Is This New Halal Mala Mini Hotpot Worth Your Money? [Food Review]

We tried the premium mala hot pot in their new restaurant in IOI City Mall, Putrajaya.

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As a person who has never tried Mala, I always thought it was non-halal. But the word itself only means ‘spicy and numbing seasoning’. It’s just a seasoning made from Sichuan peppercorn and chilli.

However, Mala Hot Pot is usually served with pork, which is why a lot of Muslims associate the word Mala with pork.

But you can still get lots of halal Mala Hotpot here in Malaysia. In fact, we headed to a newly opened restaurant called Mala Mini Hotpot in IOI City Mall Putrajaya. They serve halal Mala Mini Hot Pot with premium ingredients, perfect for a meal together with friends and family.

Little did she know that she was going to breathe fire after trying out the soup.
(Credit: Melissa Suraya Ismail / TRP)

The Taste Test

There are various sets at this premium outlet, including the Chicken Set (RM58 for 1-2 pax), the Beef Set (RM58 for 1-2 pax), the Seafood Set (RM60.80 for 1-2 pax) and the Combo Set (RM108 for 3-4 pax). Other than that, you can also order from their ala carte menu if you wanna add more variety to your sets.

We were given two types of soup, the Mala and Chicken flavours, steamboat style. On the first slurp, I kinda liked the Mala soup. It’s spicy at first but very addicting. It has this combination of fiery but salty taste.

However, the broth is super oily and it’s the oil that sticks to the back of our throat and makes us cough. It’s that spicy. We then ditched the Mala soup completely and went for the sweet and savoury chicken broth.

In the Beef Set that we tried, their main highlight is the Mala Mini Signature Crystal Beef. Now we know why it’s their signature, it’s magical! It’s thin, juicy and melts in your mouth. Especially when you have it hot.

It was RM10 for a plate of this mouth-watering beef.
(Credit: Melissa Suraya Ismail / TRP)

The other ingredients are your normal steamboat/hot pot items like fishcakes, meatballs, fried beancurd, veggies and more.

The Verdict

If you love spicy food, then I think you can totally finish the Mala broth. But if you can’t stand the mouth-numbing feeling, there’s also chicken and tomato broth.

For beef lovers, we totally recommend you get the Signature Crystal Beef. It’s no Wagyu, but it sure melts in your mouth! But if you really wanna taste the A5 Wagyu beef, they have it too in their ala carte menu, just so you know.

If you love things like steamboats and hot pots, then we recommend you try Mala Mini Hot Pot just for a different variety from your regular meals. It’s worth it.

Which one you should try?

Mala Mini Hot Pot already has a few outlets in the Klang Valley. Some of them are premium outlets and some of them are express outlets.

If you wanna try the full premium experience with your friends or family, head on to IOI City Mall Putrajaya and Mid Valley Megamall.

If you only want to dine alone or want the to-go sets, head on to their express outlets in foodcourts such as Aeon Mall Shah Alam, 1 Utama Shopping Center, Pavilion KL, and Alamanda Shopping Mall.

The express concept is sort of like Lokcing or Yong Tau Foo, basically.
(Credit: Mala Mini Hotpot)

There, they have three kinds of bases, the Mala Tang, the Walking Mala Cup and the Mini Hot Pot. The fun part about the express outlet is you can choose which ingredients you want based on the colours of the skewers.