Mala kaoyu with ningbo fish and shrimp balls in Daejeon: Bantiannyao

Lately kaoyu (烤鱼, grilled fish stewed in spicy broth) has been just as hot as mala tang👀🔥 I love mala flavors so much that I was curious what kaoyu actually tasted like, and when I heard it had landed in Daejeon I went straight over haha. The place I visited was Bantiannyao Kaoyu Daejeon Branch in Dunsan-dong, Daejeon😊

Kaoyu is a Chinese fish dish where the fish is grilled first, then simmered in spicy sauce, and you can add all kinds of vegetables or toppings to cook them in the broth hot pot-style. You get to eat fish, vegetables, and shrimp balls all in one generous meal, so it's filling enough for a full dinner — and if you're into mala flavors, it's worth trying at least once🌶️🐟 I definitely ate until I was stuffed that day! Today I'm sharing my full kaoyu review!

Near Dunsan-dong Galleria: directions and hours

Daily 11:00–22:30

Bantiannyao Kaoyu Daejeon Branch is right near Galleria Department Store in Dunsan-dong, so it was easy to find😊 It's a great option if you're already looking for food around Dunsan-dong, and since there's plenty to see and shop nearby, it works well before or after a meal too. If you're someone who loves the numbing, spicy kick of mala tang or mala xiang guo, I'd especially recommend trying mala kaoyu as a new menu option.

The vibe and seating — good for group gatherings?

The interior was bigger and more comfortable than I expected✨ Maybe because it's a new location, everything felt clean and well-kept, and the tables had plenty of space between them for a relaxed meal. There were also tables big enough for larger groups, so it seemed like a good spot for friends, group meetups, or work dinners. Especially perfect for gathering with fellow mala or Chinese food lovers like me haha.

Self-serve bar for ₩2,000 per person — what's included

On one side of the restaurant there was also a self-serve bar😊 For an extra ₩2,000 per person, you could use it freely.

The self-serve bar had steamed rice, rice paper, and various dipping sauces🍚🥢 There were also soft drinks and snacks to go along with the meal. What surprised me was that you can dip the rice paper into the kaoyu broth and eat it with vegetables.

There were plenty of thoughtful touches for customers throughout the restaurant😊 Broth refills, kids' tableware, and cleaning supplies were all provided, and there were chargers too, which was handy for topping up my phone while eating. Every table had an outlet, which was genuinely convenient🔌💕

I made all four sauces myself

They had sauce recipes posted so you could make your own dipping sauces🥢 Following the recipe wasn't hard at all, so I tried making several. I made four: Banti secret sauce, spicy chili sauce, savory peanut sauce, and garlic sauce. Of the four, the savory peanut sauce was the best🥜 It was nutty with a hint of sweetness, and it paired really well with the spicy food.

How to order kaoyu — flavor, spice level, and fish

Ordering here was a bit special😊 First, you choose your flavor from the base menu — honghwajiao kaoyu, tomato kaoyu, braised mushroom kaoyu, pickled vegetable kaoyu, garlic kaoyu, and more — then you pick your spice level and fish. Fish options included ningbo fish, sea bass, and blue carp, so you could pick the type that suited your taste. On top of that, you add side dishes like vegetables or fish balls, so there was fun in choosing your own combination.

Ta-da~ After ordering and waiting a bit, the dishes started coming out one by one😳 The moment I saw the fish, I was shocked. It was way bigger than I expected, and once it landed on the table the whole presentation was so generous🐟🔥 Kaoyu is a Chinese fish dish where the fish is grilled first, then simmered in sauce and broth — once your fish and broth arrive, you keep simmering it a little longer right at the table. It's not just eating the fish and being done — you keep adding vegetables, fish balls, or tofu to the leftover broth and keep simmering, so it's basically enjoyed like hot pot.

Mala kaoyu ningbo fish, single dish — ₩43,000

That day I ordered the mala kaoyu ningbo fish single dish for ₩43,000🌶️🐟 True to my mala-loving self, I picked the mala flavor without hesitation haha. From the broth alone, that distinct numbing, spicy mala aroma hit right away, and it was exactly the strong mala flavor I love, so I was very happy. Ningbo fish is a freshwater fish with tender flesh and a clean, mild taste, so it paired well with the spicy mala broth. The fish itself was quite large, so the portion was generous.

