Zhangliang Malatang

I’m a huge fan of Malatang, and Zhangliang in San Mateo has the best in the Bay Area. It does get busy, but the wait is always worth it. The ingredient selection is extensive, and I always go for the classic bone broth—it’s rich, flavorful, and has that perfect numbing kick. Orders come out quickly and are piping hot, ready to enjoy.

Food is very fresh. You take a large bowl and fill it up with fresh ingredients. Take it to the counter to get it weighed, and then they cook it for you. Pick your soup base. Definitely a very good concept 👌. Love the fresh ingredients. Definitely a good place for lunch or dinner.

If you are smart enough to get the total weight down without getting all the heavy items. You can get a big bowl of noodles for around or under 10 bucks. Service is pretty decent. Staffs are helpful.

Nice place, good soup. You get a bowl, fill it up with meat, noodles, vegetables, and then you choose a soup base. Price charged by weight.

Service is not so great. There's one guy at the register who is rude. But their vegetarian dry ramen is incredibly tasty and we love the well stocked salad bar.

If you love soup, this is the place to go. The thin strip of meat is delicious, simply choose a wide range of ingridients place it in the bowl and choose your soup all ready to go

SOO YUMMY!! So much selection, they had all different kinds of fish, veggies, meats, and fishcakes that were so delicious! The broths were good and the sauce bar was awesome. So much food, it lasted me like 4 meals, and was $32.

Love this place. This is the place to go when I am craving for malatang. It is a non pork restaurant if I am not mistaken as they don't serve pork meat. You choose your carb, protein, and veggie, and select soup based. It is by lbs. I usually choose the bone broth one for soup and spicy dry wok for dry. I also like the choice of sauces and free fruit. Will come back anytime.

Love the food and the way it was served. I love self served food since it’s very flexible and can pick anything you like and decide how it’s cooked. The ingredient is fresh and the flavor is very mild (vs lot of strong and unnecessary added flavors) RE: other previous review about the flavor is too mild: this is why the restaurant offered a self-served dipping sauce station where you can mix your own flavor. I loved it, a lot. We waited for 25min during rush hour (12:30pm). The price is reasonable - $50 for two big bowls. There’s a waiting list on Yelp / Google, please use it. Can’t blame the restaurant if you have to wait abit?

Be warned, the spice is no joke! Love the concept of this place though. Self-serve style and you pay by the pound so you get great value for what you get. The soup was super flavorful, just spicier than I expected as I got a 1/4 on the spicy scale for the classical bone soup. Good service with plenty of water and tissues for those who aren’t handling the spice well.

‼️Keep in mind that your experience may differ from mine, as I arrived during opening (11:30am Sunday). I would reccomend going upon opening (11:30am early lunch or 5:00pm early dinner) Immediately greeted and was seated upon entering. The dining area was very clean. The raw ingredients section was very orderly. Food came out quick, sub 10 minutes. Broth was very delicious (bone broth, spiciest option) and not overly-salty like Tang Bar or YGF. The beef and lamb wasn't overcooked, either, so they maintained their tenderness. The huge game changer, for me, was the self-service sauce bar. Similar to an AYCE hotpot establishment, ZLM has a whole array of Chinese sauces and aromatics to choose from. Two small details that really sold me was that they provided nice quality chopsticks and offered self service water jugs. $34 for 2 people 4.5/5 service 5/5 food 4/5 atmosphere 4/5 cost 4.375/5 overall experience

Updated: The place improved. Their taste is better now. No wonder it’s always busy here. Even after there’s another competition for Malatang, this place still won’t be beaten. Simply because the other place doesn’t have a DIY sauce bar. *****Last year’s review star: 3️⃣⭐️***** This place just opened a few weeks ago, so it’s fairly new. It’s still the spotlight by the time we visited, so the waiting time was 30 minutes. This is a take-what-you-want-to-eat kind of place. You choose the ingredients and give them to the chefs. The staff are very friendly though. Always have a smile on their faces to anyone they talk to. The seating is quite cramped even their store is big. They try to have as many seatings as possible as there are so many people. The food is disappointing though. We order 2 big bowls, one mushroom soup and one spicy dry wok. The mushroom soup is okay, but the dry wok is not good. It tasted as if all they did was sautéed the ingredients with chili oil, no other flavor at all. It’s quite disappointing as I was really looking forward to trying it.

