BIASED BECAUSE I LOVE HOTPOT STYLE FOOD. the malatang is self serve, and they charge by weight. for 2 bowls (image left) loaded with vegetables and noodles, we paid about $36 together (not sure if no meat made it cheaper). other 2 bowls (image right) has much more weight (quail eggs and meat) which made it more expensive. they had 3 broths to choose from: beef bone, tomato, or spicy mix. the beef bone was a great balance of savory flavors. i think sauce bar was well stocked and contributes a lot of flavor balance if you know what you're doing. the service was fast and efficient. the restaurant was very clean and the bathrooms were clean as well. after self serving our own ingredients and paying, we were served our soup in about 15 minutes. could seat up to 20-30 people! great place for a quick meal. nestled in nice plaza with lots of places to eat, making parking a nightmare on the weekends although free to park. read more

YGF Malatang - 2 soups on the left totaled to about $36 2 soups on the right totaled to about $55 - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

This location of YGF Malatang in Rowland Heights is in YES Plaza. Parking is usually a struggle during peak lunch and dinner hours. Generally I am a fan of the chain and the concept of picking my own ingredients and selecting a soup for it to be cooked in, but this location falls short. I don't plan on coming back. So this location is $13.99/lb. The ingredients are not as well stocked as their other locations and the quality is questionable too. You grab the huge bowl and tongs in the beginning. I like it better when each item has a tong to avoid cross contamination. They have a few individual tongs where the item is colorful and would contaminate other ingredients like the marinated chicken. However cross contamination still occurs cause I see that marinate touch some of the veggies later down the line. Sigh. Speaking of the veggies I feel like they give you a lot of parts I would normally trim off. Worse of all was when my boyfriend planned to grab cabbage but saw a dead fly in there so decided not too. Ugh ruins your appetite when you see those things. For the soup base you pick between beef bone broth, tomato, and spicy mix. This is a lot less of a selection than other similar businesses. My boyfriend had his 1.33 lb ($18.61) with the beef broth and I had my .91 lb ($13.01) with the tomato broth. They gave us each a number that correlates with our bowl. There was a self serve sauce bar, self serve water, and you seat yourself. There were a lot of tables but they are tight together and people nearby easily bump into you if they're inconsiderate... which they tend to be. The server brings your food out based on your number. Even when picking ingredients I generally like, that's all pointless if I don't like the broth. Tomato is one of my go-to soup base options but this one had a strange aftertaste. I didn't like it at all. Between the subpar ingredients and the lackluster soup base, I don't see why I would come back. The nicest thing I have to say about my experience is... I appreciated when the server came to refill our water. read more

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First time at this YGF Malatang located at Yes Plaza in Rowland Heights. Plenty of free parking. It was pretty empty on a Monday night. I had the whole place to myself until a few more customers joined me. Inside space was bright. Tables and chairs were clean. Restrooms were well kept. Mini hot pot price of $13.99 per lb is very reasonable. There were about 70+ ingredients to choose from. Different types of proteins such as beef, lamb, seafood, tofu, great choices of vegetables such as Chinese cabbage, bok choy, broccoli, tong ho (I loved this veggie!), variety of mushrooms such as oyster and king, and various noodles. Everything looked fresh with the exception of a few items that may have been out for a while. I ended up with 1.60 lbs. I chose the beef broth at medium spice. Total bill was $24.51 before tip. The nice gentleman staff said I can sit anywhere and I get one complimentary bottled drink from the frig. Cool! I got myself a green tea drink. They also have the condiments and water station. I originally was going to sit at a smaller table since it was just me. The gentleman staff kindly moved me to a bigger table for more dining space. Thank you Sir for the great service! My hot pot bowl came out timely. It was super hot and savory. So yummy and delicious! All the ingredients were perfectly cooked. Love the tender lamb and refreshing tong ho! Highly recommend! If you haven't tried YGF Malatang, come check them out. read more

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Their dry pot is good but different than what I've had so I guess it threw me off that it came in a peanut sauce but I did like it. I wish the sauce bar had more options. And I wish rice wouldn't have to be extra charge for dry pot. But overall good food. read more

