Mala Project
| Cuisine | Chinese |
|---|---|
| Price | $$$ (31-50) |
| Rating | 8/10 |
| Last Visit | April 22, 2025 |
| Location | New York: East Village |
General Notes
The food at this restaurant tastes absolutely incredible. Their specialty is their Dry Pot (麻辣香锅). You get to choose from a wide range of ingredients, which are stir-fried together with your typical flavors, like soy sauce, garlic, and chili oil. Out of all the restaurants in New York, this is probably the one I've been to the most (maybe outside of Spot Dessert Bar), and I could come here all the time and not get sick of the food. For the most cost-effective meal, I'd recommend creating several pots, each with around 5-6 items or so. It doesn't scale particularly well if you order a pot with a ton of different items. I'd absolutely recommend giving this place a try!
Positives
> Incredible food. Very well-spiced and super flavorful. Individual items are also very well-cooked.
> Food also came out relatively quickly, which makes sense (most of the items are probably pre-prepared to a certain extent, with just the stir fry aspect remaining)
> The "spicy" level is perfect for me, a good level of spiciness without being bland or going overboard. The "mild" level might be better if your spice tolerance is not that high.
> Dmitri and Crystal are awesome!
Dishes Tasted
- ★★★★ Mala Pot (麻辣香锅) -- I've tried the sliced eye of round (肥牛), beef tendon, pork belly, sliced lamb, frog, quail eggs, lotus root, Chinese cabbage, Chinese broccoli, and rice cake. It was absolutely amazing. Each individual item was cooked to perfection - the meats were tender, the quail eggs were a happy medium between soft and hard boiled, and the vegetables were crisp but not raw. The dish was also so intensely flavorful, the spice mix is excellent. "Spicy" is definitely the way to go.
Dry Pot (麻辣香锅)