The yuba and soy curd skin is really fresh and good They've improved since they first opened (I only gave it 4⭐ back then), now with faster service and more ingredients it's my go to because of their choice of ingredients AND that it comes out properly cooked (not too hard or soft). Other make your own soup kind of places I've had the celtuse or winter melon not cooked all the way, but I've never had an issue here. I've tried a few of their broths and they've all been good (bone, mushroom, dry), I usually just go back to their classic bone broth and ask for it milder. They have a self-serve sauce bar with everything I could want and more. They also have fruit there, melon and orange slices.

This is my second time to Zhangliang Malatang in a week. I went with some buddies the other day and had such a fun time with great food, that I wanted to take my wife there today. I love the concept that you can pick you own food and customize your soup to exactly how you want it. Overall, the food was super delicious and reasonable for what you get, ours was just under $10 per person (my wife and I are not huge eaters). Just be aware that the soup was very hot temperature wise and more spicier than I expected, but super tasty.

I love this place and best of all it’s near my workplace. The one plus of this place versus the other ones is there is a fruit bar. Usually I come here in the afternoon (before 3pm) and it’s not too crowded; the ingredients are fresh, and it’s pescatarian and vegetarian friendly. Edit: I came back for like the 5th time hahahaha still as good as ever

I did hurt my stomach eating so much spicy food, not restaurant fault for sure. I will do that next time too, very yummy. Line up can be very long, try to enter your name virtually before you arrive to save time.

Dharma M

Love this place. This is the place to go when I am craving for malatang. It is a non pork restaurant if I am not mistaken as they don't serve pork meat. You choose your carb, protein, and veggie, and select soup based. It is by lbs. I usually choose the bone broth one for soup and spicy dry wok for dry. I also like the choice of sauces and free fruit. Will come back anytime.

Theo Wiggin

SOO YUMMY!! So much selection, they had all different kinds of fish, veggies, meats, and fishcakes that were so delicious! The broths were good and the sauce bar was awesome. So much food, it lasted me like 4 meals, and was $32.

Yusi

Love the food and the way it was served. I love self served food since it’s very flexible and can pick anything you like and decide how it’s cooked. The ingredient is fresh and the flavor is very mild (vs lot of strong and unnecessary added flavors) RE: other previous review about the flavor is too mild: this is why the restaurant offered a self-served dipping sauce station where you can mix your own flavor. I loved it, a lot. We waited for 25min during rush hour (12:30pm). The price is reasonable - $50 for two big bowls. There’s a waiting list on Yelp / Google, please use it. Can’t blame the restaurant if you have to wait abit?

Courtney Tai

Be warned, the spice is no joke! Love the concept of this place though. Self-serve style and you pay by the pound so you get great value for what you get. The soup was super flavorful, just spicier than I expected as I got a 1/4 on the spicy scale for the classical bone soup. Good service with plenty of water and tissues for those who aren’t handling the spice well.

Vincent Goh

‼️Keep in mind that your experience may differ from mine, as I arrived during opening (11:30am Sunday). I would reccomend going upon opening (11:30am early lunch or 5:00pm early dinner) Immediately greeted and was seated upon entering. The dining area was very clean. The raw ingredients section was very orderly. Food came out quick, sub 10 minutes. Broth was very delicious (bone broth, spiciest option) and not overly-salty like Tang Bar or YGF. The beef and lamb wasn't overcooked, either, so they maintained their tenderness. The huge game changer, for me, was the self-service sauce bar. Similar to an AYCE hotpot establishment, ZLM has a whole array of Chinese sauces and aromatics to choose from. Two small details that really sold me was that they provided nice quality chopsticks and offered self service water jugs. $34 for 2 people 4.5/5 service 5/5 food 4/5 atmosphere 4/5 cost 4.375/5 overall experience

Judy Margaret Chen

Updated: The place improved. Their taste is better now. No wonder it’s always busy here. Even after there’s another competition for Malatang, this place still won’t be beaten. Simply because the other place doesn’t have a DIY sauce bar. *****Last year’s review star: 3️⃣⭐️***** This place just opened a few weeks ago, so it’s fairly new. It’s still the spotlight by the time we visited, so the waiting time was 30 minutes. This is a take-what-you-want-to-eat kind of place. You choose the ingredients and give them to the chefs. The staff are very friendly though. Always have a smile on their faces to anyone they talk to. The seating is quite cramped even their store is big. They try to have as many seatings as possible as there are so many people. The food is disappointing though. We order 2 big bowls, one mushroom soup and one spicy dry wok. The mushroom soup is okay, but the dry wok is not good. It tasted as if all they did was sautéed the ingredients with chili oil, no other flavor at all. It’s quite disappointing as I was really looking forward to trying it.

