Zhang Liang Spicy Hot Pot, Haymarket

Malatang is form of Chinese street food which has quickly became popular in Sydney. Zhang Liang Spicy Hotpot is a Malatang restaurant located on George St in Haymarket.

The premise of Malatang cuisine is you choose a number of ingredients, you are charged by weight ($2.68/100g) and it's cooked in a special malatang broth. You use these tongs and grab an empty bowl to choose your ingredients.

Zhang Liang Spicy Hotpot has a range of ingredients to choose from, from various greens, vegetables to dumplings and various unique things like tofu cheese fishcake (which is my favourite). There's also a series of protein dishes to choose from from beef, lamb or seafood.

The key at Zhang Liang Spicy Hotpot is to just pick what you like and remember that the spicy broth will also be quite filling. I pick a number of mushrooms, greens, my favourite tofu cheese fishcake and some flat noodles that look like pasta. Mr Weekend Food Escapes goes for a different mix including dumplings, beef, greens and spinach noodles.

After you pick your ingredients, you take your bowl to the register for it to be weighed. I think your average person would spend approximately $12-13. Women may potentially eat less.

There are two choices for broth - the traditional malatang broth or a clear broth. I ask for the traditional malatang broth but ask for a mild broth because I like to control my spicy levels myself. At other malatang's they also have the option of a tomato broth which is my favourite - however this is not available at Zhang Liangs Spicy Hot Pot. You get a buzzer which lets you know when to pick up your soupy bowl.

I wave at the cat and have a look at the range of sauces available which you can add to your soupy bowl. There's sesame sauce, dried garlic, coriander, spring onions and then my favourite their "special house made chilli". This is probably the largest range of sauces that i've ever seen.

 I also grab a few drinks from the fridge. I grab a soy milk and Mr Weekend Food Escapes goes for a fanta. I suggest the soy milk if you think you need a chilli relief.

Within less than 10 minutes, our buzzer goes off and it's time to pick up our soupy malatang bowls. Mr Weekend Food Escapes is surprised at the portion of food once the broth is added. It's quite significant.  He adds the house made chilli sauce. He gets straight into slurping the noodles.

I have more of a mix of sauces including sesame sauce, garlic mince, spring onion, coriander and a smaller portion of that house made chilli. My bowl is amazing especially with those flat noodles.

The above cheese tofu fishcake is very enjoyable to eat. I am lucky, I put a few in my bowl. I also put in a lobster claw to see if I like it but I don't think i'll choose this again. I really enjoy the mushrooms specifically. The broth is enjoyable to eat.

Summary: Overall, I think the choice of ingredients, quality of ingredients and the choice of sauces are the highlights of Zhang Liang Spicy Hot Pot. I really enjoy the malatang cuisine overall and there's lots of seating available at Zhang Liang Spicy Hot Pot when I was here on Sunday lunch time. Check it out!

Price: Varies by weight $2.68/100g

Location: 718 George St, Haymarket 

Opening Hours: 
Open Daily 11:30am to 11pm

Weekend Food Escapes dined as guests of the venue or their representatives. All photos, opinions and words are my own.