Assorted vegetable toppings — ₩8,800

For an add-on, I ordered the assorted vegetable toppings for ₩8,800🥬🍄 At first you eat them alongside the fish, and once you've eaten a good amount of the fish, you add the vegetable toppings into the empty space. Adding toppings this way meant I started out eating it as a fish dish and ended up eating it hot pot-style, so I got two different experiences from one menu haha.

Fresh shrimp ball toppings — ₩8,800

I also ordered the fresh shrimp ball toppings for ₩8,800, which I'd been seeing all over Instagram lately🦐💕 It's a dish where you take ground shrimp paste and cook it directly into the broth yourself, and since I'd been curious about it from social media, I ordered it right away this time. Since you make it yourself, I expected it to be fun to eat too.

Ningbo fish flesh and a note on bones

I started with the ningbo fish🐟 Picking apart the flesh, I noticed a slight earthy note typical of freshwater fish, but the mala broth's aroma was so strong that it wasn't a bother eating it together. The ningbo fish flesh itself was soft and moist, with a nice melt-in-the-mouth texture🥹 That said, there were quite a few bones, so it's worth checking carefully while picking the flesh apart! The tingly mala flavor and the mild fish went surprisingly well together, and with warm white rice, the spicy broth made the rice disappear fast🍚🌶️

Adding toppings to the leftover broth, hot pot style

Once I'd eaten a good amount of the fish and there was room left, I added the assorted vegetable toppings🥬🍄 I put the ingredients into the remaining mala broth one by one and let them simmer. Eating this way felt totally different from the first round with just the fish. As the vegetables and toppings simmered fully in the mala broth, the broth flavor soaked into them nicely, making it feel just like a hot pot.

The assorted vegetable toppings included napa cabbage, wood ear mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, sweet potato glass noodles, fish balls, tofu, quail eggs, and more🥬🍄 With so many different ingredients, there was fun in picking through them one by one, and each soaked up the mala broth differently, giving different textures and flavors. Being able to go beyond just the fish and add toppings for a hot pot-style meal made this one menu feel quite versatile.

The fun of dropping in your own shrimp balls

Now for the fresh shrimp ball topping I'd been looking forward to 🦐✨ Instead of dropping it all in at once, you pinch off small pieces of the shrimp paste and drop them into the broth. Taking off just as much as you wanted let me control the size myself, and once dropped into the hot broth, they cooked quickly and were ready to eat right away.

I pinched off small pieces, rolled them round, and dropped them one by one into the mala broth🥰 After a short wait, they started cooking from the outside in and turned into plump little balls. Making and dropping them in myself was pretty fun, giving me something to do between bites haha.

I fished out a fully cooked shrimp ball and tried it🦐 The first bite hit with a bouncy shrimp texture, and the mala broth had soaked all the way through, giving it a spicy, savory depth. The shrimp had a soft bite along with the chewy texture typical of fish balls, offering a different charm from the fish itself. The mala broth and shrimp balls went together better than I expected.

The best combo — shrimp balls stuffed into fried tofu

And it turns out you can also stuff the shrimp balls into fried tofu pockets and cook them that way😳 I put a shrimp ball inside a piece of tofu, dropped it into the broth, and let it cook — personally, this was the best combination of all!💕 As the tofu soaked up the mala broth it turned moist and juicy, and eating it together with the shrimp ball inside gave a savory, spicy hit all at once. If you're getting the shrimp balls, I highly recommend pairing them with the tofu haha.

Wrapping it in rice paper

I also made use of the rice paper from the self-serve bar🥢 You dip the rice paper lightly in the mala broth to soften it, then top it with vegetables or whatever you like and roll it up. Wrapping the mala-cooked vegetables in rice paper gave it a whole different feel. The chewy rice paper with the spicy ingredients was really delicious😊

At the end, there was also ice cream for dessert🍦💕 After eating spicy, numbing mala the whole time, the cold ice cream felt refreshing and cleared my palate. Finishing off with ice cream for dessert was a nice touch!

First time trying kaoyu — final verdict

This was my first time trying kaoyu, and it turned out to be way more delicious than I expected🥹💕 I was a bit unfamiliar with the idea of a mala fish dish, but between eating the fish in mala broth and then adding vegetables and toppings to the leftover broth, it felt like getting two dishes in one, which was very satisfying. If you love mala flavors, it offers a different experience from the usual mala tang or mala xiang guo, so it's worth trying at least once🌶️🐟 Next time I'd love to try a different fish and a new flavor haha. I'd recommend this to anyone trying Daejeon Chinese kaoyu for the first time, or anyone looking for something different in Chinese cuisine💛