im gonna have to say that.... the food could use some flavor and salt! the dan dan noodles had good texture but the flavor is lacking.. the wontons could use some bullion in the filling! The spicy chicken could use some sea salt.. the smoked duck was small and dry compared to other places and lacked flavor.. i am still trying to grasp why the food had no flavor.. spicy yes.. FLAVOR NO. other than that everything else was great. I HOPE MANAGEMENT WILL SEE MY COMMENT AND add more taste THEIR RECIPES. read more

See all

I really enjoy super spicy cuisine: Schezuan, Indian, Thai, all of it! I ordered the Water Boiled Beef to go and it was delicious. Great flavor and decent amount of heat (could be a little hotter though!) Beef is tender and good quality, not the least bit chewy. I asked for authentically spicy, not American spicy. The ticket attached to my order showed "add spicy X2" so if you enjoy authentic Schezuan heat, ask for more. Had I not asked, I would have been disappointed because it had just enough heat and numbing sensation. As another reviewer said, they forgot to pack any type of utensil in my to go order. It worked out fine since I was headed home but had I not, it would have been difficult to eat. Overall, whenever I need my Spicy and Numbing fix, I know where to go! Great dish with spicy X2! read more

Mala Sichuan Bistro - Water Boiling Beef with extra spice - Szechuan Near Me - Katy, Texas

Great food and great service, really love it. Fantastic crispy chicken and spicy beef. read more

Mala Sichuan Bistro - Plum juice! - Szechuan Near Me - Katy, Texas

No one ever pick the phone call. Not sure why. Food is good but please dont let customers call 5 times every time. read more

First time to try out Mala in Katy!! What a great establishment and ambiance on the inside. I walked in and was greeted by an inviting hostess. The decor was really beautiful (Asian theme) and even had a few individual rooms for large groups. Cindy was my server and was attentive, calm and polite. When the food arrived, my senses was ready to dive in! I got the spicy and crispy chicken and it tasted the same as the name...absolutely delicious! The next entree was the Mala tofu with fish filet. Again, it did not disappoint my palate! The portions are family size, so there was quite a lot. I even had leftovers! Come check them out if you are around! ChowChow time! read more

See all

I'm familiar with their Bellaire Location in the Jusgo parking lot! This place was super good ! Friendly service and delicious food. The dumplings are killer! They took longer but they were worth it! My sister enjoyed the "nourishing chicken soup". I'll be back. read more

See all

Been here multiple times and each time the food is delicious! Highly recommend the spicy and Crispy chicken and the eggplant in garlic sauce. This usually feeds enough for 2 people. If you have extra room, I'd also recommend the Mapo tofu, a classic in sichuan food! Tastes great as well. Each dish is very flavorful and eventually gives you that numbing taste the more you eat. I also highly recommend the hot jasmine tea. A good palette cleanser! The service is always great here. The waitresses are very attentive and fast. It can get crowded at times but definitely worth the wait. read more

See all

Came here for lunch, Annie was great, great service. Great food and service. Will come back! read more

As the official crowned Duke (yelp achievement I'm proud of) of the original location in Chinatown I'm excited to tell everyone the new location in Katy is just as good! When I first heard a Katy location was coming I was joyful and could not wait for it to open. It took a very long time to open, so long that I started shaking in the middle of the night and my left eye started twitching rapidly during the day. I would have nightmares about Mala canceling their Katy location and would wake up yelling Malaaaaa!!! The long wait was worth it! The food is just as good, very good, and the ambiance is much better than the Bellaire location. I'm very familiar with the Couples Lungs and Crispy Spicy Chicken of the original location so I tried them here. They are exactly a like in flavors (delicious) but with a new and prettier presentation. Please try the crispy spicy chicken, you will then understand my addiction and maybe start shaking too when you don't have any left. One surprising thing was that the Katy location has exclusive items on the menu not found at any other location! I tried two: Rice Crispy Treat Prawns (forgot the name) and the Plum Spare ribs. The Prawns were the highlight of our dining experience. Slightly spicy and numbing with serious umami flavors from the seasoning. Another must try dish! I recognize most of the staff here as they are from the original location so they are already knowledgeable about the food and recommendations. Service was prompt and friendly. After my long waited meal my eye stopped twitching. Water tasted better, air was cleaner, time moved slower, my heart was floating on a cloud and my smile was like a rocket. I can't wait to go back and try other new exclusive items *Update if you are vegan then try the Mapo Tofu, it's just as good as the original location in Chinatown and is the best Mapo Tofu in the country, I had very good ones all over USA including great ones in Flushing Queens NY this one here is the best* read more