J L

The yuba and soy curd skin is really fresh and good They've improved since they first opened (I only gave it 4⭐ back then), now with faster service and more ingredients it's my go to because of their choice of ingredients AND that it comes out properly cooked (not too hard or soft). Other make your own soup kind of places I've had the celtuse or winter melon not cooked all the way, but I've never had an issue here. I've tried a few of their broths and they've all been good (bone, mushroom, dry), I usually just go back to their classic bone broth and ask for it milder. They have a self-serve sauce bar with everything I could want and more. They also have fruit there, melon and orange slices.

Bryan Thistlethwaite

This is my second time to Zhangliang Malatang in a week. I went with some buddies the other day and had such a fun time with great food, that I wanted to take my wife there today. I love the concept that you can pick you own food and customize your soup to exactly how you want it. Overall, the food was super delicious and reasonable for what you get, ours was just under $10 per person (my wife and I are not huge eaters). Just be aware that the soup was very hot temperature wise and more spicier than I expected, but super tasty.

Vivian Lee

I love this place and best of all it’s near my workplace. The one plus of this place versus the other ones is there is a fruit bar. Usually I come here in the afternoon (before 3pm) and it’s not too crowded; the ingredients are fresh, and it’s pescatarian and vegetarian friendly. Edit: I came back for like the 5th time hahahaha still as good as ever

This has been my most favorite Chinese restaurant. There are a few other Malatang places but this one is fresh, flavorful and the staff are always welcoming. My favorite soup is the bone soup. For someone who can’t eat spicy, this has a hint of spicy flavor yet light enough to handle. And the dry one(forgot the name) is also my favorite. Mostly important is its clean! Love this place and definitely recommended!

My new favorite comfort food. The vegetarian selection is genuinely impressive, with so many different types of tofu and a wide variety of vegetables. Everything is so satisfying. I've been twice this week

Lynn Cheung

My new favorite comfort food. The vegetarian selection is genuinely impressive, with so many different types of tofu and a wide variety of vegetables. Everything is so satisfying. I've been twice this week

Susie Chen

This has been my most favorite Chinese restaurant. There are a few other Malatang places but this one is fresh, flavorful and the staff are always welcoming. My favorite soup is the bone soup. For someone who can’t eat spicy, this has a hint of spicy flavor yet light enough to handle. And the dry one(forgot the name) is also my favorite. Mostly important is its clean! Love this place and definitely recommended!

Quick mala tang place in downtown San Mateo. Went after 8pm on a weekday and there was no line. You pick up your own food using a tong and pay based on the weight of your food.

Food was pretty good. Got tomato soup but it wasn’t my favorite. Really good portions but adding a lot of carbs with increase weight.

This Malatang spot is pretty good, a varied selection of ingredients, flavorful broths where you can choose the spice level(on the spicier side), and lots of seating. This place can get busy so be prepared to wait especially in a larger group.

The food was delicious, and the staff was wonderful. However, if you have any gluten-related food allergies, it's not the place for you. I thought the tomato soup was once gluten-free, but then I found out that everything has flour in it. Even the mushroom soup is also gluten, so if you are gluten-free, you won't have any option except to boil water and the vegetables that you choose, and even with that, you have to be careful with the spices that you put in. I got to order, and I had my soy sauce with the vegetables, but eating in it is not a good place for anyone with these issues.

The broths at this place were really tasty and most of the ingredients tasted pretty fresh. If you really like frozen tofu though I do not think the texture of the tofu at this location is quite right. The sauce bar was pretty nice though.

The food was great. I got the bone broth with medium spice. You service your own water, pick your own toppings, and make your own sauce. I loved the concept. I wish you could’ve just paid at the counter after it gets weighed because the waiter forgot about me so it took a while to get the check.

I run into trouble each time I ask for a separate bill which is so annoying. The cashier even gave my attitude when I requested a separate bill. They always combine the bill then suggested us to split the bill. I ate very little and my coworker ate more than double of my portion

Clean, spacious, new restaurant in downtown San Mateo. You grab a large plastic bowl, fill it with proteins and vegetables, bring it to the cash register for weighing. They ask for your table number and they hand you a number attached to a spiral hair band (like the ones you get at a spa) and they bring your bowl to you. There is a sauce bar with fresh fruit for dessert. When we were there they had oranges and honeydew melon. I loved the tomato broth but thought it was slightly expensive for what you get but I'd definitely go back.

