Addicted To Spice

Rainy day weather calls for anything spicy (am I right)! It’s a flat $1.98/100gm for the mlxg here and was surprised by their range of ingredients to pick from. They even had my favorite veg that I’ve only seen at Gong Yuan Mala thus far. Pretty good bowl in terms of flavour, though it was really quite oily (and I actually requested for less oil). It’s much less in its numbness as well. Would get this again and specifically request for much, much less oil 😂 They also serve the zi char style dishes!

📍银湖麻辣香锅
GHK 407 Foodhouse
Blk 407 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10

Had Hong Tang Ma La Tang in the past when they were called Zi Ma Guan and really enjoyed it. This time too! They are tucked in the corner just next to Cineleisure’s basement food court, the same stretch that used to be a sushi joint.

We had our ma la at default spice. If you’re a fan of spice like me, it’s definitely more than manageable! The base is the same as their clear bone broth, so you get that extra depth on top of the spice and distinct numbness. Loved that it was so flavourful, not laden with chilli oil and super drinkable! Only thing is that their range of ingredients is not that big. Other broths are xiang la 香辣, suan la 酸辣, tomato, herbs and bone broth. It’s a standard $2.80/100g here, but psst, reserve on Eatigo before heading down to get extra discounts.

Thank you @hongtangmalatang for having us & @carbs.monster for the kind invite! ✨

📍红糖麻辣烫 Hong Tang Ma La Tang
Orchard Cineleisure B1-02

Really enjoyed this bowl of ma la tang. The ma la pork bone broth may look unassumingly bland but was actually surprisingly flavourful! There’s no need to pick your level of spice during order as the customising comes after at their condiments table, where they have a whole range you can choose from (& unlimited). Since it was our first time there, we went with their recommended signature mix of sesame sauce, chilli oil and pepper oil. The broth was nicely drinkable and we liked how the sesame sauce didn’t overpower, unlike some others we’ve had. If it’s not spicy or numbing enough, you can always go back to add more 😂 Got to say though, that we slurped on the soup quite a lot and did get a little thirsty at the end.

Apart from ma la, they have the popular tomato and mushroom broths too. It was a little tricky to order as you don’t get to pick the ingredients on your own. So make sure to let the staff know if you want less or more of something to your preference!

📍张亮麻辣烫 Zhang Liang Ma La Tang
China Square Central #01-36/37
3 Pickering Street
Singapore 048660

This bowl was HUGE. Fish was the typical dory fillet, but no complaints as they came in tender huge chunks that soaked up all that flavour. Beneath all these was a mini mountain of beansprouts, enoki mushrooms, beancurd skin and vegetables. Was a little oily but expected, it was flavourful, a little numbing and had a good heat. It’s great for sharing!

The green bean noodles were nicely chewy, and soaked up all the spicy chili oil sauce that had a nice tangy kick to it. It was strongly seasoned, very appetising and I really liked the contrasting crunch from the cucumbers and black fungus. If you want something less spicy, they also have the 东北拉皮 ($8), which uses the same green bean noodles.

This was quite salty (good if you’re having it with rice), but the clams were plump and meaty! It came in a good portion too, with just 2-3 clams empty.

Family has been coming back here for a long time. It’s not the most affordable bowl of noodles, but you get a good variety of ingredients like tau pok, chicken, fishcakes and potato chunks. While the chicken slices could be more tender, the highlight for us is their light and flavourful broth. It’s not oily, so it’s very drinkable and good to have soaked up with the strips of tau pok. For a stronger kick of heat, add their chilli!

Tried another new spot for vegetarian mlxg that’s tucked in Upper Serangoon Shopping Centre! It was quite affordable - this big bowl was around $11. They had lots of ingredients to choose from and all were fresh. There’s 5 levels of spice and we went for the 3rd of medium spice. It was less salty and not as spicy than the usuals, so I’d definitely recommend to go higher if you’re usually a 中 or 大辣 person! The fragrance and numbing spice was present, but it wasn’t as thoroughly fried as it could have, especially for the sweet potato noodles. It was still a pretty tasty bowl, but my absolute favourite is still Green on Earth!

Other than mlxg, Nature Vegetarian Delights has a huge extensive menu with lots of dishes - even ramen and a steamboat buffet. Will definitely be back to try the other items.

Came telling myself to try a new soup base but still ended up with mala ops 😂 The outlet here is small, so it might be a little difficult to get seats especially during meal times. The variety was fresh but service could be a tad more attentive. Suntec’s outlet is still our preferred one thus far.

📍Gong Yuan Ma La Tang
Changi City Point
5 Changi Business Park Central 1
#B1-51/52 Singapore 486038

Came by to satisfy our cravings for tom yum and it was pretty good! Apart from the usual flat rice noodles, they added mushrooms, fish, prawns and chicken chunks - quite a good amount for the price tag. Would have liked the smoother type of rice noodles as this didn’t seem to soak up the broth as well, but the broth was flavourful. It’s not that spicy, so add on the chilli padi to your liking!

Feels a little pricey but was pretty good! We picked sweet potato noodles, glass noodles, lotus, Chinese lettuce stem and seaweed. It’s just one default level of spice and it came with good heat with an appetising touch of sourness. Would have liked it less oily so that we can enjoy more of its broth, but ingredients were fresh and soaked up the flavours quite nicely.

Tried another vegetarian ma la xiang guo recently! While it could be more fragrant with a stronger kick of heat, it was still a pretty nice bowl. Ingredients were fresh with a good variety of vegetarian ingredients like mock fishballs and prawns, apart from the usual vegetables and noodles. Though my all time fav is still Green on Earth’s mlxg, Shu’s is slightly more affordable. Also loved the very friendly and welcoming service here. Would be back to try their other dishes - I’m eyeing for the kway chap that’s only available on weekends!