See all

I have been here a few times and the crispy chicken knocked my socks off every time. I even ordered this dish alone to-go whenever the craving strikes. I would say that it's even comparable to Pepper Twins, which is the pinnacle of Chinese food in Houston in my opinion. The other dishes are alright. Highly recommend the chicken cubes if this is your first time. read more

Mala Sichuan Bistro - Spicy and crispy chicken cubes - Szechuan Near Me - Katy, Texas

Good food, good service and nice ambiance! So many delicious choices! I would definitely come back again and again to this location in Katy. read more

The food was wonderful and the service was good, but the seating was absolutely miserable. Heavy, hard, flat wood chairs with no padding. I am willing to try one of their other locations. read more

Both waitresses couldn't speak or understand any English let alone explain why our food came out twenty minutes apart. When the second entree finally arrived, it turns out they had our order wrong too. Instead of spicy crispy chicken, they gave us chicken wings which they chopped in half so there bone fragments everywhere. Their payment device was also in Chinese so you could pay and only hope they charged you correctly. read more

I love there spicy soft tofu/fish and salt peppered spareribs pork. Our nieces n nephews love their food too. Will revisit read more

See all

This place is delicious-- the food is amazing! I ordered the cumin lamb, the dan dan noodles and chow mein. The wait can be longer than usual at times but its a great place to eat. The ambience and setting is very pleasing and the wait staff is very friendly. Not leaving a 5-star review because I ordered takeout one day and the servings were a bit skimpy compared to eating there. Other than that-- definitely going to be a regular go to place for me. read more

Great food and atmosphere. Taste and quality always delivers. Server is also friendly.

We order food , change our minds on 1 order when she was taking orders. Waitress walked away and came back to our table to let us know that the food was being prepared . How can that be when we cancel it when she was at our table. When ask to see the manager she just walked away so we got up left. So rude read more

This is a review combining the food quality and service quality. We had a diner with total 5 families and order 10 dishes. The main objective of the diner was introducing our newcomer friend to one of our favorite resto. We ordered our regular favorite dishes: 2 spicy crispy chicken, 1 garlic eggplant, 1 prawn with rice crackers, 2 water boiled fish, 2 twice cooked pork, and 2 chowmein. Food quality were perfect as usual even though we noticed that the way the split the double order dishes were not really equal. In general, top notch for the food. I would give 5 stars for the food. What comes to the disappointing experience was the services. 1) for those 5 families, they gave us only 1 bucket of rice, same like they normally give for diner for 2 people. 2) it took us forever to get the second bucket and we gave up for the next white rice request. 3) no water refill so some of us didn't have enough drinking water. 4) it took me literally 45 minutes and 5 times roundtripping to the cashier after we finished the meal to get the ticket. 5) after all those mess, and eventually we were abouy to pay, they could not split the ticket more than 2 checks!! 6) i saw a lot of people still waiting outside to enter but they couldn't as the resto was really not efficient. There are a lot of similar restaurants in the same block that would provide better services. At least more efficient. read more

