The person on the register supposed to represent the place. He was super rude, I asked a question about type of broth which he didn’t bother answering and was acting so annoyed. Don’t work man , take a break but u don’t have to be rude and careless about your customers. After I ordered i overheard he asked a cook something and laughed, which afterwards the soup came out extra spicy, I mean it was not eatable with huge amount of chilly flakes on top what I didn’t ask for. I’m so tolerant to the spicy food but it was NOT eatable. They just did it on purpose. This is how the workers getting rid of customers I guess , I feel bad for the business owner. Will...