I looooove spicy food; so when I heard that there was some good malatang in town – a type of street style spicy hotpot in Szechuan, China – I knew I had to try it!

Fellow spicy food lover Jeff Li is the co-founder of Sichu Malatang, a Chinese Szechuan Restaurant specializing in malatang. They opened their first branch in Double Dragon Plaza, Pasay in August 2019. When the pandemic happened, however, things turned into quite a challenge for them as they didn’t have a social media presence and had no idea how to tap the online market at a time when the Internet was keeping people afloat.

Fortunately, they had friends who helped them create a social media presence and guided them in running their pages. Once they had that sorted out, their next plan was to bring the whole hotpot experience to their customers’ homes. That’s how they came up with the Sichu Malatang Home Kits!

Their home kits are super easy to prepare and as long as you follow the instructions to a tee, you will end up with an incredibly good hot pot for the entire family to enjoy. My entire family was floored when the food arrived. We didn’t know where to start because we were so excited to try everything. In the end, we did, and we were not disappointed!

When you tell Sichu you want your malatang spicy, they make sure it is spicy! These guys really know what they’re doing. Jeff shares that he fell in love with Asian cuisine during culinary school. When he traveled to China after that, his go-to food became malatang. “The spice was addicting and it became my ultimate spicy comfort food,” he shares. “That’s where the thought of making it here and sharing the flavor started.”One taste and you’ll really feel like you were transported out of the country. Most of Sichu Malatang’s ingredients and spices are sourced internationally to make their dishes as authentic as possible.

Their hot pot isn’t the only thing worth trying, either. Their Mala Xiangguo (dry pot) is equally mind-blowing and just as spicy if you want it to be.

Their top tip? Use a serving spoon to slow down food spoilage and EAT FROM THE POT. For the dry pot, heat it up in the microwave and eat it right away with their rice and dipping sauce.

Even their rice isn’t your ordinary rice. I don’t know what it is… I’m not even a “rice person”, but I. Could. Not. Stop. Eating. This. Rice. My mom actually laughed at me because I didn’t share it with anyone. It has the perfect texture and is even good to eat without anything else. Ulam? Ano yun?

If you want even more extra oomph (as if everything else wasn’t enough already), order some of their skewers and their enoki rolls, as well. (I am also guilty of devouring all of the enoki rolls… let’s just say Sichu Malatang offers the kind of food that I really, really LOVE.)

Sichu Malatang definitely isn’t your usual hotpot. They bring authentic Szechuan Malatang flavors to your tastebuds – an explosion of flavor making you crave for more! Try them out today!

Sichu Malatang

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sichu.Malatang

Instagram: @sichu.malatang

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