SO OBSESSED WITH MALA DRY POT!
There was once a time where I did not like peppercorns and the numbing sensation it causes... these days I've done a complete 180 and I am an addict. So, I'm so happy that there are restaurants serving these awesome mala pots these days. I'm sad that I live in another borough!
Anyway.
J and I came out to this location (there's another location in the East Village) yesterday around 7 without a reservation and the place was pretty busy already. The host asked us to wait at the bar for about 10 minutes for a table, which is where we ended up staying (our choice; he did have a table for us indeed after 10 minutes, but we were comfortable at the bar)... as the night went on, the line of waiters grew; at one point, there were 5 parties waiting. Next time, I will make a reservation just in case.
They have a Happy Hour from 5-7 where the cocktails are get one, get the second half off. (I believe beers and wines are $5 and $6 respectively.) We unfortunately just missed the time, but tried a cocktail each. The Last Word is a gin based cocktail with maraschino, chartreuse and lemon; it's fragrant and herbaceous. I liked this one a lot. The Blood and Sand is a whiskey based drink with sweet vermouth, maraschino(?) and orange juice. This cocktail was very sweet, but when we let the bartender know, she remade it for us and it was less sweet. I think I would pass on this cocktail next time though as it just seems to be on the sweeter side in general for my tastes.
For an appetizer, we had the Liangfen of Happy Tears which was described in an Insider Video that I saw as mung bean noodles. It is coated in a chili oil sauce and topped with scallion. This was yummy; it reminded me of a Korean dish that I grew up eating called "mook," though the sauce is different. It is a pretty big size, so it's good for sharing.
For our dry pot, we ordered 10 items. It's recommended to order 8-10 between 2 people on the menu. We ordered 3 orders of the sliced eye of round (which is like the thin slices of meat served in hotpot) and one order of the following: beef tripe, roe filled fish ball, bok choy, lotus root, cabbage, enoki mushrooms and snap peas. We had it in the spicy spice level. In general, I would recommend choosing whatever ingredients you like in hotpot and as for quantity, perhaps order on the lower range of items recommended, especially if you plan to have appetizers and to eat the pot with rice. I loved almost every ingredient in the pot; the veggies retain their crunch which is great, but next time I will skip the fish balls (as the flavors don't absorb into them). Also, I wish they would separate the enoki mushrooms a bit before they add it into the pot; they're served in huge chunks and it's kinda annoying to separate them after they're cooked because they stick together.
We ate until we nearly had to unzip our pants button and we still had enough leftovers for both of us to have for lunch the next day (though it does microwave pretty well, so perhaps it's actually a good idea to order on the higher recommended range!). Of note, the container the remaining was in was not tightened fully and the width of the bag does not allow it to lay flat so the oily sauce spilled everywhere... not a pleasant commute home.
White rice is free, purple rice is at a nominal cost. J tried the purple rice; I prefer white rice with the dry pot though.
The spicy level is pretty damn spicy. I eat spicy food really well, but this dish makes my head sweat and my nose run (makes for such a sexy date!) and it numbs the tongue... but it's awesome. I had previously gone to the EV location with A and tried his mildly spicy bowl and it definitely did not have that mala kick that I am obsessed with. I'm debating if I should brave it and try the very spicy the next time I go!
We were super, super full (could not even have a second cocktail! And if you know us, that almost never happens to J and I), so we couldn't order any desserts but perhaps next time (or not, I'd rather eat more of the dry pot!!) read more