Malatang is basically precooked hot pot so you don't have to cook the food yourself. It's basically like Chinese fast food. You get to choose what you want by picking raw food in a steel bowl and then they will cook it based on the soup bases you choose. Zhangliang is a malatang place from China and they seemed to expanding to Bay area and I'm happy it's here. The food will get boring after a while but if you haven't been here I'd recommend that you come here to try. Choose the bone soup because it's the best and you can drink the soup after you finish the food. Also I like the fresh fruit stand. I think it's almost the golden standard for malatang because they have one of the best selection of ingredients and service is well trained. The place can be crowded but you still should be seated quickly since it's really just fast food.

Located in downtown San Mateo pretty close to the movie theater parking structure. And it is close to ritual tea, Molly Tea and other bubble tea places, very convenient. I like to come here to get my Malatang fix. The traditional pork bone soup is pretty good and it is not as expensive as the other place in downtown San Mateo. Still offers pretty good variety.

This is spot to go if you want something like hotpot but don't want to cook yourself but still get to choose your own ingredients. I go here when I don't want to do hotpot but want some soup and choosing my own ingredients. This location has a lot more ingredients to choose from compared to the many others malatangs I've been to. That means the things are usually fresh if they can hold such a large selection. And I do see the staff consistently checking on the ingredients which is important especially when there so many people hovering over it, even tho it eventually gets cooked. Service was good, quick cooked up my meal the place is decently new could add a little more vibe but maybe their style is for convenience quick in and out style eating. It's in a little blocked off striped which is great wlfor walking around after. The parking is hard that why it lost a star. It paid street or lot and even if you want to pay it's hard to do d parking, that the issue with downtown restaurants. But overall I'm quite satisfied would come here again and bring some friends. Keep it up👍🏻

Great selection of ingredients and fast service! The mala xiang guo was slightly too oily for my preference but had great flavor. Everything was well cooked and at a reasonable price. I would come back again if I was in the area!

This was like a Singapore Yong Tau Fu. Pick up veggies and proteins from the free-taking bar, and they charge you per pound. All veggies and proteins are very fresh and well-maintained. The price isn’t reasonable like a Yong Tau Fu but you can also get enough veggies and protein as you like your style. The mushroom soup was very mild and easy for me to try; someone cannot take a spy!

Dry pot with medium spicy always hits the spot, fresh ingredients, short waiting time.

Christine Phang

Great selection of ingredients and fast service! The mala xiang guo was slightly too oily for my preference but had great flavor. Everything was well cooked and at a reasonable price. I would come back again if I was in the area!

Yikna Wu

Located in downtown San Mateo pretty close to the movie theater parking structure. And it is close to ritual tea, Molly Tea and other bubble tea places, very convenient. I like to come here to get my Malatang fix. The traditional pork bone soup is pretty good and it is not as expensive as the other place in downtown San Mateo. Still offers pretty good variety.

H H

This is spot to go if you want something like hotpot but don't want to cook yourself but still get to choose your own ingredients. I go here when I don't want to do hotpot but want some soup and choosing my own ingredients. This location has a lot more ingredients to choose from compared to the many others malatangs I've been to. That means the things are usually fresh if they can hold such a large selection. And I do see the staff consistently checking on the ingredients which is important especially when there so many people hovering over it, even tho it eventually gets cooked. Service was good, quick cooked up my meal the place is decently new could add a little more vibe but maybe their style is for convenience quick in and out style eating. It's in a little blocked off striped which is great wlfor walking around after. The parking is hard that why it lost a star. It paid street or lot and even if you want to pay it's hard to do d parking, that the issue with downtown restaurants. But overall I'm quite satisfied would come here again and bring some friends. Keep it up👍🏻

L

This was like a Singapore Yong Tau Fu. Pick up veggies and proteins from the free-taking bar, and they charge you per pound. All veggies and proteins are very fresh and well-maintained. The price isn’t reasonable like a Yong Tau Fu but you can also get enough veggies and protein as you like your style. The mushroom soup was very mild and easy for me to try; someone cannot take a spy!

Su Naing Oo

Dry pot with medium spicy always hits the spot, fresh ingredients, short waiting time.

Great selection of things which is what I liked. As far as flavor goes I am not a connoisseur so it tasted normal. Service is great, very friendly mostly Chinese speaking waiters I think. Normal atmosphere, this was all in all good experience with nothing special happening.

