Casual Malatang Spot
YGF Malatang is a specialty restaurant where you can choose your desired ingredients to create your own bowl of malatang. Upon entering the store, you’ll notice a variety of neatly arranged vegetables, meats, seafood, and noodles on display, and you can fill your plate with the ingredients you want, with the price calculated by weight, offering a wide range of choices. You can also select the spiciness and type of broth, making it fun to combine according to your preferences. We visited the Chino Hills location right at opening time, and as soon as the doors opened, we could see customers quickly filling up the seats to enjoy malatang, which highlighted the popularity of this place.
On this day, we tried the Beef Bone Broth malatang and the Spicy Dry Mix, which is a broth-less style. First, the Beef Bone Broth had a rich flavor without being heavy, and we chose Mild spiciness, which allowed the unique spice flavor of malatang to shine without being overwhelming, giving it an overall smooth impression. Instead of a numbing sensation, the deep flavor of the meat broth took center stage, allowing the natural tastes of the ingredients to stand out, and the vegetables, meat, and noodles blended together comfortably, making it easy to enjoy spoonful after spoonful. The Spicy Dry Mix, being a broth-less malatang dish, showcased a different charm. The spices were directly coated onto the selected ingredients of beef, lamb, bok choy, bean sprouts, enoki mushrooms, and tofu, making the flavor feel more intense, with a clear spiciness and numbing sensation. Even without broth, each ingredient was well infused with flavor, and the more you chewed, the more the taste built up, making it a great complement to alternate with the malatang.
As a side, we added the Large Lamb Tenderloin Skewer and Beef Skewer. The lamb skewer was clean without any gamey smell, and the tender meat combined with just the right amount of spices made it satisfying to eat on its own. The beef skewer brought out the flavor of the meat more with each bite, making it a great menu item to accompany the malatang dishes. Additionally, each skewer menu allowed for spiciness selection, which was a nice touch. For dessert, we chose the Golden Bun and Crispy Milk Roll. The Golden Bun had a crispy exterior and a soft interior, making it easy to enjoy after the meal without feeling heavy, and when paired with the sweet condensed milk sauce that came with it, the nuttiness was enhanced. The Crispy Milk Roll had a non-sweet cream flavor that provided a clean finish, making it perfect for wrapping up the meal and effectively cleansing the palate after the malatang dishes.
YGF Malatang
YGF Malatang offers a variety of options from broth-based malatang to dry styles, skewers, and desserts, making it easy to create a complete meal. Thanks to the stable flavor of the Beef Bone Broth and the distinct personality of the Spicy Dry Mix, it was possible to enjoy a wide range according to personal taste, and if you love malatang, this is definitely a place worth visiting at least once.
