Mala Mini

I can’t really eat spicy food so I tried level 1 the first time and it was still too spicy for me. I asked for not spicy the 2nd time and I liked it a lot as the broth has a hint of peanut favor. You can ask for some spicy sauce on the side. Minimum 1 pound of veggies/meat. The place was clean and service was good. It might be hard to find parking though

I can’t really eat spicy food so I tried level 1 the first time and it was still too spicy for me. I asked for not spicy the 2nd time and I liked it a lot as the broth has a hint of peanut favor. You can ask for some spicy sauce on the side. Minimum 1 pound of veggies/meat. The place was clean and service was good. It might be hard to find parking though

Real good Mala food at a convenience location. Food was fresh, made ready to order at the spot. Clean and well kept. Definitely going back again

Real good Mala food at a convenience location. Food was fresh, made ready to order at the spot. Clean and well kept. Definitely going back again

My husband and I love a good choose-your-own-adventure type of meal, and this looked right up our alley. We felt a little turned around since everyone else seemed to know what to do and it was clearly our first time, but the guy at the counter was quick to explain how things work: Grab a clean pair of tongs and a bin to collect all of the fixings. There's lots to choose from - veggies, noodles, frozen seafood, and meats. When you've finished making your selection of add-ins, they'll weigh it at the front (it needs to be a minimum of one pound; every half pound thereafter exacts an added surcharge). From there, they'll ask about your preferred spice level and whether you want your meal 'wet' or 'dry' - 'wet' meaning in a broth and dry meaning stir fried. A note on heat levels: Beware of overestimating your personal spice tolerance. The spice levels range from 0 to 3 (which can be narrowed down to halves), and since I love some heat, I asked for a level 2. The guy taking my order hesitated and asked, "Are you sure? That's pretty spicy." When I marked it down to a 1.5, he nodded with relief and said, "That's probably better." When I got my meal and had my first bites, I was immediately grateful for his intervention. A 1.5 had plenty of that signature Szechuan numbing heat and I was feeling that fire in my belly for hours afterwards. My husband's brothy choice (with a more conservative spice level of 1) was far more muted. The nutty broth, along with the side dish of peanut dipping sauce, was a rich and tasty swimming pool for his ingredients of choice. A few random notes and tips: - 'Dry' meals will also come with a bowl of rice. There were tiny specks of egg throughout the bowl, which I considered a nice touch. - Curiously, the check is squared at the end of the meal rather than upon point of order (most self-serve spots will have you pay first). Those paying in cash get a tiny dessert at the end. The cash prize used to be tanghulu - a skewer of candied fruits - but now it seems to be a tiny serving of soft serve. - There's also something of an honor system at work. I watched people freely get up during their meals to grab their own drinks from the fridge, and everything somehow got totaled up at the end. - Remember that noodles bloat. I thought I chose a small amount of noodles and was surprised by how much they thickened after cooking and couldn't finish my meal. - Finding parking is a beast of a task in this area. There are a few spots available in front, but it's shared with the cafe next door. Sometimes you can find spots along adjacent streets - we lucked out with a spot in one of these.