Ilya Nikitin

Great selection of things which is what I liked. As far as flavor goes I am not a connoisseur so it tasted normal. Service is great, very friendly mostly Chinese speaking waiters I think. Normal atmosphere, this was all in all good experience with nothing special happening.

Christina Griffin

The food was great. I got the bone broth with medium spice. You service your own water, pick your own toppings, and make your own sauce. I loved the concept. I wish you could’ve just paid at the counter after it gets weighed because the waiter forgot about me so it took a while to get the check.

Overall, I enjoy the food here. I like the self service + variety of food choices. I also think the facilities here need some updates. The restroom has a revolting smell, and it feels very unsanitary. For food safety purposes, someone of the servers did not change to new gloves before-after they touched food and used their phones or wiped down tables.

Total Score: 6.94 Bathroom: N/A Didn’t use bathroom Customer Service: 4.25/5 Very nice. Refilled waters, and also saw there was some food chunk in my drink and offered to replace my water. 🥺 Ambiance: 3.5/5 Clean and bright, but normal decor Food: 4/5 Good selection of food, and good flavors after it was cooked. Nothing to complain about. Also free sauce bar!! Wow: 0/1 Normal malatang restaurant Total Score = (CS + 2*AM + 5*FOOD + WOW)/0.9

George Z

Total Score: 6.94 Bathroom: N/A Didn’t use bathroom Customer Service: 4.25/5 Very nice. Refilled waters, and also saw there was some food chunk in my drink and offered to replace my water. 🥺 Ambiance: 3.5/5 Clean and bright, but normal decor Food: 4/5 Good selection of food, and good flavors after it was cooked. Nothing to complain about. Also free sauce bar!! Wow: 0/1 Normal malatang restaurant Total Score = (CS + 2*AM + 5*FOOD + WOW)/0.9

One starts to feel not hospitality, but hostility when one dines there alone. First off, the receptionist/cashier assigned me to a counter seat at the bar. When I saw a vacant table for two available, I asked to be seated there. Hopelessly I was told that it was taken, but there was no one else looking or a table, and everyone who was waiting clearly came in after I did. Secondly, when the waiter delivered the prepared meal to me without a tray, and his hands wearing gloves were on the edges of the bowl, there was no spoon for the bowl that was 50% soup. I’m guessing they want you to slurp off of the edges of the bowl where they had added their secret ingredient! And the restaurant saved the worst for last. If one was to say the wisdom of the food service industry is it’s food and service, the essence then would be the cleanliness that it has to strive for. As attached in photos, the takeout box came with a plastic bag inside it. The restaurant had gone the extra distance to inform its customers it places its priorities not on their health. When I went to the front desk to ask for a new bowl, I was handed another bowl with a plastic bag in it. Apparently, they had brazenly and blatantly brought best business practice from Mars!! (sorry Mars, I was having an out of body experience.)

Price too high, totally not worth it. No service. Going to any hot pot locations than this one has better food and service.

Sadly, this place was pretty underwhelming. I was really excited to try it, but the flavors just didn’t live up to the hype. Props to them for offering a great selection of toppings and a free sauce bar, but the soups themselves were bland…which might explain the need for all the sauces. Honestly, I’d recommend checking out Tang Bar down the street instead.

Ziling Mai

Sadly, this place was pretty underwhelming. I was really excited to try it, but the flavors just didn’t live up to the hype. Props to them for offering a great selection of toppings and a free sauce bar, but the soups themselves were bland…which might explain the need for all the sauces. Honestly, I’d recommend checking out Tang Bar down the street instead.

Maybe it was an off night but when we came in, none of the staff asked if this was our first time or explained what to do. They seated us at our table and then it was just up to us to figure it out (which wasn’t hard, but some guidance would have been helpful). Since it’s $14.99/lb, it’s pretty easy to make a fairly expensive bowl of soup if you get the heavier items. The original broth had a weird aftertaste, like almost minty? I just put spinach in my soup so not sure where that came from. Rice available upon request for $1.50. Not sure what the sauce bar is for since I usually use sauces for shabu. Fruit selection just looked sad, didn’t even bother. I’m guessing this is some unique style of cuisine in China, but to those who aren’t Chinese or with the right company, the food experience is lost on us. Maybe I did it wrong, but rest assured the staff won’t help you get it right. Definitely would not recommend this place.

Completely misleading business hours. They claim to close at 9:30, but in reality they shut down much earlier and had already cleared everything out. I wasted half an hour driving here only to find the place closed. Extremely unprofessional and disrespectful to customers’ time.