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Back to this mala spot after quite a while! Glad we had foresight and bought bubble teas before we sat down to eat 😂 Had their medium spice but it was fiery! The mala here maintains its standard pretty well - fresh ingredients, thoroughly fried and reasonably priced.
If you’re a Westie looking to spice up your day, joyful palace @ Clementi is THE place to be! Why I love this place:
- Opens till late
- Cheap(er) than others. My bowl was $8.50, usually I spend ~$10-$13
- Allows you to order in-between spice levels, eg 中大辣
- Flavourful with lots of chilli and spices
- Just next to Clementi MRT!
Revealing the Westies’ Ma La Xiang Guo (麻辣香锅; MLXG) hidden gem. What are some of your favourite ingredients for MLXG?
My top picks would be beef, potatoes, lotus roots, instant noodles and fresh beancurd skin (千张). This stall constantly attracts queues at meal times and the reasons are completely evident.
Its prices are lower than other MLXG stalls and they don’t charge for the base. And you get a wide array of ingredients to choose from (but no lamb here). Do note that everything here is still charged by weight.
I opted for my standard option of medium spicy with additional peppercorns (中辣加嘛). They were generous with the dried chillies and peppercorns while being frugal with the oil and salt. Some MLXG can be very oily and salty.
I had a great time enjoying the spiciness of the stir fry and the numbing effect on the peppercorns. Would opt for the spiciest level (大辣) the next time to challenge my spice tolerance.
In case you were wondering, this bowl set me aside $16.50. Available for takeaway.
The ingredients here are fresh with a huge variety! You get to pick your own and it will be charged by weight. There is no soup base charge too!
Flavor wise, it is spicy yet the flavor of the different spices blend well and infused into the ingredients. This is one of my go-to places in the west for ma la xiang guo. The service staff are friendly too. You may have to queue for a bit but it’s always fast to reach your turn. Highly recommended.
Feeling adventurous, we tried the 3rd highest level (total of 4 spicy level) and we almost died 😂
To begin with, our tolerance for spicy food is not high HAHA 😯
We survived at the end 🤣
In consideration, joyful palace is a place for dimsum to go for! Don't set your expectation too high and it's rather cheaper than any dimsum cafés out there. A taste brings you closer to Hong Kong I would say 😄
