Mala Tang

Established in 2011. The dining experience at Mala Tang begins with authentic Sichuan appetizers known as xiao chi (little eats). Chengdu favorites such as Dan Dan Noodles, Mapo Tofu and Zhong Dumplings will be served to guests in a street market-inspired dining room modeled after Chengdus renowned Jinli Street. These xiao chi dishes are traditionally made to order by street vendors at marketplaces throughout the Sichuan region. Mala Tang will also offer these little eats in a fast casual setting, at a street food counter, bar, or communal table. For the main hot pot course, diners can choose from a variety of proteins including chicken, lamb, all-natural beef, and fresh seafood; starches such as sweet potato noodles, and a variety of vegetables, then cooking them in a boiling pot of Sichuan pepper-infused broth. Those who are afraid of the chili heat, as the Chengdu locals jokingly warn incoming travelers, can tone down the mala flavor with a mild version of the cooking broth. If you wander around Chengdu, youll find the streets filled with diners sitting at tables gathering around bubbling hot pots, in which dozens of dried chilies bob up and down in an oily red broth. Meals notoriously last hours as locals chat, sip beer, and dip morsels of food into a simmering liquid of hot and spicy broth. One of the most popular dishes in Sichuan, this delicacy is eaten by rich and poor alike, whether in a fancy restaurant, or on construction sites where workers hunker down to eat it, paying a small sum for a skewer of food to plunge into the spicy broth. The hot pot itself is a saucepan that sits on a portable burner, surrounded by an array of small plates piled high with fresh ingredients. Guests select pieces of food and drop them into the soup to cook, and then dip them into a delicious mixture of seasoned sesame oil and chopped garlic. While hot pot can be found throughout China, Sichuan is famous for its ma la hot pot.