Reviews:
The food here is fantastic!! Staff has always been very friendly and helpful. This has become our go to for authentic cuisine. Try the Mapo with pork, one of those dishes that can be made 100 different ways but these guys do it right!
Glad we decided to pull in and give this place a chance. The mapo tofu is highly recommended.
This is my new favorite place for Chinese food! I've only had this place to-go but it's delicious.
I thought the boiled beef with chili was excellent and the house made tofu.
I was pretty excited about in the influx of Asian restaurants in Austin (or at least that what it seems like). And I am happy to report that this place is quite delicious.
To-go review:
Red oil chili wontons - this was a bit disappointing since it's kind of not what I expected. I'm not sure if they were busy and ran out of wontons but what I got looked like dumplings. The sauce was more sweet than expected and was more sticky in texture than a chili oil. I don't really recommend this.
Spicy beef in chili sauce - this was yummy. Beef was really tender and the flavor was pretty great. I wish it had some more of the mala spiciness though
Homemade tofu - this was kind of a surprise dish! It's kind of like a spicy tofu dish with some veg. The fried tofu was delicious.
Definitely recommend and probably one of the best Chinese restaurants in Austin. Would love to come back to try the soup dumplings and Peking duck.
So, my brother and I were planning on going to get another dinner, but the place was closed due to flu, so we drove around and found Mala Chili. Obviously God was watching over us because this place was fantastic! Everything's kind of automated, you order from your table on your phone... And then a robot, and a server brings your food over, and it is amazing. I highly recommend the crispy chicken with peppers, the eggplant is amazing and a tad spicy. I also really enjoyed the many drinks they offer, I got the melon with yogurt and it was perfect. We also had the hot and sour soup and the honey walnut shrimp. But somehow that part of our order got lost, and by the time they finally got it to the table, we were full. So we had to take that home however, it reheats. definitely going back
Authentic Chinese food, we really enjoyed eating here. The spice level can be adjusted to suit your preference.
Easily the best Chinese food in Austin. We eat here every time we are in the area and have yet to be disappointed
This's how I would sum up Mala Chili - Friendly customer service, fast, delicious, freshly cooked to order food, and a very reasonable price for the portion size!
SERVICE: We stopped by for lunch here the first time on a Tuesday after reading good reviews on Yelp. We were greeted warmly by the lady at the counter (we are not sure, but think she might be the owner since she was there the second time we went too). There are plenty of seats indoors and a kiosk at the front to place an order (legendary if you're not a people person; or just in a hurry). We told her that we wanted to sit outside so she told us to look at the menu online and asked if it's okay for the food to be served in to-go containers (we were fine with that). We sat at their patio seating out front on the left side of the restaurant. After a few minutes, she came out to take our order.
FOOD: We got their SPICY CHICKEN and GENERAL TSO CHICKEN (...I know but it's my husband's favorite, what can I say ).
- SPICY CHICKEN (I personally love this dish with pork at another restaurant on Research Blvd), and it turned out I really love Mala Chili's spicy chicken too as the chicken was so crispy on the outside and perfectly cooked inside. The spiciness and numbness level (from Sichuan peppers) was mild so you do not lose your sense of taste which I appreciate very much.
- GENERAL TSO CHICKEN - it was perfectly cooked too but there was too much sauce so the chicken got soggy quick (that was on us, we forgot we always customize this dish--need to order with less sauce, and extra spicy next time).
- We also tried their SHUMAI (STEAMED DUMPLINGS)and their PEKING DUCK which came with pancakes (I prefer these over buns), julienned cucumber & scallion, and sauce and duck bone soup with Napa cabbage & glass noodles and both were good.
We loved their food so much, we came back the following week to get their spicy chicken (again) and cumin lamb!
- CUMIN LAMB was so good, less spicy and less cumin leaves than what I got from another restaurant on Research Blvd but the flavor was good and the gaminess of the lamb was less pronounced where my husband could enjoy this dish (normally he doesn't like it).
All in all, we will be regulars here. The food is top notch; it is close to our regular haunt H-Mart, and we love the staff. Major 5-stars, "two enthusiastic thumbs up, fine holiday fun" ( 10 points for whoever guesses what movie this quote is from )!
Great quality. Authentic Sichuan food. Fair price.
Broad selection of authentic Chinese food.
Went to Mala Chili on Christmas Day and it was indeed, open. The service was quick and the servers were some of the kindest and most attentive I have met and seen in a restaurant! We got the cumin lamb, lobster dumplings, salt and pepper fish, and the vegetable lo mein. All were delicious! The lobster dumplings did fall apart quickly but the flavor was good. Our favorite was definitely their vegetable lo mein and their cumin lamb and salt and pepper fish were tied for a close second! The restaurant itself was very relaxed and chill with nice relaxing music in the background. My husband and I will definitely be going back to eat at this restaurant.
