MáLà Project - New York

Dhruv P.

Got a few different dishes at Mala Project and only the dry-pot style create-your-own bowl was a hit. The mapo tofu was weirdly overly sweet instead of spicy without strong peppercorns, and the garlic eggplant was alright (good garlic infusion into the sauce if you’re a fan of garlic).

The dry pot bowl had a good combination of cumin stir fry flavor and spice and would definitely recommend that one.

Kaylie N.

This is my second visit to this place. I ordered the dry pot to share with my friend. For toppings, I personally recommend the sliced potatoes, as they add a nice crunch. I also loved the wood ear mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, shrimp balls, and eye of round beef. As for noodles, I don't recommend the glass noodles because they tend to become dry and stick together. Instead, consider the potato noodles or other options for a better experience. The portions are quite large and filling.

As for side dishes, I recommend both the garlic eggplant and pork ear, but be aware that they are quite spicy—even spicier than the dry pot.

The only downside is that everything is a bit pricey; even the spicy level costs an additional $5. The sauce was more oily than spicy, which is one aspect I didn't particularly like about this place.

For dessert, I noticed many people recommending the glass herbal jelly, but I personally wouldn't suggest it. While the jelly and red beans were fine, the taro balls and boba were hard and not chewy at all, which I didn't appreciate. Overall, it was a bit too sweet for my taste. However, I do recommend their sweet potato mochi; it was surprisingly good! I managed to eat two of them even after the dry pot. I love anything mochi, so I highly recommend that.

Ruby C.

Málà Project is a highly rated spot for neo-Szechuan mala dry pot, aka a must visit for any spice lover. The space gives a funky and hipster vibe with neon light decors.

I highly recommend building your own dry pot for the full experience. I am a sucker for dry mix pot and this one 100% satisfied my craving. They also offer mala dry pot lunch combo for $15-16.

＊Mala Project Dry Pot 麻辣香鍋 $75 ***
First, don’t be scared by the price—we literally had to split the whole dry pot into 4 servings lol (for small appetite girls). We splurged on the marbled beef ($22) which tasted like premium hot pot cut. The beef tenderloin was a cheaper option ($9) and it was very tender.

Glass noodle is the perfect carb to absorb the flavorful sauce. We picked the spiciest soup base and it was really numbing (but yum). They also have soy ginger sauce and less spicy base available.

＊Eggplant with Roasted Garlic 蒜蓉茄子 $12 *
My fav starter! They plopped minced garlic on top and vinegar as the sauce base. It was delicious to mix the eggplant into your dry pot and enjoy altogether.

＊Pig Ear in Chili Oil 紅油豬耳朵 $14 *
SPICY ALERT. My friend has a high spice tolerance but the dish had her keep chugging water. We both still thought the pig ears were really good in terms of texture and flavor.

＊Hot & Sour Noodle Soup 酸辣粉 $18
The glass noodle was chewy and soaked up the vinegar-y broth. I liked the spicy and sour flavors, yet the broth was quite oily. It came with beef belly, lobster balls, tofu pockets, and bok choy.

＊Crispy Ube Mochi 紫薯餅 $9 🌟🌟
I don’t care how full you are—YOU NEED TO ORDER THIS DESSERT! It was crispy on the crust, chewy on the inside, served warm, and NOT TOO SWEET.

＊Herbal Jelly 燒仙草 $9
A cold, sweet dessert to cool down your numbing tongue after indulging in so much spicy food. It was on the sweeter side, and I loved the grass jelly and red bean.

Kristy C.

Would not recommend, the food is cooked poorly where you end up with a rough texture for some meats. I understand that this is a type of Chinese cuisine, but definitely not my preference as someone from the south of China. Trendy, but not good quality in terms of how the food is cooked.

Max P. (.

I had the father & mother lung, which was beef and tripe with szechuan oil on it. I liked that there wasn't too much oil. It was cold, which was interesting. Tasted decent. Would consider getting again. I got it with white rice which was nice.

I also got the Dan Dan Noodles. They tasted good, and it was interesting to have the pork pieces on top, with the oil on bottom. It was served a bit too hot so be prepared to wait for it to cool first before eating. The bok choy was a nice touch too. My main complaint was that there were too many noodles, but this is sort of like ordering ramen and complaining that you got too much ramen. There were so many noodles that I got tired afterwards. The mom and father lung didn't have this problem, and in general I probably prefer some meat with a side of rice to a huge bowl of noodles.

George E.

Came here on the recommendation of a friend. He made the reservations so I can’t share the process. Upon our arrival, we shared that we had a reservation and we waited less than 5 minutes to be seated. My friend came in with crutches so we had to seat somewhere easily accessible for him.

Our waiter was either sleepy or not interested in serving us. The service was very uninspiring. We order our drinks and meal at the same time. Our meal arrived with no water and other beverages ordered.

We both ordered the Mala Dry Pot which was pretty pricey for the portion and quantity of meats and produce. The Mala Dry Pot was filled with herbs and flavors but the semi spicy flavored dish was saturated with oils in the center making the experience a tad unbearable.

They served up purple and white rice on the side to augment the dining experience.

I’m hoping to give this spot another try or one of the other MaLa Project spots in the city.

Location is great for two to four people based on the seating options.

Tai W.

I ordered pig ear salad and Bacon combo for two person. It’s enough for us . I didn’t satisfy about their foods . I believe, they could do better their foods. I will try again in the future as a Mala Drypot lover.

Food: pig ear salad ( a bit salty)
Dry pot combo : okay

Overal :****

Ju A.

Love love love the food!! Extremely delish and portion size were generous. The fragrance of the peppers could be smelt in the room. Highly recommend EVERYTHING in their menu as none of what we ordered disappoint.
Definitely added to my go to Chinese resto when I'm ever in New York!