Gong Yuan Ma La Tang 宫源麻辣烫 (Funan)

my first time ordering mala tang and i find it quite enjoyable. it’s not as spicy as those you get at hotpot restaurants which makes it palatable.

happy that there was a fried option for the beancurd skin and seaweed chicken.

Tomato soup was rather thick and I quite like it. Feels like eating tomato base hotpot. Perfect for the rainy weather / comfort food. Price was around $15 for 2 pax. (We didn't order too much) ^

Bought the medium la, and the numb feeling was a little overwhelming for us

This store sells a range of soup but we chose ma la tang and added vinegar which was super goooood (this is our fav mala tang store :D)!!! They have a variety of ingredients such as clams, fish roe, kelp, chicken seaweed, etc. The ingredients for us (2 pax) amounted to ~$20.

Diff spice levels you can choose from and this was 中辣! Soup wise, it’s definitely soupier and more watery as compared to the tomato soup base we had. Spice level just right and v palatable. Ingredients were a bit expensive as this bowl amounted to $16+ for just one pax... and they were all vegetarian (no meat)!

The first time I tried the mala tang from Gong Yuan, I remember it was very affordable and overall I had a positive experience. This time round, I was v surprised to know that 2 bowls (for 3 of us who weren’t feeling v hungry) cost $33++ but ok I trust that the ingredients we took were heavier 🥲 regardless of the type of ingredients you pick (meat or vegetable), they’re priced the same! So be sure to avoid the heavier ingredients I guess.

Soup wise, it was v thick... almost too thick to be called soup. It was more like tomato sauce gravy instead. Flavour was ok but wished it was soupier so it’d be easier to eat. Not sure why the ingredients were v soft and soggy too.

We visited the shop at around 830pm on a Friday night. There was a short queue forming (we were 2nd in line) and the tables were all full. No staff came to us so ok we thought we could just stay in line and wait for the others to finish up their food. When we were next in line, one of the staff came up to us and said that their tables are all full and it’d be hard for us to get a table given how long it’ll take for the kitchen to cook + for the customers to finish etc. She offered for us to sit in the adjacent store as they were under the same management. Of course we took that choice since that’d mean we can get our food earlier! Only wished she told us that earlier, instead of making us wait in line. Once we were seated down, she rushed over and told us that their last order is 9pm. It was already 855pm.. and again, wished we were informed earlier so we wouldn’t have to rush to get the ingredients etc. Overall, it was not really a good experience as the staff didn’t seem well-equipped to handle such common situations. Food was below expectations so don’t think I’ll visit again :(