YGF Malatang - Dry pot - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

I'm probably late to the self serve 'Chipotle' style hot pot trend but tried YGF Maltang today and was pleasantly surprised. In short, you grab a big empty bowl, tongs and start working your way down the line and pick/grab what you'd like in your hot pot. The selection is good especially if you enjoy the more off the beaten path items like beef tendon, pork intestines or quail eggs. They weigh your food selection and it's $13.99 a pound. Then, you choose the soup base of choice (I'm a mild kinda person hence not eager to try anything 'Ma La' as the peppercorns can be too much). In the end, I came in around 8/10th of a pound of food which was enough food for lunch especially if you drink the soup. And, the soup doesn't count towards the weight/cost. They have a frequent diner's program. It's buy 10 pounds of food, get a pound free. And, despite having the same name, the YGF Malatang in RH doesn't honor the frequent diner program from the YGF Malatang in Arcadia. Check out my pics. read more

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The place is typically packed which is how you know the food is worth it and gonna hit. I love malatang, and this is my favorite place I've tried so far (the other one was Zhangliang which is okay in comparison to YGF). I like the selection of add-ins for your bowl, and the sauce bar station is great. The staff might not be the friendliest, but it's fine because it's very much self-serve kind of vibe & great if you wanna eat alone and not be bothered. The broth selection is great too-- I've gotten the Tom Yum flavor twice in a row and never disappointed. Overall, this place has great tasting food, and its location is in a rather big parking lot, so that makes it easier and more convenient too. I will definitely keep coming back!! read more

YGF Malatang - malatang with tom yum broth napa cabbage, sweet potato noodles, fish cake, quail eggs, tofu, bok choy, and more ! - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

first time at this location -- pretty empty around chewsday afternoon straightforward to get your meats and tofus and veggies and afterwards to weigh and pay based on that. i usually always get the beef broth heh read more

YGF Malatang - i lov - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

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I tried their Tom Yum broth today. It was quit tasty. But my very favorite was the beef bone broth. Sadly they do not have the duck blood anymore .! read more

YGF Malatang - My favorite Malatang spot in Arcadia! - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

Ambiance: This place is in a medium-small plaza that's packed with different food eateries and a few other shops. For example, the place right next to YGF Malatang is Malu Bianbian. YGF is very clean and simple! Their bar of fresh foods you can pick from includes meats, seafood, tofu, and veggies. There's a good bariety and you're sure to find something satisfactory for just about anyone. Service: Quick and nice. They didn't fully understand what I was asking when it came to seeing if their spicy mix was vegetarian friendly. The man pulled out his phone to ask me to translate for him, so I did and he let me know that it is! I also saw him quickly check to see if the sauce bar needed a refresher since we came here around the same time as three other small groups of people. Food: Delicious! There's a lot to choose from and it can cater to me as a vegetarian. There might be a possibility of some "cross-contamination" from tongs though as we each get our own to pick out our ingredients. If you have a strict allergy or diet restriction then please keep this in mind. That's just the nature of places like this one. Everything looks fresh and nothing wilted or weird looking even in the veggies, save for two or three leaves here and there. I had the tomato broth before so I'll comment about that here! It's a non-spicy option and it's sweet and tangy. Tastes refreshing and is the lighter option versus the bone broth, which would be richer and heavier. Spicy mix is essentially a sesame based paste/sauce with some chili taste. It's not spicy at all so if you're in need of heat, I'd try to get something from the sauce bar! Overall, we love this place so far and will try to keep coming back in the future! It's not super busy or crowded so the atmosphere feels calmer and more nice. read more

YGF Malatang - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

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Thhis malatang location is very clean and it has a nice selection of ingredients. We like coming here, it's not always crowded which is great since I am a recent transplant patient and have to stay away from crowds. Service is great, very nice gentleman who is either the owner or works here. Ambience is nice nd quiet and very clean looking! read more

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I was impressed by the cleanliness of both the ingredients and the interior, including the counters. I ordered the spicy bone broth malatang, which was rich and flavorful. Despite reading reviews saying the broth was lacking, I personally thought it was great. If your bowl exceeds 1.5 lbs, you can choose a complimentary soft drink. The ingredients were fresh, and I noticed far less cross-contamination compared to other mala spots I've visited. I went just after the lunch rush, so it wasn't crowded, and the food came out quickly. Parking can be tricky since it's in a shared plaza with many restaurants and shops. I will definitely come back when I'm craving malatang. :) read more

YGF Malatang - Spicy Bone Broth - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