Hello best Chinese food I've had in Texas! We had the tangerine chicken (A+ for flavor and crispy not soggy!!!!), dumplings, lo mein (great flavor).
I sorta miss the skewers place that Mala Chili has replaced but the food here is quite good! And the portion sizes are very hearty. I usually come here to grab Yomie's yogurt but I would like to try more of their food soon. Seems to be a very busy spot during dinner time.
Totally forgot to take pictures as we were quite hungry. Here's what we ordered and overall impressions (I prefer bolder dishes but my family wanted simple items besides the duck):
Peking duck - They actually had duck! I feel like other peking duck places run out of it quite frequently. They do the wraps instead of the buns, and I believe this is the superior method. Additionally, it came with a duck broth for the parts of the duck that come with the bone.
Homemade tofu - fried tofu covered in a spicy sauce, really delicious!
Scallion pancake, spinach with garlic, veggie lo mein, hot and sour soup - all very standard dishes, appropriately seasoned and salted, I'd say.
Amazing flavors and great portions. Loved the spicy fish boiled. We use to go to 3 Gorges for Mala. But this restaurant is so much better. So happy to have it in North Austin. Great recipes by Ms Phoebe.
PERFECTO!!!It was insane like insane!Service is the nicest people ever!!!And it is very quick,Like you order something and 5 seconds later it pops up hot and DELICIOUS!!! (my son wrote this but it's all true!)
Baos are excellent. Green beans we always get. My son liked the soup dumplings. Food always tastes fresh and comes out fast. We are frequenting already!
We really enjoyed our visit. We had excellent service. The young gentleman was patient and attentive. He gave us some ideas for a dish that would work for our 5 yr old.
My 5 yr old got the chicken Lomein (which actually ate!). We got the beef tendon as an appetizer which was very well balanced. Definitely one of the best renditions of that dish I have had in the Austin area. We followed it up with the changing spicy boiled fish and the yu xiang eggplant. Everything was fantastic. The fish was tender and spicy. And the eggplant dish was savory/sweet which helped cut the tongue numbing spiciness of the fish dish.
Don't forget to grab one of those yogurt rice drinks from Yomie's rice yogurt before you leave. Great stuff!
We ate here on Christmas Eve. They want you to scan a QR code for the menu but you can get a paper menu if you ask. I ordered the Salt and Pepper Shrimp which everyone at our table said was their favorite. We shared a half a Peking duck. It came with rice pancakes and shredded onion for roll ups. The wonton soup was delicious and quite unusual with large meat-filled wontons and not much broth. Egg rolls were crispy and delicious. Hot chili oil on table. All in all, delicious food by any measure. Can't wait to go back. This is my new favorite Chinese restaurant.
Great Chinese food in the Hmart plaza. Portion sizes are pretty good, service and food come out decently quick. The store itself is not super large, so might be a bit hard to get a large group in there and while full on a friday night, there was no wait either.
Friend and I tried the jumping fish, which was the best iteration of the dish I've had anywherre. Velvety soft fish in a flavorful broth, with some cucumber slices for freshness, it's everything you want this dish to be. The scallion pancakes are super flaky and fried crisp - dip that in their house chili crisp, which is on the smokier side, but very good. Fish fragrant eggplant is a good vegetable dish - while a little greasy, very flavorful and the eggplant has great texture.
Awesome food! Authentic and delicious! Food came out quick and fresh! Flavors are on point!
It's a "smaller-sized" restaurant, but don't let the looks fool you! It is as legit as it can get!
We had an amazing dining experience! The food was absolutely delicious and full of flavor. We were pleasantly surprised at how quickly our food was served and impressed with the cozy, clean ambiance of the restaurant. This was our first visit to this hidden gem, and we couldn't be happier to have found it just 30 minutes from home. The best part? The price was excellent for two people who definitely have a big appetite. My husband, who is Chinese, gave it an 8/10 rating. We're so glad we found this place and highly recommend it!
Love this place and the interior. Everyone behind the counter was super friendly, too. The Kung pao chicken is great, but not spicy in the slightest. I get the barbecue pork bao every time bc they are perfect, and sweet savory, and amazing, and I wish I lived in one just like James and the giant Peach
Had the spicy tofu, Mongolian beef, green beans, hot and sour and egg drop soup all were cooked to perfection and season perfectly. We even got to take some home. Service was perfect and the restaurant is in maculate clean
I moved to Austin a few years ago and have been searching high and low for a truly authentic Sichuan restaurant that does not compromise on spice or the original flavor. Mala Chili fits the bill.
We ordered the spicy chicken and the boiled fish in spicy sauce. I'd give both dishes a 10/10. They were cooked to perfection - the chicken was just the right amount of crunch and the fish just melted in my mouth. Kudos to the chef for using the perfect amount of "mala" (peppercorn based numbing spice) - it was not overwhelming but gave the dishes the perfect kick. Definitely consider these dishes if you love spicy food!
