Sichu Malatang: Exploring the Food Scene in my Neighborhood

One of the luxuries of life is traveling. I am so excited for the coming months because I have booked flight tickets to destinations that not only offer beautiful scenic locations but also local gourmet food. But more to that later, as I anticipate my next adventures, I have become intentional with exploring my neighborhood for its local food scene.

When people talk about visiting Asia, often not, the cities that stand out as hotspots for a vibrant food scene are Tokyo, Bangkok, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, and Hanoi. I have only been to some of those places and I couldn’t agree more. A particular favorite for me is Singapore. I have visited the place a couple times already and I just keep discovering new dishes to try. And it’s not just about their local food, there are hundreds of restaurants that offer authentic food cuisines from all over the world. I have been living in Manila for almost 7 years and I can confidently say that there’s so much more to explore in the food scene too.

I am a big fan of Chinese food, and I think most people are. I have never heard of a big city without a Chinatown in the area. I would love to just go on our own for a day and eat my list of comfort food but I decided to try out this new restaurant in our neighborhood. A newly opened Sichu Malatang restaurant called us during one rainy holiday. I wasn’t really familiar with this dish but I was told it’s a noodle soup where you can pick the ingredients that go into your bowl, so it was an instant ‘yes’ for me.

Just a bit of context of what sichu malatang is, it originated from the province of Sichuan, China. Ma means numbness, la means spicy, and tang means soup. Had I known the translation of malatang, I would have probably ordered the level one spiciness. But still, I managed to finish my bowl. What I liked about the sichu malatang restaurant we tried was the custom of making your own bowl by picking the ingredients from a chiller. It gave a similar experience to doing your grocery, instead of putting it in a basket, you get your large bowl. The price is calculated at the counter as they weigh your customized bowl, it’s Php 1 per gram. I thought it would just be cheap but I actually spent around Php 900 ($15) for mine. Hahaha. I was so happy just putting a variety of the selection that I didn’t notice it was already weighing almost a kilogram!

After paying, it will then be cooked in their kitchen, adding the chosen broth and making it to the level of spiciness. If I remember correctly, I chose level 3 since I am comfortable with eating spicy food. However, on my next visit, I would stick to level 1. Hahaha.

The ambiance of the place also gives a nice touch to the food experience. It has this contemporary design that exudes a fun and lively atmosphere. Aside from the neon lights, the plants also lit up the place making it both vibrant and cozy.

There’s also a corner for customizing your sauce for added flavor. I’m not really familiar with making sauces, so I stick with their sauce base.

And here are our bowls of sichu malatang. I liked everything that I picked except for the lotus root. I filled it with oyster, shrimp, mussels, squid, meats, mushrooms, bok choy, cabbage, sprouts, assorted balls, and rice noodles. It was a nice food experience for a rainy afternoon, definitely will be on the lookout for a more unique food scene.