All Things Mala: Mala fusion bowls with loaded ingredients, mochi youtiao & mala mayo-torched tater tots

Whenever we have cravings for mala xiang guo, we’re so accustomed to just grab a huge bowl, tongs, and just build our own unique combination. Though 1-month-old All Things Mala focuses solely on a mala-themed concept, it adopts an unorthodox approach by forgoing the typical 2-door chiller displaying the usual lineup of ingredients.

Instead, this new kid on the block at 148 Silat Avenue has a standard combination of  ingredients for each mala bowl that they dish out. If customers don’t like a certain element, the staff will gladly substitute something else. For extra ingredients or add-on rice, it would cost an additional S$1 each.

Kuan Loong, the owner, possesses around 12 years of experience in the food industry. His past roles included a sauces and seasoning developer, food distributor for SATs, as well as working for a well-known plant-based foods company. All Things Mala is his very first kopitiam stall.

“I love mala but without the oiliness. That’s why for all our dishes, we try to use as little oil as possible. The rest of it comes from our homemade mala paste,” says Kuan Loong.

What I tried at All Things Mala

As with other mala stalls, you can inform the staff of your preferred spice level, which ranges from Low and Medium to High and Inferno. Since All Things Mala is conveniently located near SGH, they are offering a 10% discount to all healthcare personnel and civil servants.

We kickstarted our mala afternoon with the Signature Mala Chicken Bowl (S$10.90), cooked with low spiciness.

It contained instant noodles topped with pieces of chicken thigh and chicken luncheon, chicken meatballs, cheese tofu, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, black fungus, corn ribs, nai bai, cherry tomatoes, and a piece of charcoal youtiao. The bowl was also crowned with strips of what Kuan Loong described as ‘yusheng crispies’.

The noodles were cooked to a springy consistency that was totally up my alley. Kuan Loong was right, the noodles weren’t oily at all. Each fine strand was infused with a subtle but flavourful layer of mala. The ‘yusheng crispies’ also added bits of crunch in between bites.

I was actually relieved that the spice he used didn’t contain an overbearing amount of Sichuan peppercorn, sparing me the strange, numbing sensation on my tongue— phew!

The pieces of chicken luncheon meat were delicious. However, the chicken thigh was slightly devoid of seasoning. It was kind of bland in the middle. I’ve already highlighted this to Kuan Loong, so hopefully, your experience will be better than mine.

I really enjoyed the fried meatballs too, which had a delightful crispy layer on its surface. The cherry tomatoes and xiao bai cai injected a little tanginess and crunch to the whole ensemble, mellowing down the richness of the dish.

I also loved the different kinds of mushrooms inside— the shiitake was earthy and soft while the enoki gave a lot of texture.

For our next dish, we tried the Ocean Heat Petit Bowl (S$8.90), a lunch special that’s available on weekdays till 2.30pm. There’s also ‘petit’ versions for the beef, chicken and vegetable variety, too!

The seafood bowl had pieces of shrimp, fried fish, flower-cut squid, crabstick, along with the same ingredients found in the Signature Mala Chicken Bowl.

Truth be told, if no one had told us that this was a petit lunch special, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. The portion size was almost on par with the normal-sized one— super value for money, indeed!

The seafood was decently fresh and firm. My favourite was the fish which was pillowy soft and tasty.

I also had a blast munching on the crispy, jet-black youtiao. It added a playful touch that livened up the whole ensemble.

We also tried a couple of their sides. For the Crispy Tater Bites With Torched Mala Mayo (S$3.90), the mini hashed brown morsels were deep-fried, then tossed in a house-made mala mayo before getting torched.

The result? Crispy tater tots with a mild hint of creamy numbness. I must admit, it was a definite struggle to stop at just one— they were so addictive!

The Crispy Mochi Youtiao with Plum Dust (S$3.50) had a slab of mochi embedded within the crevice of the Chinese cruller.

The texture was an interesting combo of crispy and chewy, and I was looking forward to the sweet and sour punch from the plum powder. But unfortunately, the plum magic was missing. Perhaps too little was sprinkled to make its presence noticeable. What a shame.

Final thoughts

Overall, I found the concept and flavours at All Things Mala to be on point. To enhance accessibility, they are in the process of obtaining Halal certification. Kuan Loong shared that they may also add on mala tang options in the future. But, for now, they will continue improving and perfecting the current offerings.

If you’re a mala fan, why not swing by 148 Silat Avenue and break the routine. At the end of the day, creatures of habit need a change every now and then. Don’t you agree?

Expected damage: S$6.90 – S$13.90 per pax

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