Malatang tomato soup base bowl ($14.30)!
Chinatown malatang DIY bowl in tomato soup base — wide noodles, beancurd skin, tofu puffs, broccoli, bok choy, scallions. $14.30.
Lunch today: malatang tomato soup base at $14.30, Chinatown. The non-spicy mala alternative. 😋
What was in the bowl ($14.30):
- Tomato-red broth (santan-sweet-tangy).
- Wide flat noodles + beancurd skin sheets.
- Fried tofu puffs (tau pok).
- Broccoli florets + bok choy.
- Chopped scallions on top.
Malatang is the DIY hotpot-in-a-bowl: you pick your own ingredients from the chiller (noodles, veg, beancurd, meats, balls), the staff weigh them at the counter to price it, then cook everything in your chosen broth. The default is the numbing-spicy mala broth, but most stalls offer alternatives, and the tomato base is the go-to for non-spicy days, a sweet-tangy, slightly creamy soup that’s friendly to everyone at the table.
My picks soaked it up well: the wide flat noodles drink in the broth, the beancurd skin sheets and fried tofu puffs (tau pok) act like sponges holding pockets of soup, and the broccoli and bok choy keep it from feeling heavy. A scatter of scallions on top finishes it. It’s a customise-your-own comfort bowl, exactly as light or as loaded as you want to make it.
Overall: 4.3 / 5. The tomato broth had a proper sweet-savoury balance, the wide noodles soaked it up, and the tau pok and beancurd skin held the flavour. A reliable malatang fix. 😋👍🏼
