Spiciest Mala HotPot @ Yue Long Men

Originally created with the intention of bringing people together over good quality food, Yue Long Men HotPot is upping the popular hotpot market in Singapore with their fiery hot Mala Soup Base that, according to the restaurant, has left many diners “defeated.”

The restaurant uses a special blend of tongue searing spices that originates from Sichuan, reputably one of China’s spiciest provinces, and offers customers up to three levels of spiciness for the Mala Hotpot.

But for those who are not up to the spice challenge though, the eatery also has a great selection of other soup creations that are concocted by five experienced chefs. These include the Classic Clear Broth, signature Sour Fish Broth, tangy Tomato Broth and the succulent Mushroom Broth.

Together with a companion, I had been invited to a food tasting session at the Yue Long Men HotPot recently where I got to try the Mala Soup Base amongst other dishes, including the Premium US Snow Beef, Black Pork, Fresh Mullet Slices, Tiger Prawns, Australian Clams and Hand Made Prawn Balls.

The items that I had picked from the menu, were as follows:

Mala Broth (S$7)
Clear Broth (S$5)
Marinated beef (S$16)
Salmon Sashimi (S$22)
Tiger Prawn (S$18)
Scallop King (S$18)
Fresh Mullet Slices (S$10)
Cheese Tofu (S$8)
Mushroom Pork Balls (S$10)
Baby Spinach (S$7)
Shitake Mushroom (S$8)
Yang Zhou Fried Rice (S$10)

Broth

Mala Soup Broth

For the much-touted Mala Broth, I went for the Spice Level One and this broth was more yummy than I had expected. It was flavoursome and tasty and the spicy note, though apparent, was not too strong.

However after taking about four or five mouthfuls of this broth, a numbing sensation can be felt on the tongue, though, which can probably be likened to the feeling of having pins and needles. It is a weird sensation and one that I am not used to, as I usually do not have Sichuan cuisine.

But if you love your spicy food though, then it may be a good challenge for you to try Spice Level Three – and then let me know what it’s like afterwards.

And I noticed that the items cooked inside this broth also absorbed the intense flavour of the broth, giving them a spicy kick which set the taste buds on fire.

Clear Broth

As for the Clear Broth, this one was a little bit salty and at the same time, subtly reminded me of vegetable soup. In fact I could see an assortment of vegetables such as sweet corn and carrots floating inside the soup when this had first arrived.

I had thought that there was also a slight hint of chicken flavour in it, too. Overall this was a pleasant broth and a good contrast to the intense Mala Soup Broth. It was good too, in bringing out the natural flavours of the items that were cooked inside.

Meat

Marinated Beef

The Marinated Beef was juicy and the cut that was served to us had been soft, tender and delicious.

I felt that the marinade had been a little too strong for my liking, though. I admit that when I ordered this item, I had expected a more subtle marinade that would have complemented the beef flavours, but it turned out that the marinade was quite spicy and flavoursome, drowning out the natural flavours of the beef in the process, even after cooking.

This flavoursome marinade went quite well with the Mala Soup Broth, but it fought for attention in my mouth when I put the beef into the Clear Broth.

Seafood

Tiger Prawn

But I really enjoyed the seafood items though. The freshness of the seafood items was definitely apparent when I ate them. The Tiger Prawn had looked firm and glossy. The meat was quite moist and firm with a mild seafood flavour.

Salmon Sashimi

The Salmon Sashimi was shiny, vibrant and slight translucent. And after cooking it in the hotpot, the meat had a fish taste, but it was not fishy. It was quite yummy.

Fresh Mullet Slices

For the Fresh Mullet Slices, the flesh looked moist and shiny and when I ate it, the natural fish flavour was quite mild. It was yummy and definitely not fishy.

Scallop King

The Scallop King was served in the shells. They had a pearly white colour and a slight pinkish tinge too, which meant they were quite fresh. When I bit into a scallop, it was moist and slightly chewy.

Hotpot Favourites

Cheese Tofu

My favourite hotpot item though, was probably the Cheese Tofu. There was a bit of cheese in the centre, which oozed out when I bit into this, The tofu however, seemed to have had some fish paste mixed in though, as I could taste a mild seafood flavour. It was also a little chewy, but the presence of the cheese had made it quite moist. In short, this was still pretty addictive.

Mushroom Pork Balls

The Mushroom Pork Balls had a rather interesting flavour to it. While the predominant flavour here was still the pork, I really enjoyed the additional zing that the mushroom brought to the balls, as this seemed to have brought out the flavour of the pork and at the same time, complementing it quite well. I suppose that mushroom matches quite well with almost anything, though.

Fried Rice

Yang Zhou Fried Rice

And the Yang Zhou Fried Rice was quite tasty, too. There were plenty of items inside including eggs, an assortment of vegetables such as spring onions and carrots, as well as a mixture of meat and seafood such as prawns.

All of the different textures and flavours coming from the various ingredients combined well together, making the fried rice very flavoursome and addictive. I would have to say that this was one of the nicer fried rice dishes that I have tried. So even though I was feeling quite full by the end of the meal, I could not stop nibbling on the rice.

Besides the HotPot items, Yue Long Meng also offers several grilled and fried items on the menu, which include BBQ Chicken Wings, Prawns and Squids, for you to munch on while waiting for your HotPot items to finish cooking.

Condiment Buffet

And as well, the restaurant also offers a condiment buffet which is available at a S$4 top up to your HotPot meal, and this features over 18 condiments in addition to a selection of fruits, desserts and ice cream.

We tried some of the condiments and desserts available too. For the sauces, I mixed soya sauce and sesame oil, while my companion had chilli paste, Hoi Sin sauce and mushroom beef sauce with chilli paste.

Then in order to end the meal on a sweet note, I also tried a couple of their ice creams, which felt deliciously cold and refreshing – after having sweated it out earlier, with the hot Mala Soup Base.

Drinks

To wash down the meal, I had a Fresh Fruit Juice (S$4), which had turned out to be watermelon juice. I must say that this was refreshing and the sweetness from the juice was a great way to counter the savoury notes coming from all the hotpot dishes that I was eating.

On the other hand, my companion had a pot of hot Jasmine tea (S$3).

Promotions

And to entice you to challenge yourself with Singapore’s spiciest Mala HotPot, Yue Long Men is offering 50 per cent off their a-la carte menu, excluding drinks, for a limited time.

This means that you can feast like a King, without breaking your bank. For example, you will be able to get an Ocean Platter of assorted seafood items for S$12 or Fish Maw at just S$6 per serving.