Tomato soup malatang — wide noodles + pork + broccoli ($14)!
Malatang DIY bowl swapped for tomato soup base — flat noodles, sliced pork, broccoli, beancurd skin, scallions, sesame. $14 at Bugis.
Malatang lunch run — picked the tomato soup base instead of mala this time. $14 self-pick DIY bowl in Bugis. 😋
What ended up in the bowl ($14):
- Wide flat noodles (kuai tiao / pulled-style) as the base, soaking in the tomato-red broth.
- Sliced pork belly curled around the noodles — the proper hotpot-style thin slices.
- Broccoli florets scattered through, soft from the broth.
- Beancurd skin sheets (foo chuk) folded on top — soft + chewy.
- Chopped scallions + chinese parsley scattered over.
- A pile of white sesame seeds on the side for sprinkling.
Tomato base malatang is the underrated alternative to the spicy mala version — same DIY format (pick your noodles + meats + veg from the cooler, cashier weighs it, kitchen blanches in your chosen broth), but the tomato broth swaps numbing-spicy heat for sweet-tangy-savoury depth. Better for days when the throat doesn’t want the chilli oil burn.
The flat wide noodles were the right call — surface area soaks up the tomato broth way better than thin bee hoon or yellow mee. Sliced pork stayed tender in the short blanch, broccoli held its crunch, beancurd skin absorbed the broth flavour.
Sesame on the side is the finishing touch — sprinkle at the table so the seeds stay nutty-crunchy instead of going soggy in the broth.
Total: $14. Premium DIY portion (lots of items added).
Overall: 4.5 / 5. Tomato base was the right pick for the day — sweet-savoury depth, no chilli burn, broccoli + beancurd skin held texture. Will alternate with mala. 😍👍🏼
