Not being one who typically goes for Mala Xiang Guo on a regular basis, we only got to know about A Hot Hideout after coming across a few social media posts about it whilst scrolling around the phone. Turns out, A Hot Hideout had its origins from their very first outlet in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) back in 2022. The brand then opened a subsequent outlet at a slightly more convenient location for some; this time at Sembawang Cottage which is a mixed-use development with retail shops and F&B establishments on its ground floor, while residences sit above the shops on the building’s upper floors. Sembawang Cottage itself is located just a short bus ride away from Yishun MRT Station, and A Hot Hideout is also neighbours with establishments such as an outlet of McDonald’s, and an outlet of The Daily Scoop there. The unit in which that A Hot Hideout occupies is one that is fairly spacious; there is quite a bit of seating space good to cater for groups of two, four and six pax all around — all that with sufficient space for patrons to queue up in front of the display fridge located right beside the counter as well. Just like any typical establishment serving up Mala, patrons would be able to pick their desired ingredients for their own bowl of Mala Xiang Guo / Mala Soup; this includes quite a good variety of options include meat, vegetables, mushrooms, noodles and a variety of fish cakes even. Patrons then make their way to the counter where the weight of the ingredients that they had picked would be taken with a weighing machine; patrons are charged based on the weight of the ingredients that they have picked here — also much like any other establishments serving up Mala as well. One would then be eventually asked if they would like to have it as dry (i.e. Mala Xiang Guo) or soup (i.e. Mala Tang), and their desired level of spiciness; it is worth noting that A Hot Hideout does have a few specialty ingredients, which includes Deep-Fried Luncheon Meat, Deep-Fried Lotus, Deep-Fried Fish, Deep-Fried Potatoes and Scrambled Eggs. Beverages available at A Hot Hideout includes a variety of canned / bottled beverages, as well Thai Milk / Green Tea.

Noting the list of their specialty items, we decided to go for the Deep-Fried Luncheon Meat, Scrambled Eggs, Beancurd Skin and Enoki Mushrooms alongside Instant Noodles for the Mala Xiang Guo that we were going for. We also opted for our order to come at “Small Spicy” for our preferred level of spiciness. A buzzer will be issued at upon order, and patrons would be paged to collect their order from the same counter once they are ready. Patrons can also add peanuts, spring onions and coriander from the self-service counter (also the same place where one can find the cutlery) located at the order pick-up area to their heart’s content as well. Giving all of the ingredients a good mix considering how the chili oil comes at the bottom of the bowl, we found that the “Small Spicy” spiciness level pretty apt for us — in fact, one could most definitely experience the flavours of the chilli peppers and spices such as cumin used for the Mala Xiang Guo at this spiciness level; one could most certainly feel that wave of numbness hitting the taste buds after digging into the bowl for a while, while the entire bowl comes at a rather suitable level of spiciness that we would reckon should do just fine even for those who are tolerable to a less-than-moderate level of spiciness in general. The scrambled egg is best to be consumed quickly here; we actually thought that the scrambled egg was well-executed considering how runny it was — probably even better executed than the same that some specialty cafes would serve up with their brunches. That being said, the scrambled egg does get cooked through quite easily especially when mixed into the bowl itself, changing up its consistency quite a bit. The Deep-Fried Luncheon Meat on the other hand does come with a light crisp along the sides; as savoury as one would expect out of such processed meats, though definitely is worth re-thinking as an item to be added for those who are not so much into salty foods overall. The instant noodles are done well here; pretty QQ and chewy, while the Enoki Mushrooms provided a good textural contrast with its soft crunch. The beancurd skin further adds texture to the Mala Xiang Guo, while the coriander helps to cut through those salty flavours — would suggest for one to actually include more of the coriander to balance out the flavours of the Mala Xiang Guo here.

Having tried only the Mala Xiang Guo at A Hot Hideout, we would think that the Mala Xiang Guo at A Hot Hideout is pretty well-executed. Mala Xiang Guo can rarely escape from being in the realms of a dish that is greasy and salty — and while this still somewhat remains true with the rendition of the Mala Xiang Guo that A Hot Hideout serves up, we did feel that there are more greasy bowls of Mala Xiang Guo that we have had elsewhere; though there again, we rarely hit up Mala Xiang Guo establishments to know enough about it. Where the saltiness of the dish is of concern, we would say that it really depends much on the ingredients that one opts for here; the Deep-Fried Luncheon Meat does sound good on paper especially with the Scrambled Egg, though we would feel that the Deep-Fried Luncheon Meat adds quite a bit of jelak-ness to the Mala Xiang Guo since both items are inherently heavy on saltiness — we found ourselves struggling to enjoy the bowl as we came close to finishing the whole bowl. All being said, A Hot Hideout’s specialty of listing their specialty items such as the Deep-Fried Luncheon Meat, Deep-Fried Lotus, Deep-Fried Fish, Deep-Fried Potatoes and Scrambled Eggs is an interesting move — establishments serving up Mala are rarely known to place more focus on some ingredients over other, and this makes A Hot Hideout stand out of the crowd. We also note that A Hot Hideout is one of the few establishments that would provides a “safe” and “conducive” environment to enjoy Mala — while the display chiller containing the ingredients is somewhat of an open concept chiller without doors, ingredients are neatly placed here and everything does seem fresh whilst in a pretty hygienic and sanitary environment; this is as opposed to some establishments serving up Mala in coffeeshops or hawker centres with a less-than-pleasant aesthetic. All in all, it is easy to see how A Hot Hideout is popular with both students at NTU, and now, the folks residing around the north — a spot that Mala lovers should consider hitting at least once to find out what they are all about!