Tried to give them another chance but they mistreated by letting others who came after me get seated first. No reservations. Just because. They really lost any respect I could give them. Wow, the manager tried to explain but lied. Normally, when no one is behind you and there is a table that sits 4 you will let a party of 2 be seated. But they decided that that have plenty of business and can make anyone wait because they can. There was no table for 2 ready in minutes but that didn't matter. The person did not explain and expected we would be like a lamb and wait. Normally I would have BUT you have a table that is not large. 10 person or 6 person you can call large. And I was so willing to give them another chance. Cori is persistent I can say that. Look, you choose to do what you do and with people waiting, you did. Good for you. I get it. But don't try to make it sound like I was the one doing the wrong thing. You had a table with 4 setting on it and to me that is a table for 4. You may say it was for 4 and say there was 5 people but I only saw 4. Also, you can call those 2 sitter tables but you know that for Asian style meals there just isn't enough room, not for more than 2 dishes. But that's OK, maximize profit. Good for you. Now please be considerate and just let it go. Your point person decided it was good for business to do what he did. Perfect. I decided not to wait for a business like yours. My choice and I still thing or maybe not so much now, that your chain makes authentic Chinese dishes. But I will no longer try it at this restaurant. End of story. Good bye. read more

I've been to both Mala locations. There is one on fry rd as well. The food here is pricier but it also tastes better. We really had a enjoyable date night in this restaurant. The ambiance alone is worth the visit! read more

See all

I have gone on food adventures all over Houston, and after all of that, honestly, in my opinion this is the best food in Houston area. Crab soup, dan dan noodles, red oil dumplings, streamed and fried rice were all very delicious. read more

Mala Sichuan Bistro - Dan dan noodles, fried rice, crab meat and asparagus soup, red oil dumplings. - Szechuan Near Me - Katy, Texas

My favorite Sichuan place in the city. Bellaire location is also great because they have baby bok choi, but the peppercorn flavors at this location are OUTSTANDING. The Cumin Lamb is arguably the best dish, comes spicy, flavorful, and with plenty of meat as well as diversity in ingredients. The Spicy Crispy Chicken is delicious and packs a serious punch. Mopu tofu is simply the best I've had in Houston. The Water Boiled Fish isn't really my thing, but all those I was with throughly enjoyed it. Additionally the chili oil dumplings are unreal... my wife was completely obsessed and I also think they're some of the best dumplings I've had. read more

See all

Avid fan of the other two Mala Sichuan locations on Bellaire and Westheimer, but this one seems like a mess. The front reception area is tiny and fits like 4 people, which can be an issue when it gets busy with people waiting for dine in or take out. We came on Mother's Day for a take out order which was a crap experience. Our order was placed 6 hours in advance online and set for 5:50pm pickup. We arrive at 5:55pm and our order seems to be in the system but missing for whatever reason. Seems like they forgot to fulfill our order or handed it over to another takeout party... they really need a process to verify orders before handing food over. Ended up waiting an extra 40 minutes for our food, and by that time the restaurant was busier. To their credit, management was apologetic and tossed in a free container of plum juice. Overall the food was decent but this experience was frustrating to say the least. We will not be returning. read more

Consistently tasty Sichuan food. Spicy Chicken, Crispy Mala Beef, Water Boiled Fish are consistently good and satisfying again and again. One of my go-to restaurants for good Chinese food. read more

Food has no flavor :( waste of money. I had the house special fried rice and was very disappointed the rice also did not look the same as pictures read more

The food was great. I did not expect it to taste that good but it did! I ordered the Crispy Basil Chicken.

The food was great. I enjoyed the Asian decor...nice ambiance. The service was great. Maybe a little pricey considering but Mala is worth a shot. read more

The ambiance and service are wonderful and the food is out of this world. Be prepared ....your tastebuds will jump for joy.