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Dropped into YGF Malatang and went with the beef bone broth base. The broth had a deep, savory flavor with a clean richness that felt comforting without being too heavy. It held up well against all the toppings I added, from lotus root and bok choy to fish balls and beef slices. Everything was cooked just right and the spice level was easy to customize. Service was efficient and helpful, especially if it's your first time. Staff walked me through the process and made sure my bowl was handled properly at each step. Payment and seating were straightforward, and the whole experience felt smooth from start to finish. The space has a modern, cafeteria-style layout but still feels inviting. It's well lit, clean, and there's plenty of room to sit and enjoy your meal without feeling cramped. If you're craving something bold and satisfying, this is a solid place to build your own bowl with plenty of variety and a broth that's full of depth. Would definitely come back to try other bases and combinations. read more

YGF Malatang - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

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Honestly one of the WORST dining experiences I've had in a while. The front desk guy was super rushed and didn't even give us time to decide what broth we wanted, he said "hurry up there's people behind you guys" and there was literally ONE dude that was still picking food. It felt like we were being pushed instead of welcomed into a restaurant. When we changed our mind about paying together and wanted to split individually, he gave us this "I'm so tired of these people" look with a huge SIGH, which was really off-putting. We were also forced to pay before even eating, and the machine basically pressured me into tipping before I even knew what the service would be like. Speaking of service, we didn't even get water. The food didn't make up for it either. The broth was extremely greasy, and the ingredients didn't taste fresh at all. Overall the whole atmosphere just felt uncomfortable and unwelcoming. At the end I couldn't even finish the food since it was so nasty Definitely not coming back. read more

The broth was so salty. I realized that midway of eating and then finishing my food, I felt funny due to all the saltiness. The location in Arcadia is better. Utensils were quite dirty here. I did like the free drink for 1.5 lbs food and over! Staff was nice. read more

Decent Malatang Spot!! This is my first time trying YGF, I haven't been to other locations. Staff was nice and friendly. I think the selection was pretty small though, I feel like Zhangliang had more options for veggies, noodles, etc. My friend and I both got bone broth with small spicy level. Pretty good We went on a weekend around 6pm and it was surprisingly empty. read more

YGF Malatang - Malatang - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

my go to malatang place!!! my roommate and i seriously come here twice a week and it's always soooo good! fresh & delicious food and the kindest employees. it's never busy and service is so fast! love getting beef mild soup! read more

YGF Malatang - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

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Tried out this new malatang place that just opened up and was highly impressed by the ingredients. The meat used here was actually pretty high quality with good lean-to-fat ratio. I got the dry pot style stir fry and it did cost an extra $3 I believe (if I remember correctly), and it was pretty good. I have to say I added ramen noodles to my bowl and the dry pot seasoning was too heavy handed and made the ramen super super salty. I had to order rice on the side to eat with it to help balance it out. My partner ordered the tomato malatang, which isn't spicy at all and it was flavorful and hit the spot. Next time I'm craving malatang I would definitely come again. The staff who helped us was patient and friendly but had a bit of a language barrier as he mostly spoke Mandarin. I took this as a sign this place is pretty legit. read more

YGF Malatang - Tomato soup base - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

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I've been to a lot of malatang places and my favorite ones are YGF malatang. I usually go to the Irvine location but saw this one at RH so why not. The owners are nice, we waited 15 minutes for the soup to come out. I ordered the tomato broth. Maybe it's a bad day but the quail egg and intestines in the soup has no taste. Also the quail eggs have a sour taste? Usually the ingredient inside the soup with be soak with tomato taste but I can only taste the outer layer flavor. But the potato side noodle is very yummy. Locates in a busy plaza, a lot of food places nearby. read more

YGF Malatang - Inside - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

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I went to other YGF Malatang locations before, but this was my first time at this location. When we went, it was pretty empty with only a few customers, so all of the self-serve ingredients and sauce bar were pretty fresh and organized. The person who took our order was also friendly. I will say though, that if you choose to put a lot of ingredients, your total could add up quite a bit, haha! I chose the beef bone broth and the spiciest option. It was very good! I recommend this place if you have never tried malatang before and have been wanting to try. It's also located in a plaza, so parking is not a problem. (: read more

New pick-your-own-ingredients-and-cooked-for-you hot pot place in Rowland Heights and priced by the pound with two soup base options (beef broth or tomato broth base). Free canned/bottles drink with any order over 1 lbs (many drinks option). First time here but my husband brought kids here multiple times already and he really likes it. An acquaintance opened this new restaurant so we stopped by to give it a try. The pricing and flavor are good, the employees are diligent in keeping the restaurant clean, and the staff are nice. Would definitely return for a quick convenient and soupy healthy hot pot meal. read more