This restaurant is kid friendly as well. My 4 year old daughter loved + devoured her egg soup and shumai. The service was wonderful - food came out fast, and the staff was friendly. Ambiance is also quite decent - nothing fancy but clean and pleasant.
Absolutely loved my dining experience here and will be back!
Spicy Chicken
Excellent and fast service. We got our usual go to Sichuan dishes and they did not disappoint. The salt and pepper shrimp and crispy spicy fried fish were well seasoned and perfectly fried. Cumin lamb and fish dishes were full of protein and veggies. We had more than half leftover after stuffing ourselves. Will definitely come back to try more dishes!
Prices are excellent. Rice was complimentary. Large parking lot outside.
The Mala Lobster special was delicious. The food is authentic. I am looking forward to coming back.
Best Chinese food I've had so far in Austin and I've tried a lot. Food was perfect, not too salty, not overly oily either.
Food was on the less salty side, which was a plus for us. We tried the Spicy chicken, dry fried string beans, cumin lamb, Dan Dan noodles, and the soup dumplings. Spicy chicken and string beans are definitely a must get!
Good foods and services great !
Love that 2 lbs lobster so so yummy!
Go back for more next week!
We went for dinner on Thanksgiving Day as most stores and restaurants were closed. When we arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to see ample space for our party of 3. We were seated quickly and given menus to peruse through. They also have QR codes at each table if you'd prefer to look at their digital menu.
We ordered several items as we were hungry, which took about 20 min before they were served. All items were served hot from the kitchen and all were super tasty. We ordered green beans, stir-fried fish, Chinese eggplant, and kungpao chicken.
Though this restaurant serves Sichuanese food, same as China Family, we noticed that their kungpao chicken contains less peppers and was less spicy in general. The chicken was also slightly sweeter. All this to say, we enjoyed Mala Chili's version of kungpao chicken as we tasted more of the flavors of the dish than having our mouth on fire from accidentally eating hot peppers in China Family's version.
The prices are more expensive compared to other Chinese restaurants nearby but they're on par with other top-rated, high quality Chinese spots, so I can't complain much.
This place used to be a Chinese BBQ skewers place (which used to be something else two other times) but I heard the owner was the same. I wish them luck in this next venture since the food here is really legit Sichuan cuisine.
I saw a previous reviewer complaining about lack of Sichuan flavor while ordering dishes like onion beef and fried rice. My brother/sister in Christ, order Sichuan dishes if you want the "Sichuan flavor"...Some suggestions: spicy chicken, spicy boiled fish/beef, stir fry green beans, dried fried intestines (if you're about that).
Overall, I thought the food here was delicious and comparable to House of Three Gorges. Talked to a waitress and she explained how a few chefs came down from Houston to work here, and Houston definitely knows their Chinese cuisine.
Best Chinese food I've had in the North Austin area. Ordered hot and sour soup, mapo tofu, green pepper beef, string beans, and salt and pepper pork ribs. Everything was very tasty, especially the salt and pepper ribs.
We went during lunch and got 3 dishes between the two of us so that we could try as many dishes as possible and we had plenty to take back home for another meal. The portions are a very healthy size and the flavors are spot on. I wish the pork belly pieces weren't so big but they were so tender that they break apart easily when you bite into them. Even the beef in spicy chili oil was not overly spicy but flavorful. All the other dishes we saw people ordering looked so delicious as well. I wished they had more photos on their menu so when you eat here, don't forget to add more photos for others.
During our lunch, a customer was having a heart attack and was unresponsive and I believe the person who was the lead staff, immediately started compressions on this man and the compressions were enough to revive him, while we waited for emergency services to arrive. I was so impressed at how the staff stepped in so quickly and attended to this man. He was truly a hero. Needless to say, it was an exciting lunch, thankfully with a happy ending.
We went during lunch and got 3 dishes between the two of us so that we could try as many dishes as possible and we had plenty to take back home for another meal. The portions are a very healthy size and the flavors are spot on. I wish the pork belly pieces weren't so big but they were so tender that they break apart easily when you bite into them. Even the beef in spicy chili oil was not overly spicy but flavorful. All the other dishes we saw people ordering looked so delicious as well. I wished they had more photos on their menu so when you eat here, don't forget to add more photos for others.
During our lunch, a customer was having a heart attack and was unresponsive and I believe the person who was the lead staff, immediately started compressions on this man and the compressions were enough to revive him, while we waited for emergency services to arrive. I was so impressed at how the staff stepped in so quickly and attended to this man. He was truly a hero. Needless to say, it was an exciting lunch, thankfully with a happy ending.
We got the spicy chicken and the fish in chili oil, it was really really good. Highly recommend!
By Yelp
