Pixiu Mala Hongtang Buena Park (피슈마라 홍탕 부에나팍)

This is one of my favorite Mala Tang chain spots. I usually go to Chinese Mala Tang places in the San Gabriel Valley, so I was really surprised at how tasty this Korean-style Malatang is. It’s set up like a buffet — you pick your own ingredients from the bar, including different types of noodles. Everything is fresh, and they restock the bar often. They also have a self serve sauce station so you can mix your own perfect dipping sauce for your bowl. I really love the potato noodles — they taste so cute and have that chewy boba like texture. The staff is super friendly, and it only takes about 10 minutes for them to cook your customized Malatang. They also have other dishes on the menu, and you should definitely try them. My favorite is the Guobaorou — crispy fried pork sirloin with a swee

Food was decent, but I have had better Malatang places (YGF being one of them). What ended up feeling awkward was the service tip. I pick up my own food selftion (as the food is priced by the pound, based on how much I pick up) and place the orders myself at the counter, but the bill recommends tip range between 18% and 22%, after tax. I usually tip 18% or above in full service restaurants, but this one, I wasn’t so sure. Still ended up tipping as if it was a full service restaurant. Overall, four stars as it gets the job done, but food quality and services comes short of 5 stars.

The dining experience at Pixiu Mala Hongtang was exceptional. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was fantastic, and the service was top-notch. The price point was also very reasonable for the quality provided.

This malatang restaurant is on the second floor of The Source and is a convenient place to grab a quick dinner and satisfy your malatang fix. It’s never been very busy whenever I’ve gone. Seating is very casual. A worker will designate you a table and then you are free to start grabbing ingredients. I like that they have a scale available for you to weigh how much you’ve gotten - some places only weigh it after you finish assembling your bowl. They have a wide selection of ingredients as well - with different fish cakes, veggies, healthy noodles, beef, and lamb. They have other menu items other than malatang too. I tried the lemon cream shrimp and didn’t like it though - too rich and not very crunchy. The malatang on the other hand, is pretty good.

I love how you can pick your own toppings (veggies, noodles, protein) for them to make into a bowl! I got the Mala tang which is a broth version and the soup was super flavorful and tasty! My friend got the stir fry version where she really enjoyed it. We also ordered the Rose Tteokbokki which was creamy and the rice cakes was perfectly chewy, it was enjoyable. I never had the strawberry jam green onion pancake, it was interesting and kinda grew on me the more I ate it. I love how the staff is so friendly and restaurant is a chic modern interior. I would come back again for their Mala tang!