Specialty (named dish): Mala tang 麻辣汤
Location/Area (address or cross-street): Anhua Road and Dingxi Road
Fixed or Moving: Fixed
Time of Day: 4pm-2am

Comments:
Despite its seemingly unsanitary environment, this hole-in-the-wall is praised by myself and others about its delicious malatang and friendly service. There is indoor and outdoor seating, however the inside of the restaurant can get suffocating at times from the fumes of the skewers. The malatang’s broth is what sets it apart from others–it tastes homemade, with little to no MSG (the woman claims that she adds none to her broth). Flavors become increasingly complex as more vegetables and proteins are added into the broth and cooked together throughout the day. This method of cooking may seem a bit questionable in terms of cleanliness since the broth is only changed once throughout the day; but regardless, it seems to add a punch of flavor that can’t be achieved at other malatang restaurants.

Review: I have been to this resrautant four to five times in total this semester mostly for their barbeque skewers. The skewers taste better than many other food stands and are cheaper. The Ma La Tang is not so good as the ones in malls and restaurants. It has a few tables and chairs outside after 9pm and it is very popular at night.

Review: The sanitation is very low as they use the same brush to put oil to put on the meat and vegetables, and they wipe the baskets containing a client’s ingredients with a dirty towel. However, the balance they create in their seasoning is incomparable as they use cumin, salt, and sichuan chili oil. I strongly recommend the red chicken skewer that uses tenderizer to give it a unique taste. I also enjoy how they use slice their baos open to make seasoned toast.