Ponam-dong malatang restaurant in Gangneung: 630g for 13,900 won

Today I went and had malatang! I really love malatang — there was a stretch where I ate it five times a week haha🤤 The place I visited today had a great variety of ingredients and a clean interior, so I had a really pleasant meal.

Tanghua Kungfu Malatang Gangneung Ponam Branch: hours, address and the basics

📌 Name: Tanghua Kungfu Malatang 🕐 Hours: 11:00 – 22:00 🚗 Parking: available in the lot behind the store ⏰ Free parking: up to 2 hours ✅ Parking registration: give your license plate at the counter after eating 🍦 Service: one free ice cream per person 🥢 How to order: pick your own ingredients, priced by weight 🌶️ Spice level: choose from 0 to 3 ➕ Half-steps: 0.5 increments available

Is the restaurant comfortable for solo diners?

Walking into Tanghua Kungfu Malatang Gangneung Ponam Branch, the space was bigger than I expected and felt clean overall. It's mostly 2- and 4-person tables, and there are a lot of them, so it looked comfortable whether you're coming alone or in a group. Even eating by myself, the atmosphere felt totally relaxed.

How wide is the ingredient bar?

The refrigerated display had a real range of choices — vegetables, mushrooms, tofu items, and different kinds of noodles. It wasn't just a lot of options; the ingredients looked genuinely fresh up close. Since I love malatang, even the picking-and-choosing part was kind of fun.

The cute panda hair caps

While picking ingredients, one thing that caught my eye was the panda-shaped fenfentuan (a chewy sweet potato starch cake). Having a fun, unusual ingredient like that made choosing what to put in even more enjoyable.

Filling the bowl with vegetables and mushrooms

Bean sprouts, enoki mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, white wood ear mushrooms, bok choy, king oyster mushrooms, potato, fried tofu skewers, napa cabbage, Chinese glass noodles, tofu skin, lotus root, flower-shaped fenfentuan, quail eggs, more potato. I really love vegetables, so before I knew it, adding one thing after another had filled the whole bowl.

630g for 13,900 won: how the weight pricing works

You take your filled bowl to the counter to have it weighed. Mine came to 630g total, and with the added skewer it was 13,900 won! Getting to pick and pile in exactly what you want is the whole charm of malatang!

Why spice level 1.5 was the right choice

Spice options range from level 0, the plain white broth, up to level 3 for those who love it hot. What's especially nice is that you can pick half-steps in between, in 0.5 increments. I'm not great with spicy food, so I ordered at 1.5.

The self-serve bar and the ordering steps

Personal side plates, water, pickled radish, and aprons were all neatly arranged in one spot, easy to grab whenever you needed them.

Spoons and chopsticks and tissues were tucked under the side of the table, and next to the ordering counter there was even a hair tie. If long hair gets in your way while eating malatang, you can just grab one. It's a small thing, but I thought it was a thoughtful touch.

Picking up the bowl when the buzzer rings

Once you finish ordering, you're given a buzzer. Wait at your table, and when it goes off, pick up your food from the counter yourself. The whole process is simple enough that it shouldn't be confusing even on a first visit.

How the malatang tasted and how the ingredients were cooked

And finally, the malatang arrived!!!! The bowl was packed with everything I'd picked, so it looked hearty just from the visuals. It had been a while since I'd had malatang, so it looked even more appetizing.

The wood ear mushrooms I'd added were originally pretty big pieces, but they'd been cut into bite-sized pieces during cooking. The other vegetables and mushrooms weren't overcooked either — each one kept its own bit of texture. The ingredients were fresh to begin with, but how well they were cooked also won me over, so I kept going back for more.

Finishing the whole bowl

At first, level 1.5 was spicier than I expected and caught me a little off guard. But as I kept eating, I kept reaching for more. In the end, I finished every single ingredient I'd put in — nothing left but the broth, scraped clean to the bottom.

Free ice cream, one per person, after the meal

Finishing the malatang isn't the end here. The store had ice cream ready to go, and each person could take one for free. After enjoying a spicy bowl of malatang, having a cold ice cream on the way out was a great finishing touch.

Where to park at Tanghua Kungfu Malatang Gangneung Ponam Branch

I came by car, and parking was easy too. There's a lot behind the store, and it's fairly spacious. When you finish your meal and head out, just tell the staff your license plate number and they'll register it for you. Once registered, you get up to 2 hours of free parking.

Near Gangneung City Library and easy to eat alone

Since it's close to Gangneung City Library, it seems like a good option to swing by for a meal after studying nearby. The store is spacious with plenty of 2-person tables, so eating alone, like I did, felt totally comfortable.

Honest verdict after eating here

• Wide variety of ingredients
• Fresh vegetables and other ingredients
• Spacious, clean store
• Friendly owner and staff
• Spice level adjustable in 0.5 increments
• Comfortable to visit alone
• Up to 2 hours free parking
• One free ice cream per person

I love malatang so much that I've tried it in a lot of places, but this time the ingredients were fresh, and the lotus root, which I especially like, was cooked to a perfect crunch. I finished the whole bowl without leaving a single piece behind.

Since I was alone this time, I didn't get to try any side dishes, but next time I want to go with a friend and try the crispy-looking gwabaro (Korean-style sweet and sour pork) that the table next to me ordered. If you're craving malatang in Gangneung and looking for a spot that's good for eating solo or has parking, keep this one in mind :)