NORTHAMPTON — The city of Northampton is some 7,300 miles away from Sichuan, the central Chinese province known for being the home of the giant panda. But Kelvin Zheng sees no reason why distance should matter in bringing one of the Sichuan’s signature cuisines to the Paradise City.
Mala Pot & Grill, which opened last month at 271 Main St. across from the Academy of Music, aims to bring one of China’s more popular street food styles known as malatang hot pot to the Pioneer Valley. Zheng, a native of China a veteran of the restaurant industry, also owns Fruity Bubble in Holyoke, specializing in another Asian culinary sensation, bubble tea. His new restaurant takes the place of the former Mexcalito taco bar, which closed at the location in 2024.
“I’ve always wanted to have a restaurant in the city of Northampton,” Zheng said in an interview with the Gazette. “This is sort of a new concept, in that there’s nothing else like it in the area.”
Hot pot style restaurants are a common sight in larger cities with sizable Chinese communities. In a traditional hot pot restaurant, tables come included with an stovetop where a pot with flavored broth is placed to boil. Customers can then order various ingredients, such as vegetables, meat, and seafood which can then be placed in the pot to cook and taste.
But Mala Pot does another style known as “malatang” hot pot, originating in the Sichuan province of China. In the malatang style, customers instead fill a bowl with their desired ingredients, not unlike a regular buffet, and bring their ingredients to the counter to be cooked in a broth of their choosing. The bowl is then brought to their table to be enjoyed, and the price is charged by the weight of the bowl (prices currently stand at $14.99 per pound).
At Mala, broth flavors include include spicy malatang, beef bone broth and a vegan sweet and sour tomato soup. Ingredients customers can select to add to their soups include carrots, fried fish balls and soybean rolls.
“It’s a new kind of dining experience for all the people in this city,” Zheng said. “This is something if you want to grab a small lunch. We charge by the weight, so it’s more affordable.”
With introducing a new concept of cuisine to city residents, Zheng said there’s an initial learning curve of having to show customers how the process works. But he also said the reception from locals has been positive.
“Every day we have new customers coming in, and return customers,” Zheng said. “They’re really surprised because it’s really good, and they’ve never had it before.”
In addition to city residents, Zheng said the restaurant also attracts a clientele from nearby colleges and universities, many who come from China and more familiar with the malatang hot pot concept.
“We see a lot of Asian students from UMass, they come over say, this is something they missed from their hometown,” Zheng said. “In China it’s on every corner, but they barely see it in this area. So they come in because they missed something from their home.”
In addition to the hot pot, the restaurant also serves hibachi meals, Korean barbecue chicken and several appetizers and sides. And of course, there is bubble tea.
Mala Pot & Grill is open every day from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., except on Fridays and Saturdays when it closes at 9:30 p.m.