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Considering how many Malatang there are in RH area + this is such a well known place that I was excited for it to open, YGF was seriously a major disappointment. The selection of the ingredients could definitely be more and there was no satay sauce in the sauce bar(like what). It could be a bad day since I've heard such great things about YGF and since It's really well known but if I want malatang based on this experience, I much rather go to zhangliang or hot spicy dip. I got the beef broth and there just wasn't a good in depth taste of the broth. They do however provide a free drink for whoever pass 1.5? lb. I honestly was just very disappointed in this malatang place in terms of taste just cause of how well known this chain is. The people were nice though. read more

YGF Malatang - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

Basically self-serve hot pot! You grab your own meat, veggies, and noodles and they weigh it all at the end. The bowls themselves are pretty heavy so that adds to the total. I loved the flavorful tomato broth, but they also have beef and dry pot options. Score a free drink if you load up over 1.5 pounds. The sauce bar was pretty solid, but unfortunately, no satay sauce. Pro tip: save the leftover soup and add your own noodles at home. Consider sharing a bowl if you are getting the same broth to save costs. I saw a family of four sharing the same bowl! read more

YGF Malatang - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

YGF Malatang is a solid go-to for build-your-own hot pot. The space is large with plenty of seating, so it's easy to grab a table even during busier hours. What really stands out is the wide variety of fresh ingredients -- from meats and seafood to all kinds of veggies, noodles, and tofu options. You load up your bowl, choose your broth and spice level (the regular broth is great, but they offer other flavors too), and they cook it up for you. Pricing is by weight at $13.99 per pound, so it can add up quickly if you go heavy on ingredients -- but it's well worth it for a flavorful, customized meal. read more

There were two fine, short pieces of hair in my broth today. Oh my god. Maybe I drank more. Not coming back. Taro had a fly floating in it too. read more

Best byo hot pot for us beef mild is soo good. Ingredients taste fresh. The service is really good and the workers are really friendly. 2.2.2020 4ever!!! read more

YGF Malatang - Rice - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

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This place has good Malatang if you're in the area and craving this style of food. We got the beef bone broth medium spice. The broth was flavorful, but not the best we've had. They have a good selection of ingredients to add to your bowl and they charge $13.99 /pound which is cheaper than most places. One thing I found a bit inconvenient compared to other Malatang places I've tried is they'll give you the same size serving bowl no matter how much food you get. So if you get a lot of ingredients, you'll be left with less broth. Overall, it's a good and affordable Malatang spot if you're in the area. 7.5/10 read more

YGF Malatang - Beef bone broth (medium spice) - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

Good flavors, friendly service. This is a DYIY where you select your own ingredients for a hot pot with tongs at $13.99/lb then you pay and they put it in the broth for you. If you're into malatang hot pot, this is the move. read more

I've been to multiple other YGF Malatang locations, so I now understand that not all of them are the same. This particular location offers a more limited variety - no special marinated meats and, most importantly, no spicy dry pot option. Instead, they only have two broth choices and the spicy mix, which doesn't quite hit the spot if you're craving that signature numbing spice. The spicy mix leans more toward a sesame flavor and isn't very spicy. Additionally, this location doesn't participate in the punch card program that's recognized at many other SoCal locations which is a bit disappointing. Overall, I'd likely choose a different location, as this one feels a bit lackluster. That said, I will give them credit for having a very clean and new space, which is definitely a positive. read more

Good soup This is basically yogurtland but hot pot hahaha. You pick and choose whatever veggies, protein, noodles, etc. that you want and they charge you based on how much it weighs! Then you choose the flavored soup you want (tomato, beef, dry), and they steam everything and bring it out ready to eat :) good for people who love hot pot but are lazy to wait for their veggies to cook down (I like mine soggy)!! You pay & get a number and sit wherever they tell you and they bring you the bowl when it's ready! And it's pretty quick. My friends & I got to grab a free drink from the fridge, not sure the rules but other reviews say if you spend 1 lb+ then you get a drink! Oh there's also a sauce bar for you to make your own concoction of sauces!! The only thing is they didn't have the staple bull head sacha bbq sauce at the bar (Chinese friends iykyk) BUT we asked the workers, and they knew immediately and brought out a big ass tub of it for us idk why it didn't have its own spot at the sauce bar tho?! Overall I love Malatang and this place is super clean & quiet (I think cus it just opened) and the workers are super nice and polite :)!!! Hoping they'll add the Tom yum soup in the future like at the Arcadia YGF! read more

