MALA NOODLEs — Restaurant in Providence

I wanted to try this place based on the fact that it’s a build your own bowl place. My husband and I went and I ordered my bowl with level one spice while he ordered with level 2. When getting to the register, I was promoted with “miso or stir fry?” This being my first time here and not super familiar with ramen (only really know it as a soup), I assumed it was some sort of starter for the meal considering you get rice as a side as well. I asked about the stir fry option and the cashier didn’t really clarify it for me. (Another employee knew it was our first time here upon entering when he asked us.) We received our food and the level was spice was challenging for my husband and myself. He can handle spicy food but the level two was really hard for him to get down. My noodles came in stir fry option when I ultimately wanted miso for more of a soup option. This was my mistake and should have clarified or the restaurant should have clearer directions for what kind you want. Prices are a bit high too for ramen ($18 for a bowl with no added meat) I was also surprised to see no egg, seaweed, or naturomaki on the bar for added toppings.

This place has a great concept but beware of spice levels and style of noodles (unless you’re like me 🫠) We might be back to try again, but I’d rather go to a safety net ramen place where I know more of what I’m getting in terms of style of noodles and...

I unfortunately have to give this place its first lower rating. It has many things that could be improved.

The flow of getting your food is confusing. The bar to grab your food was right up against the checkout counter and the flow made no sense. Also the drinks were located after you already paid. So I had no idea what or when to order them. The lady was nice and came out to explain it but, my opinion is if it has to be explained to the customer it’s probably not working.

They offer your pickings to be stir fry or soup. They talk about spicy levels of the broth but I don’t see any descriptions of the flavor to understand what I am opting in for.

The meat choices and veggie choices were quite weird. I’m unsure if this place is going off a Japanese, Chinese, or what cuisine this is. I’ve lived in Japan for 4 years and didn’t see this eclectic choices anywhere.

This food sadly didn’t make up for any of the experience. It’s not inedible it’s just nothing I would write home about. I just tasted spice and nothing else. I also think $18 for one bowl was over the top. I would rather have a set selection of various bowls than this build your own if it meant reduced price and variety of flavors.

I ended up just throwing my food away after about eating 20% of it. I hate wasting food and money. It I don’t think I...

I don't understand the low rating from people. This is a very self explanatory, DIY, malatang/mala xiang guo joint. If anything, this is probably the easiest and most hassle free experience.

To the people who are complaining about it being overpriced, bad service, or confusing. There are signs showing you what to do, you can fill up your bowl to the brim; nothing other than the bowl size is stopping you from making this "overpriced" unless you add in a literal pound of meat. The flavors of the food were great along with the speed of how fast the food was made.

I'd definitely recommend this spot to anyone who likes sichuan or hotpot style of food. Coming back again as a regular.

EDIT: I visited 10/2 and everything has changed. While it was 17.99 flat for a bowl and you could fill it up all the way without additional charge other than the meat for 2.99 each serving; they have changed it to 14.99/LB flat including meat and it has gotten way more expensive compared to how it was before. I'd pay around 25 dollars for my previous bowl as I'd also add 2 servings of protein but today I paid 35 dollars for less food. This model will have me coming way less often now as it's gotten more...