MáLà Project — Restaurant in New York

SUMMARY: I was extremely disappointed by Mala Project, despite hearing great reviews from friends. Do NOT come here if you have dietary restrictions or allergies; I would not trust the staff to honor them and keep you safe.

DETAILS: The ambiance was nice, though the seats were somewhat uncomfortable, and the cocktails were Superb; I enjoyed one with gin and lemongrass, and another which combined wine and gin, both delicious.

Our first course was the 1,000 Year Egg, which taste-wise was the highlight of the night. The texture and flavor of all components of this dish were divine; from the glassy-chewiness of the egg, to the soft-saltiness of the eggplant, to the gentle-spiciness of the peppers. It was excellent. The first food contamination issue of the night, unfortunately, arose after we found pieces of popcorn chicken (a completely separate item on the menu) in the bottom of the dish. There is no reason chicken should be ANYWHERE in this dish. It's not listed on the menu and isn't a component of this item. We complained to our server and she comped this item. But this was not the only contamination issue of the night.

Our second course was the Duck Tacos. These were somewhat disappointing. What was listed as "guacamole" on the tacos tasted like just plain avocado -- no lime, salt, or red onion to be tasted as one would expect. The duck was good, but there wasn't much. I wouldn't recommend this dish.

Our third course was two Mala Dry Pots. One was explicitly vegetarian (we instructed our server as such, and she marked it clearly so on our ticket), the other had meat in it. From a taste perspective, I can't  say there was much to write home about here. For the price point I don't understand how this dish is distinguishing itself from standard stir fry fare. They also forgot to add tofu to one of the pots we ordered. But the real issue was with the food contamination, AGAIN. In the VEGETARIAN MARKED BOWL there was MEAT. Multiple pieces of meat. Unacceptable. Our server comped this dish from our bill.

I don't understand how or why any competent kitchen has this much cross-contamination. At this point I am forced to seriously question the cleanliness and safety of the kitchen practices. How is meat constantly winding up in dishes with no meat in them? Is the kitchen reusing dishes WITHOUT WASHING THEM??? In our party, it was a matter of a religious dietary restriction -- but what if it was a serious allergy? What if we had to go to the hospital? This is completely unacceptable from ANY restaurant.

Oh, and this isn't the first time this has happened, either. A member of our party had a similar issue of ordering a vegetarian dish and there being meat in it when he came here months ago.

I cannot in good faith recommend anyone go to this restaurant given what I have...

Let me preface this by saying I never write reviews, and the only reviews that leave my fingertips almost always find themselves driven by disappointment and regret.

I ordered the dry hot pot with three primary ingredients (broccoli, five spice tofu, and squid), coupled with a soy garlic sauce and a side of purple rice.

But even before the food arrived, I was already vaguely uncomfortable, given that the only chairs at this restaurant look like the creaky, cushion-less folding chairs one might see at an outdoor high school graduation ceremony. It was also extremely loud and packed, yet I did not see a single Asian besides myself and my companion whom I had to shout across the tiny table to.

Needless to say, I was extremely underwhelmed by the food. Despite ordering the dry hot pot with three main ingredients, each ranging from $5 to $15 each, I received a measly portion with a puddle of soy sauce at the bottom. Yes, I ordered the soy garlic sauce, but soy sauce and garlic should be taken for granted in any kind of Chinese cooking; why charge an extra $3 for it and serve my food without the sauce even reduced? Do they think Chinese people like drinking soy sauce? Or any people for that matter? Next thing you know, they'll charge $3 for each spice they use too.

And the rice... I'm Chinese and a regular chopstick user, so tell me why this was the hardest rice to eat that I've had in my life? It felt very granular and not fluffy at all, and since it lacked the clumping, sticky properties of properly cooked rice, I had to literally pick it up grain by grain. And purple? It was almost pitch black. If you've seen raw uncooked purple rice, you know it's much darker and lightens in color as you cook it. I did discover some mashed dates in there as a nice surprise, but typically you order rice to cut the savoriness of the main meal, not add an additional sweet flavor profile. My side of rice is not a place for you to get creative, please.

As for the laughably large pile of cilantro garnishing my broccoli, I have no words. Actually, I do: if they were as generous with my actual food instead of the cilantro, maybe you wouldn't be reading this review right now.

It goes without saying (at least I hope) that Chinese food does not entail drowning your food in soy sauce and slapping cilantro on everything. Like seriously, broccoli doesn't look more elevated with cilantro on top, nor does it taste better that way. I shouldn't have to pay extra for the worst rice of my life either; someone should instead pay me for begrudgingly putting that...

Málà Project is a highly rated spot for neo-Szechuan mala dry pot, aka a must visit for any spice lover. The space gives a funky and hipster vibe with neon light decors.

I highly recommend building your own dry pot for the full experience. I am a sucker for dry mix pot and this one 100% satisfied my craving. They also offer mala dry pot lunch combo for $15-16.

＊Mala Project Dry Pot 麻辣香鍋 $75 * First, don’t be scared by the price—we literally had to split the whole dry pot into 4 servings lol (for small appetite girls). We splurged on the marbled beef ($22) which tasted like premium hot pot cut. The beef tenderloin was a cheaper option ($9) and it was very tender.

Glass noodle is the perfect carb to absorb the flavorful sauce. We picked the spiciest soup base and it was really numbing (but yum). They also have soy ginger sauce and less spicy base available.

＊Eggplant with Roasted Garlic 蒜蓉茄子 $12 * My fav starter! They plopped minced garlic on top and vinegar as the sauce base. It was delicious to mix the eggplant into your dry pot and enjoy altogether.

＊Pig Ear in Chili Oil 紅油豬耳朵 $14 * SPICY ALERT. My friend has a high spice tolerance but the dish had her keep chugging water. We both still thought the pig ears were really good in terms of texture and flavor.

＊Hot & Sour Noodle Soup 酸辣粉 $18 The glass noodle was chewy and soaked up the vinegar-y broth. I liked the spicy and sour flavors, yet the broth was quite oily. It came with beef belly, lobster balls, tofu pockets, and bok choy.

＊Crispy Ube Mochi 紫薯餅 $9 🌟🌟 I don’t care how full you are—YOU NEED TO ORDER THIS DESSERT! It was crispy on the crust, chewy on the inside, served warm, and NOT TOO SWEET.

＊Herbal Jelly 燒仙草 $9 A cold, sweet dessert to cool down your numbing tongue after indulging in so much spicy food. It was on the sweeter side, and I loved the grass jelly...