Suwon malatang restaurant booked on Naver, level 2.5: Rahongbang

I'd been craving malatang for a while, so I went looking for a good malatang spot in Suwon and found this place. Lots of repeat visitors and really good reviews, so I headed over without a second thought!!

Is there parking at Rahongbang Malatang Suwon Cheoncheon Branch?

Rahongbang Malatang, this good malatang spot in Suwon, does have parking, but they don't cover it — I think it was about ₩1,000 per 20 minutes? Anyway, you'll pay around ₩3,000–4,000.

Lunchtime queues: why a Naver reservation is the answer

I visited around lunchtime, and since I'd made a Naver reservation ahead of time, they set aside a reserved table for me. If I hadn't reserved, I probably would've had to wait. It's supposed to be a well-known spot, and yeah, there were really a lot of people.

Choosing NewJin noodles and fenzi, all priced by weight

Looking around, they had the trendy NewJin noodles and tons of fenzi (starch noodle) varieties, plus all the essential malatang ingredients. I fell for the NewJin noodles hahaha, so I piled in two kinds, added flat fenzi too, and even the skewers weren't charged separately — everything's by weight, so I loved being able to pick as much as I wanted, piece by piece.

What surprised me was that the meat here is also just charged by weight. Usually it's around ₩3,000–4,000 per 100g, but you can add exactly as much as you want, and you can even mix lamb and beef — we mixed both.

Malatang and mala xiang guo have a minimum order amount, so you just need to hit that. The sides also come in various sizes, which is nice — there's a mini size and a single-portion size too, so ordering guobaorou for solo dining is totally doable.

One malatang bowl for two at about 20,000 won, spice level 2.5

We piled it generously to share one bowl between two people, and it came out completely full in a huge bowl. I think the malatang alone came to about ₩20,000!! The broth had a nice malatang flavor — rich and tasty.

The malatang was level 2.5, I think? I bumped it up half a level above Shin Ramyun spice level. But honestly, level 3 would probably be fine too. Maybe because there's plenty of peanut sauce in it, it was milder than I expected (by my low spice tolerance standards).

I absolutely love the flat fenzi haha. It has a different charm from the NewJin noodles — both the noodles and the fenzi are chewy and springy, so they're must-add ingredients for me!!

Egg fried rice at Rahongbang Malatang

Egg fried rice is a dish we both love, and it came out beautifully fluffy and well-fried. I feel like egg fried rice needs to be this fluffy to be good, and this place, even though it's known for malatang, is also a great spot for egg fried rice haha.

Large guobaorou: how big is it?

This is the large size guobaorou. I love guobaorou so much that I debated going with the mini size, but ended up ordering the large one — and honestly, between the malatang, egg fried rice, and guobaorou for two, it turned out to be a lot of food. A few pieces were left over so we packed them to go hahaha, and microwaved them the next day.

The batter was really crispy! and chewy inside — delicious, and the sauce wasn't overly sour, just the right sweet-and-sour balance that anyone would like. Recommended as a guobaorou spot in Cheoncheon-dong.

Looking for a malatang restaurant with parking in Cheoncheon-dong, Suwon?

We ate completely generously haha. The whole time we were eating, the place was packed with people, and clearly for good reason. It seems to be well known as a delicious malatang spot in Cheoncheon-dong, Suwon, so people keep coming steadily to eat. There were tables with little kids, tables with friends, tables with parents — malatang has really become a national dish at this point, it feels like. It was so nice to eat at a great malatang place again after a while.

If you're looking for a malatang restaurant with parking in Suwon's Cheoncheon-dong, this is one I'd recommend. The guobaorou is crispy and delicious, and the malatang broth isn't harshly spicy — it has a rich, nutty kind of flavor!! The xiang guo looks really good too, so I think I'll come back next time to try that. And the fact that skewers and meat are converted to weight with no extra charge was such a great point. Also, the staff were super kind!!