Personally don't live Chinese food but live this place. Great range of authentic Chinese, however the families have their children and it gets a bit noisy for a small place. My parents loved the ambience. read more

This is my first time for their Crabmeat and Asparagus soup. Not many restaurants offer this soup so I was happy to see it on the menu. I wish the asparagus was chopped larger, but the soup was still delicious. read more

This restaurant has been the best of our trip to the Houston area. It was unlike anything we have at home and it was absolutely delicious. We ordered a variety of foods and they were all amazing. The Mapo Tofu was definitely a favorite. If you're considering trying this spot to eat, I would 100% recommend it. read more

We ordered a bunch of stuff at Mala. Everything was good. The eggplant dish we ordered was yummy. It was pretty packed but we got a seat quickly. They serve the crepe cakes with a firecracker which was fun for the kids. read more

Felt very covid safe eating here. They check temperature and distance the table. The food was really good too. We liked everything we got. The sauerkraut fish pot,the sour and spicy wonton, the bacon fried rice, crispy spicy chicken cubes and twice cooked pork were all really delicious! read more

Mala Sichuan Bistro - Top:Sour and spicy wonton, sauerkraut fish, spicy crispy chicken, twice cook pork and bacon fried ricw. - Szechuan Near Me - Katy, Texas

Very disappointed. I ordered Beef Brisket in Golden Sauerkraut Soup today, and found the fully cooked beef in light pink (similar to cherry blossom), which is strange for beef. I have been a loyal customer of this restaurant and never seen this happened before. I am not sure what happened with the meat and tried to contact the restaurant, but they stopped replying after I asked for explanations. I cooked my own beef brisket rolls in the soup I bought from Mala Sichuan, and the color is totally different (normally fully cooked beef should be pale to dark grey). I'm not sure what happened with this dish. Maybe the meat is NOT FRESH or there's any ADD-IN that changed the color. read more

Mala Sichuan Bistro - Pink meat (indoor light) - Szechuan Near Me - Katy, Texas

See all

**I updated my review to 1 Star after the owners aggressive remarks in order to bully me about my review. Yelp is a platform to post honest reviews. The below paragraph was not hostile at all but the aggressive response(s) I received has shocked and disgusted me. I think people should still go to this business if they want, but I personally can not tolerate rude behavior (only referring to her responses to my review not my actual visit). This review is a personal reflection based in my experience with the responses by the manager only. Seems as though, now she's edited her response to be nicer. Which is much appreciated. Came here with a group of friends on a busy Monday night. I really like the atmosphere, bustling with servers and electric excitement amping patrons. This seems like a newer location and maybe that was the reason why our server did not seem very experienced. We asked for waters and never got it until half way through your meal. Nonetheless, the food was very good. Unfortunately, they do not split checks. They are BYOB but their corkage fee is rather hefty ($10) but they also serve alcohol. I'm not sure how to respond directly to the manager's response so I'll post it here: the situation you are describing does not sound like my group at all. I think you have us mistaken for another group. Maybe more than one group was served waters late? I genuinely did not care that the delayed water. The comment about the checks not being split was not a complaint, rather it was for the education of future patrons. Once again, not a big deal. As I noted at the end of my review: the food was great. I would have definitely returned and recommended my friends to come here. However, after reading the response to my review I don't appreciate the unprofessional response. Bad customer service is something I don't stand for. Good luck with your business, maybe next time don't tear down an innocent review with your need to insert snarky comments. read more

Nice design restaurant and foods delicious, good service , keep it in my favorite restaurant menu , I'll come back again

Food was good there as we ordered we few different items twice from the menu & food was very spicy as we like it. We had chicken fry once but the after taste in my mouth was so bad that i could not eat anymore . read more

The decor of this place is pretty amazing. We came one day to try it out for lunch yet we were slightly disappointed by the service. The flavor of the food was there yet it felt like there might've been a bit too much salt that was overwhelming. Not a bad spot, but not something we would necessarily pick over another. read more

I was there for a birthday party. We didn't like the way some of dishes taste. Too salty & they were seasoned way too much. We will not go back. ;( read more

I have nothing but good things to say! The staff was fantastic and everything we ate was delicious and came out quickly. We got the Ants on a Tree, baby peppers and beef, shredded beef and seasonal vegetables and the lions head meatballs. This was our first time trying any place like this and eating what we call "family style" and we were not disappointed! read more

Mala Sichuan Bistro - Red Oil Dumplings (8) - Szechuan Near Me - Katy, Texas