Zhangliang Malatang - Irvine

Im in love. 10/10. I've been to a few malatang places, but this one is my favorite so far! Pick all your items and pay by weight. They had a lot of fun sausages I haven't seen at other places. I got the Bone Broth in the spiciest lvl, it was a very tolerable spicy and soo flavorful. Good soup, complementary sauce bar- which not all of these places have, side dishes available and good price! It was so busy when I came at 8 there were no more tables. Lively atmosphere, very nice casual dinner to have with friends. Excited to come back!

I'm was craving for a Malatang restaurant and found this place on yelp. Parking was not an issue for a Friday night but for a first timer at this restaurant, it was confusing on how to begin our dinner experience. There were no signs or any type of instruction on how to order. I walked up to a young worker and asked her how to begin ordering. She gave me very confusing instructions but I ended up figuring out that I had to grab a bowl first and fill it up with ingredients ($14.99 per lb of food, btw).There are two shelved refrigerators with sliding doors that contain all the cold food items to place into your big salad bowl. While I was using tongs to grab a meat product, the same girl worker slid her arm in front of mine and reached in to grab a food item. Mind you. There was a small gap opening at this point. I stepped away and waited for her to finish loading up the bowl she had in her hand; presumably for another customer. After I had weighed and paid for my meal, I was assigned to a table where I enjoyed my meal. One of the other workers was very customer-service oriented and was very accommodating when I asked him for a to-go container. Overall, an A-Okay experience. I feel like if they had signs for first-timers, a larger area for the fridge area and more tables, this place would absolutely kill it.

I love how late this place stays open. Perfect late night snack or post event munchies. I love the idea of DIY and pay for what you eat because you get to pick exactly and how much you get. Plus, they have do many meat and veggie options to choose from, and a sauce bar!spicy dry pot: 5.5/10. It comes with a side of rice but I would have preffered to eat the dry pot as is. I got medium spicy and it was a good amount of spicy but WAY TOO SALTY. The rice is definitely a necessity, not a suggestion/add-on. this base had a minimum weight requirement so it was not as customizable as I wanted it to be.bone beef pot: 6.3/10. very normal. nothing special.

If you love malatang or want a soupy meal, zhangliang malatang won't disappoint! when you enter, there is a section with selection of vegetables, meat slices, fish balls, noodles, literally anything that can enhance your experience! you fill your bowl with your desired ingredients, which you can adjust depending how hungry you're feeling. they weight it to determine the price which is $15.99 per pound. you choose a soup base, they cook it, and bring it out to you. there's also a sauce bar you can diy for extra flavor. they bring it out pretty fast, but it depends how busy it is. i have tried both the pork and tom yum broths, which are both so flavorful. everything is nicely cooked in it to soak up the flavors. the initially soup flavor is savory and a bit spicy depending on the spice level you choose. then, the tangy and sour taste comes after, a unique flavor profile! i highly recommend coming.

It was my first time visiting the place last night. I like that they're open until 2am. Since it's pretty casual and homey especially since it's chilly outside. In anycase, upon entering. There's a heated container on your left to get your bowl and tongs. There's a couple of open fridge on your right that contains all the balls, noodles, veggies, and other ingredients you may like. To be honest, the quality seems to be okay. There's beef and lamb meat, different types of balls, and a number of mushrooms too. Then you go to the counter, pick a broth, dine in or to-go. I picked to dine- in. The staff would assign you a table. He would bring you a cup of water along with chopsticks.Your bowl would come in a few minutes. While waiting you can head on over to the sauce bar. It has a number of choices to mix and match. It even has some candies/ fortune cookie for you to take.I haven't done this so, when I got there I just followed what people were doing. There's a lot of free parking. There are some tables outside.the service was quick. One thing though, rice is an extra order.

Decided to give this place a try again When I got my order and the server placed my bowl. There was a hair strand on the bowl. She grabbed the hair in front of me and just pretended like nothing happened.Didn't even offer to change the whole bowl. Very disgusting

Rating: 5/5Love this place! Always my go-to dinner hot pot spot. The concept is great -- choosing what you want in your soup and paying per pound ($14.99).They have so many food options you can fill your bowl with, but keep in mind that a pound can rack up fast and it can be a lotttt of food. I've only gotten the Classic Bone Broth in mild for my soup flavor and I will never get tired of it. They also have a sauce bar like other hot pot places.It wasn't tooo busy every time I've gone. I was always able to get a table right away considering the place is slightly small. However, dinner is a bit busier than other times! The service is always great too. They bring out the soup pretty fast.

I have been here before and what more can I say. Zhangliang Malatang has everything you want from a Malatang place whether you order in person or to-go. Provided is a wide variety of meats, noodles, and vegetables. Along with this is a selection of multiple types of soups ranging in spice and flavor. Personally I like to choose many meats and I picked the tomato soup which was a delightful choice which packed a punch of flavor.The environment of this store is open and greeting with included sauce bar and water. Service is great as well, Xenia was extremely kind to me during my time here and she was also in control of the music which was overall very fun and chill.This is my go-to place whenever I am sick or feeling down and it always puts a smile on my face.

Great concept. I do not have to pay for an all you can eat Hot Pot. I just pay for it by the lb. I went with the Tom Yum broth while my wife had the bone broth. Both were super good. If you're brave, the Hot option is really good. I love the burn. The seating is very limited. So if you're walking in and it's a line, be prepared to wait for seating, Overall, great comfort food with fast service and self serving. Definitely checking this place out often to try the other options.

Wanted to check this place out and I have a couple of things to point out. Parking: easy, large parking lot with lots of space Service: not the best Selection: an abundance to choose from