I was hoping to give this place a try today for the first time and just a terrible experience with customer service. Came in after lunch hoping to eat hot pot. I was unaware that there was a minimum weight limit for the food. The man at the front was terrible and very rude. I went to measure my bowl twice and he seemed irritated and told me to "hurry up." Then he decided to refuse service to me because I apparently weighed my bowl too much even though it was just twice. I did nothing wrong but I didnt want to argue because it wasnt worth it. Just awful customer service today. read more

Compared to the Cerritos location, which is where I normally go, this restaurant has less of a bar selection and less soup selection. The service is good, I mean you get your own water here unlike Cerritos your water is always refilled by the staff. The food is okay. There is much less bar selection. There is no Tom yum or dry pot. read more

I have heard about YGF from Arcadia, but I wanted to try this place when I saw that it opened up in the yes plaza. There were a lot of seats and the servers were friendly. The variety of ingredients were pretty large, but I struggled to identify each ingredient since the labels were not in English. However, I guessed most of the ingredients from how it looks and was able to customize it at the end. When we weigh and choose which type of dish we want (classic beef bone broth, tomato broth, dry pot), we are directed to where we should sit already set up with water and utensils. I chose the beef bone broth with extra spicy for the spice level. While we wait for our food, we went to the sauce bar and made our sauces. The sauce bar had English labels which was interesting since the ingredients bar didn't. After about 5-10 minutes, we got our food and the chili oil on top looked daunting, but it was not too spicy. I felt that the bone broth was a bit more flavorful and deeper than other malatang spots that are around. The noodles were cooked almost perfectly and I fairly enjoyed the malatang. The worker was nice and filled our waters as soon as it was low. Overall, I would definitely return to this spot and would bring my friends here too if they are craving some malatang. The only thing I wish they had was English labels for the ingredients! read more

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Best malatang in my opinion. They have multiple locations but our favorite is the RH store. Fresh ingredients and great service read more

YGF Malatang - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

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So much better than the other location I tried. Duck blood, sausage, chewy noodles they got all the ingredients I love. There's also no 1lb minimum weight requirement here (good for when you don't feel like eating a full lb) read more

YGF Malatang - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

Amazing. Pick up a bowl, collect your ingredients, and they'll cook it for you in the soup of your choosing. You pay per pound, super filling and relaxing. Excellent meal after a long hike. read more

Yes there are many malatang places in Rowland Heights but YGF is my favorite! They have a wide selection of proteins & veggies. My go-to's are beef, sausage, fish ball with roe, quail egg, fried tofu, enoki mushroom, crown daisy, and wide noodle. They have beef broth, tomato broth, and dry pot options with NO extra charge, which is why this place is the best in the area. I typically get beef with MILD spice which is actually no spice, but there is a sauce bar with chili oil so you can control the spice on your own for those who can't take a lot of spice. Sauce bar is pretty solid with all the essentials and easy to pack up to-go sauces for leftovers. My colleague who lived in Hong Kong also said this was her favorite malatang chain when she resided there so authenticity is verified. read more

YGF Malatang - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

Food is very good once it's prepared. Quality of the overall ingredients is decent but the broth really elevates it. I could honestly come back tomorrow. read more

YGF Malatang - Beef broth medium spicy, assorted meats, veggies and mushroom. Delicious - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

Came in pretty late at night with about 40 min left before closing, and the service staff was very accommodating. Shortly after we came in, a bunch of people came in also. I really like the concept. Grab what you want, charge by the pound, and they cook it for you and bring it to your table afterward. I don't eat a lot, so this works out very well for me. The food was absolutely delicious. I'm looking forward to coming back next time. read more

Best bone broth i've ever had! The self serve options have a very large selection including many different sauces to choose from. They charge by the pound and it is definitely good value for the amount of food you get. read more

YGF Malatang - Bone broth - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

I got the tomato broth and it was okay. There was no satay sauce in the sauce bar which I feel is a must when eating malatang. I believe the LA location has satay sauce. There is a great selection of ingredients! read more

YGF Malatang - Tomato broth - Chinese Near Me - Rowland Heights, California