Image credit: Mala Town
Mala Town, a new hot pot venue, is gracing the inner-southern suburbs, serving up malatang, stir fry and dry pot. It’s got all the hearty goodness we’ve come to expect from hot pot, and of course, a whole lot of spice.
The venue opened its doors within the Unley Metro shopping precinct in Hyde Park on 16 May, to a flurry of guests. As you can imagine, hot pot in the suburbs has been a hit.
There are a few other standout features too. Unlike many similar venues, there’s no minimum weight, and hence, no minimum spend. After a light lunch or just keen for a small serve? This is the place to try it. As you take a seat, you’ll also be served free sides including prawn crackers, rice, condiments, and even fresh fruit to finish.
Owner Ryan also runs Dumpling King, which has multiple locations from the CBD, to Greenacres, down to Oaklands. He said he opened Mala Town to bring something different to Adelaide’s growing hot pot scene.
“We wanted to hop on the trend and get people excited.”
You can choose from three soup bases, including laksa, as well as stir-fried or dry pot options. Pricing is set at $4.50 per 100g for soup or dry pot, and $4.20 per 100g for stir fry. The spice levels range from mild through to medium and super spicy, which Ryan describes as “extra, extra, extra spicy.” Give it a go if you’re game!
“The most popular dishes so far have been the red soup and the laksa,” Ryan said.
The self-serve model lets you build your own bowl from a wide selection of meats, seafood, vegetables and noodles. Once your bowl is weighed and cooked, you can finish off your meal with a brown sugar sticky rice cake or salted egg taro balls.
While hot pot is the main attraction, Mala Town also serves cooked dishes such as xiao long bao, fried dumplings and fried rice. For something even more indulgent, premium ingredients like abalone are available.
Ryan describes the restaurant as fresh and welcoming, with a lot of warm tones. It has a clean, open interior, designed to cater to all types of diners.
“The red and yellow theme relates to Chinese colours, and ‘mala’ means spicy hot food in Chinese,” Ryan said.
The logo uses Chinese characters to simply spell ‘hot pot’, while Mala Town is an allusion of the popular Chinese dish malatang.
Mala Town is open now on Unley Road and is already proving popular for winter catchups with friends and family. If you’re keen for hot pot in the suburbs, look no further.
Mala Town
Where: 254-266 Unley Road, Hyde Park
When: Seven days, 11am – 9pm
For more information, click here.
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