Suwon mala xiang guo with adjustable chili oil: Rahongbang Malatang

Having mala xiang guo in Cheoncheon-dong, Suwon

On one drizzly, rainy day,, I was craving mala xiang guo for dinner, so off I went! There were seriously so many malatang and mala xiang guo ingredients to choose from, and the restaurant was so clean and tidy that I filled up on mala xiang guo in the dining room.

There’s a Starfield nearby for shopping, plus a Lotte Mart right across the street for groceries, so the route was just perfect haha.

They’re open Monday through Saturday from 11:00 to 21:00 and Sunday from 12:00 to 21:00, with last orders at 20:30. Building parking isn’t available, but you can park in nearby alleys on weekdays from 11:00 to 14:00. It’s about a one-minute walk from bus stop 01301 and Lotte Mart Cheoncheon Branch, or about seven minutes by car from Starfield Suwon.

A clean dining room that works for solo meals, too

Can you see how clean the dining room is~? There are tables for two and four, so it has a nice atmosphere for eating alone, too!

As soon as I walked in, all the freshly stored ingredients were right there in view haha.

An ingredient station where meat and skewers are priced by weight

Plates and bowls are set out on one side. One distinctive thing is that beef, lamb, and skewers are weighed together with the vegetables and noodles, with no extra charge!

So many noodle options, right? Of course they had Newjin noodles~~! There were different kinds of Chinese glass noodles and bunmoja (thick chewy starch noodles), too. I’d often seen the black-and-white panda bunmoja, but they even had purple panda bunmoja and watermelon bunmoja haha.

There were so many vegetables, plus plenty of ingredients to add, like yubu (fried tofu), dried tofu, frozen tofu, and tofu skin... Once you start adding things, there’s no end to it, right...? It’s nice that you can weigh everything and check before paying! You can pay by yourself at the self-checkout, too.

• Malatang: ₩2,200 per 100 g
• Mala xiang guo: ₩3,300 per 100 g
• Garlic guobaorou (large): ₩19,000 / guobaorou (large): ₩17,000
• Garlic guobaorou (small): ₩14,000 / guobaorou (small): ₩12,000
• Solo guobaorou: ₩7,500 / solo cream shrimp: ₩9,000
• Lemon cream shrimp (large, 14 pieces): ₩19,900 / lemon cream shrimp (small, 8 pieces): ₩14,900
• Shrimp egg fried rice: ₩9,000 / egg fried rice: ₩7,000

Malatang has an ₩8,000 minimum, while mala xiang guo has a ₩15,000 minimum. You can adjust the spice level for both malatang and mala xiang guo.

Medium-spicy xiang guo and mini guobaorou

Our order came out! Mini guobaorou was ₩12,000, plus the mala xiang guo. As we added one thing and then another, the mala xiang guo alone came to about ₩50,000... hahahahaha. Is that right...? Looking at it, though, I guess it does look like ₩50,000 worth...?

It was piled generously with cilantro, which gave it such a lovely fragrance...

The guobaorou was so delightfully chewy and tasty. Even though it was the mini guobaorou, the portion was quite generous, hehe.

Chewy and tangy... such a gorgeous, glistening look...

The xiang guo was nicely numbing and spicy—just right. I’m glad I went with medium spice...

Adjusting the flavor with chili oil and peanut sauce

Still, to boost that numbing kick, I brought some chili oil from the self-service bar and mixed in a little more—it was even tastier. Compared with delivery, eating in is so nice because you can adjust it exactly to your own taste!

White rice really is a must with xiang guo! I added a bowl of rice for ₩1,000 and had it together with the dish... So delicious...

There was peanut sauce in the fridge, so you can help yourself! Dipping it in that nutty peanut sauce made it feel even more delicious~~!

Pack it up if you’ve taken too much

Rahongbang Malatang Suwon Cheoncheon Branch is also running a review event! Leave a receipt review and you can choose a complimentary soda or Binghongcha iced tea.

Maybe it was because we really did take too much... I guess nearly ₩60,000 for two people was too ambitious... We ate a reasonable amount, then packed up the leftovers and brought them home!