Zhangliang Malatang

A build-your-own hotpot place that charges by the lb. This is a great alternative to the many all-you-can-eat hotpot restaurants that dominate the city. There's a decent variety of vegetables, meat, seafood and noodle types at the self-serve area where you load up your bowl. It's comparable to a large hotspot restaurant. After you order, there's also a sauce bar to the side with all your standard sauces and spices. My bowl came to $16 for a reasonable, pretty filling amount. I like the fun, bright ambience and clean atmosphere. The food comes out pretty quick as all they need to do is heat the broth and boil your food. Staff were also really helpful! My friend and I came during the first couple weeks of opening so they throughly explained everything for us (it's all pretty self explanatory though).

Place can be a bit confusing at first, but no worries, someone is standing there asking if you have been there before. If not, they direct you to the bowl and tongs, and from there, you get to go crazy and chose all your fixins. When I went, not everything was labeled yet, so it did steer me away from a lot of the meatball options (I'm not a big fan of things stuffed with cheese, and didn't want to risk grabbing any of those by accident). I do hope that it has changed and everything is now labeled.After grabbing everything, you head over to the cashier and get it weighed. They have a weight minimum requirement here, so just be mindful of that. I did have to grab back and grab more stuff as my bowl was underweight. After weighing, you chose your broth and they take it to the back where they cook it and then deliver to your table.The original broth is definitely a must! It's spicy and creamy and just so delicious. Don't forget to stop by the sauce bar to make some delicious sauces to dip in your meats with.Restaurant itself was nice and clean, but it was beyond hot!!! I was sweating even before eating. I prob won't be back in the middle of summer, but it's a must go during the cooler months.

Unique build your own bowl hot pot bowl at $13.99/pound 1 pound minimum. You choose all of your own ingredients, then weigh it at the cash register, choose your cook style/broth and they will have it out in minutes for you! A good bowl of ramen costs you roughly $14-16 these days, and I love this option. The original mala broth was so savory and delicious. It is pretty spicy, but to me the spice didn't hit until I got to the bottom of the bowl, but for reference I eat very spicy , ie all 10 hot sauces on the Hot Ones challenge spicy..The ingredients were clean, fresh, washed well and lots to choose from! For those that are vegan or vegetarian, there are plenty of ingredients to choose from, but I am not 100% sure if any of the broths are veg, but I shall confirm my next visit.It was so yummy, and I can't wait to go back next time and maybe try the tomato broth they were sold out of!

I love that Philly has a new build-your-own food place and found the concept behind this restaurant really interesting. You are able to make your own soup or dry hot pot dish based on set ingredients, choose your flavor base, and pay by the pound. I went for an early dinner one day and the first impression was the the space was very modern. The staff there were helpful at explaining how to build your bowl and showed us around.In terms of the ingredient buffet spread, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of options offered! There were many noodles, vegetables, meats, seafood, and typically hot pot ingredients. I was not the biggest fan of the fact that you pick up one tong that you use to grab all the ingredients you want. I was especially worried about cross-contamination and touching other ingredients after grabbing raw protein. Additionally, some ingredients seemed more fresh while others appeared like they have been sitting at the bar for some time.When it came time to pay for our bowl, I was honestly surprised by how expensive it was. I paid almost $20 for my bowl, which did not seem like a good price for the amount of food I selected. However, I did really like both the original mala and tomyum soup bases they had (I tasted some of my friends). I personally ordered the mushroom base, which was good but definitely overshadowed by the other bases. Overall, I would say that Zhangliang Malatang is a decent place but may not be worth it for the price you pay.

Was able to stop in for their grand opening to try the self serve build your own hot pot. Dozens of fresh ingredients to choose from with many types of noodles, large variety of vegetables, fish balls, meat slices, and other assorted items. Build your own hot pot all you do is pick the broth base at the end: original mala (spicy), mushroom, or tomato. Start by picking up a bowl and tongs, fill with everything you want at the self serve area, and then go to the counter to choose your broth base. You pay and get a number, then sit down and wait for it to cook up until they call you. Price is $13.99/lb for everything, and they also have some drinks to buy as well. There is a separate area to build your own spices cup with chilis and oils. Overall it is very good concept and everything fresh and tasty! Glad the chain opened a spot in Philly. Thanks

staff was nice and helpful. interior was clean. the seating area was a bit crowded.overall food was pretty tasty, but not the best mala ban in philly area.

New hotpot spot. Build your own bowl and $14 per lb, minimum 1lb. They have a good 20% deal rn because grand opening.Reasonably large space to hangout -- outlets at some of the tables too.Some of the items IMO weren't the best but I can't read Chinese so idk what I was getting. The bowls are large so actually a lot of broth and actually mala fuego - numbing spice.Next time I'd just get meat and not seafood or RNG balls

As a spice lover, I was excited to find out a new malatang restaurant opened in Chinatown. There aren't many malatang places in Philly so it's nice to have one that specializes in it. The unique factor about this place is that you're able to grab exactly what you would like from a wide selection of fresh vegetables, noodles, fish balls, proteins, and more to your malatang. This also allows you to try a new ingredient if you're unsure about it. The staff was very friendly and welcoming which made the experience more enjoyable. There are only a few tables but the space was very clean and well-lit. If you spend a certain amount, you can also get free drinks with your meal. I went for the original mala soup flavor and waited about 10 minutes for my food to get cooked. The soup itself could've had more depth and spice, but fortunately there is a sauce bar that helped me adjust the flavor and spice to my liking. Everything looked and tasted fresh, so I hope this quality can be maintained. I would love to try the dry pot here next time!

Stumbled upon here while at the Philadelphia convention center - super delicious malatang place. There are lots of ingredients to choose from- some labeled but most aren't. The fish balls should be labeled since there's so many types. There are four broth types: original (mala), mushroom, tomato, and Tom yum. The mala was spicy but not unbearable. I'm glad they have a sauce bar since I like it really spicy. It's already very popular, so weekend dinner will likely have a wait. The Tom yum flavor was really fragrant too and also had some spice.

All the ingredients are so fresh and healthy! I love the idea of picking your own stuff and they can make it for you!There are so many flavors to choose from and they are amazing! Love their service too! The guys are so friendly and helpful! Definitely will come back next time!