Wan Jia Ma La Tang – Awesome Mala Hotpot Soup in Chinatown

I recently chanced upon Wan Jia Ma La Tang (万佳麻辣烫), a hidden gem in Chinatown. This cozy joint serves delicious “Mala Soup”, a popular Szechuan dish.

What is “Mala Soup”?

Mala Soup (also known as Mala Tang) is a Szechuan dish that consists of a variety of meat and vegetables served in a spicy soup. “Ma La” is literally translated as “numbingly spicy”, which is an apt description for the feisty dish.

The dish is actually quite similar to the more well-known Mala Hotpot (麻辣香锅) – both broths have the same spicy flavour, but mala soup is not as thick and oily as mala hotpot broth, which means you can actually drink it.

Friendly Staff and Good Hygiene

The staff at this cozy joint were quite polite, and my order arrived pretty fast considering that I went during peak lunch hour.

I was also impressed by the eatery’s high hygiene standards – all of the bowls were neatly kept in a sterilisation cabinet.

Decent Variety of Ingredients at a Reasonable Price!

Wan Jia Ma La Tang offers a decent variety of ingredients for your mala soup. These range from meat to mushrooms to fishballs to vegetables and much more. The ingredients were neatly lined up for our selection.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that all the ingredients cost $1.96 per 100 grams, regardless of the type of ingredient. If you are a meat-lover (like me), this is definitely to your advantage.

After weighing, the price came up to just $11.50, which was quite reasonable considering the large amount of ingredients I took.

Awesome Mala Soup!

I decided to play it safe and go with the lowest level of spiciness (小辣). If you are feeling adventurous, you can try the maximum spiciness (大辣).

I waited in anticipation for my mala soup to be ready. Soon, the staff called out my order number and I quickly collected my bowl of mala goodness.

I could immediately smell the fragrance of the dish as I put it on the table. I quickly scooped a spoonful of the feisty soup into my gaping mouth.

It tasted awesome!

The mala soup had a nose-searing fragrance distinctive of Szechuan cuisine flair, with a texture that was neither runny nor overly thick.

All of the ingredients tasted very fresh and delicious too. I was initially worried that the fishballs or meatballs might taste stale, but my worries were allayed after I started eating.

I enjoyed the thinly-sliced meat as well, which tasted succulent and savoury. All in all, the mala soup base and fresh ingredients combined to form a harmony of spicy and savoury flavours which I loved.

Conclusion

This was such a satisfying meal! I simply loved the spicy mala soup and delicious ingredients. The downside was that it was quite warm when I ate here during lunchtime. Therefore, you may want to visit in the evening, or wear cooling clothing. However, the delicious dish made eating in the hot weather worthwhile. I will definitely be making my way back to Wan Jia Ma La Tang soon.

Wan Jia Ma La Tang (万佳麻辣烫)
Address: People’s Park Complex #01-66, 1 Park Road Singapore 059108
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 9pm