YGF Malatang

Manhattan, NY (midtown west) - this weather is perfect for a hot bowl of soup, and YGF malatang is just what I crave. It's like a hot pot, but cooked for you. This is the second location in NYC (the first is in the East Village) and opened in September 2024. Pick up a large bowl and tongs, select the items you want for your soup from a long station of ingredients ($15.99/lb), choose a soup base or the sesame paste sauce, spice level, and they'll buzz you when your order is ready.The Ingredients are good and fresh, with pretty much everything you'd want. My favorite is the classic herbal beef bone broth, extra spicy. The mala chili flavor is on point.There is a separate area where you can order Ling Long soup dumplings and a few other dim sum dishes from a self-serve kiosk - the xiaolongbao is quite good! They are are even available in different flavors like truffle, crab meat, shrimp, chicken, salted egg, iberico ham, and spinach mushroom. It's all very quick and easy, and the space is clean. The staff are nice and cool, and the music is hip. Now if they can just add dry pot and boba tea too, I'd be here all the time!

First time having malatang and it hit the spottttt after a night out. Came upon opening on a Sunday morning and it was empty. CleanGrabbed a clean bowl and tongs, fresh out the dishwasher, and picked out a selection of veggies, mushrooms, and meats. Because it's weight based, meats are more bang for your buck than denser choices, like fishballs. Came out to $15 worth of food which was more than enough for me. There's also an included sauce bar with a wide variety (peanut sauce, green onion, chili oils) and a self-serve water station. Got the bone broth at very spicy. Maybe not the best choice for my first meal of the day, but it's not numbing like I expected, and definitely not as spicy as I'd like. Still yummy tho, and I'd def come back

I love malatang and came here with high expectations. I was also bringing a friend who was having their first malatang experience. Pretty similar to other malatang places, you grab the big bowl and tongs and fill it up with your meat and veggies and carbs. They have a good selection of everything and it all looked fresh. I saw them switching out old portions of ingredients for new portions which was good. They weigh it for you at the front and it's $14.99/lb which is similar to other places I've been to. They have 3 broth selections and a stir fry option too I think? I didn't check since I don't like dry pot. I got the beef broth which has a mild spice option so I got that. The food came out quick and hot. They have a sauce bar too where you customize your dipping sauce. There's a lot of seating inside! I heard it gets really crowded at lunch time but at dinner time, there was plenty of seats to choose from. They also have a dumpling stand inside but we didn't order anything from there. Overall, we were satisfied with our meal and very full and happy. The broth is extremely flavorful and I didn't even feel the need to use a dipping sauce. I'll probably try the chicken and fish maw broth next time.

The ingredients seem fresh and the price is fair. My only complaint is that their ingredients bar could be more extensive. I found the options to be limited compared to other Malatang restaurants I've tried. I went on a Friday at noon and it was decently busy. I had to wait for a table because it was either taken or not yet bussed. Great place for a solo meal as well.

This is a quick casual place if you are craving some Malatang, or Chinese spicy numbing hotpot. After walking in, you get a bowl and can add whatever ingredients you'd like. There's a variety of fresh ingredients to choose from, including vegetables, frozen fish balls, seafood, and various cuts of meats.I tried the beef bone broth, which was super flavorful. You can adjust the spiciness level according to your liking. The service is quick and the inside is clean.

I ordered lunch from YGF Malatang, and it was such a comforting meal. I chose the classic herbal beef bone broth with medium spice, but I found it a bit too mild for my taste--next time, I'll go for the HOT/extra spicy. My bowl was loaded with beef slices, lobster balls, crab sticks, and mushrooms, and it was absolutely delicious. The broth was incredibly rich and flavorful, hands down one of the best soup base I've ever had. Plus, the price was very reasonable, making it even better! It was fulfilling. :)

If you love hot pot, you've gotta check out this DIY spot in the Midtown! You just pick your noodles, pile on the veggies, meats, and seafood, choose your broth, and it's all priced by the pound ($14.99/lb). Super easy, super tasty.Oh, and if you're craving dim sum too? Ling Long has it right there, so you can get the best of both worlds. Hot pot + dim sum = perfect combo! Who's in? Follow @spinx17 for more NYC food recs!

Updating to 2 stars. Got very bad food poisoning afterwards and this was the only thing I ate all day. Beware!

This convenient hotpot place is great if you want to pick your own ingredients, pick your broth and then have it ready within a few minutes. Condiments available to customize when you pick up. It's priced by the pound on ingredients. Conveniently located in midtown and a lot of seating of you want to eat in but also set up for to go. Theres also a separate kiosk if you want soup dumplings.

Absolutely LOVED this place! We were on the hunt for ramen, we happen to walk past this one. We were thrilled to see you had the option to build your own bowl. It was delicious, the dumplings were also amazing! The workers were great, along with the cleanliness!