Mala Hotpot



Cuisine

Asian, Chinese



Meal Periods

Dinner, Lunch



Dining Format

Buffet



Phone

(513) 407-3039



Address

3177 Glendale Milford Road
Evendale, OH 45241



Website

mala-hotpot.com



Cuisine

Asian, Chinese



Meal Periods

Dinner, Lunch



Dining Format

Buffet



Phone

(513) 407-3039



Address

3177 Glendale Milford Road
Evendale, OH 45241



Website

mala-hotpot.com

EXPERIENCE

A little pot of soup has pride of place at Mala Hotpot in Evendale. Each place setting has its own burner, and the meal combines a chosen broth and portioned protein with an unlimited vegetable and add-in selection. Dim sum and ice cream accompany the hot pot. The variety comes partly from the counter and partly from what you make in your own bowl.

Tan booths, cream-colored paneling and dark wood trim give the Cincinnati dining room a traditional restaurant feel. Chandeliers and smaller hanging lights sit above tables built for cooking; a large mirror along the wall opens up the room. It’s a distinctive setting for a meal that keeps everyone pleasantly occupied at the table.

Individual pots let miso and spicy mala sit side by side, with no shared broth to settle on. That’s the sociable charm here: everyone eats together, while each pot takes its own course. Mala is especially appealing for a table that enjoys hot pot with dim sum alongside, and a booth in which to make an evening of it.

FOOD

Mala’s soup bases are spicy mala, miso, beef tomato and chicken mushroom. The namesake mala brings the spicy, numbing direction; miso and chicken mushroom offer alternatives when that is not the flavor you want running through the meal. Each diner chooses a base for an individual tabletop pot.

The combination menu lists beef belly, flank steak, chicken breast and lamb leg slices, as well as a seafood combination of shrimp, scallop and basa. Flank steak and chicken breast also come in mala versions. Protein is portioned with the combination; it is the vegetable and add-in selection that supplies the unlimited part of this meal.

Fish balls and lobster balls join the vegetable spread, so the counter ranges beyond leafy greens. Those seafood-based add-ins also mean that the vegetable side of the offering should not be understood as an entirely vegetarian selection. The meal’s appeal lies in combining these smaller ingredients with the broth and protein you have chosen.

The wider ingredient menu includes bok choy, lotus root, mushrooms and daikon. A bean-curd combination brings together bean curd, fried tofu and soybean sheets. These are menu choices to ask about when choosing a combination; the unlimited counter has its own selection, rather than a promise of every individually listed ingredient.

Sesame, sweet-and-sour peanut and spicy mala sauces give the cooked ingredients another layer of flavor. Ramen, udon, rice noodles and rice cakes appear among the combination menu’s starch choices. Between the broth, a sauce and the starch you choose, there is more to the pot than the meat alone.

Dim sum brings prepared small dishes alongside the ingredients cooked at the table. Its selection belongs to the day’s offering, with ice cream included for dessert. Hot pot and dim sum make an enjoyable pairing here: a simmering meal at your place setting, with another part of the Chinese kitchen close at hand.

FOOD HIGHLIGHTS

♛ Mala Broth — the spicy, numbing namesake among four soup bases.

♛ Beef Belly Combination — a portioned protein choice for the tabletop pot.

♛ Flank Steak Combination — available plain or in a mala version.

♛ Vegetables and Hot-Pot Add-Ins — the unlimited component of the combination meal.

♛ Bean-Curd Combination — tofu and soybean sheets broaden the protein selection.

♛ Dim Sum — prepared small dishes alongside the cook-at-table meal.

♛ Ice Cream — a simple dessert after the hot pot.

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