Couple compares malatang spice level 1 vs 2 in Suwon: Rahongbang

I suddenly had a craving for malatang, so my husband and I went to a well-known malatang spot. Part of the fun of malatang is picking out exactly the ingredients you want, so every time I go I end up thinking hard about what to add — and this time was no different, with each of us choosing our own ingredients.

What about parking?

You can park in the building's parking lot, but they don't give out a parking pass, so you'll need to pay for it yourself.

Picking ingredients — what did we add?

The ingredients were varied, fresh, and kept clean and well-managed.

We put in a good variety of mushrooms and dried tofu, among other things.

You've got to add chewy fenzi (glass noodles made from sweet potato starch), no question.

The bok choy had small leaves, which made it look soft and delicious.

Bean sprouts and napa cabbage are must-adds, and if you like cilantro, go for it — I'm happy with crown daisy instead.

Another fun part of malatang is definitely picking the ingredients. Since you can load up on whatever you like, I went heavy on my favorites.

Picking out each ingredient one by one along with the broth naturally became its own kind of fun — trying a bit of everything — and I think that ability to mix and match to your own taste is really one of malatang's biggest strengths.

There were also all kinds of fish balls.

They had beef and lamb too — I put in a bit of lamb.

You grab your own bowl self-serve, and sauces and pickled radish are self-serve as well.

Level 1 vs level 2 — how different is the spice?

I ordered malatang at spice level 1, and my husband ordered level 2. Even with the same malatang, having different spice levels meant we got to compare two flavors side by side, which was nice.

To get straight to the point, level 1 was easy and enjoyable for me, but if you generally like malatang and prefer some level of spiciness, I think level 2 would taste even better.

There's a variety of drinks too, and you can grab peanut sauce from the fridge.

Eating malatang for a while, you can get a little tired of the broth or the spice flavors — but having a piece of guobaorou (sweet and sour crispy pork) alongside really changed things up and tasted great.

Personally, if you prefer malatang with really strong spice, I'd recommend level 2 or above, and if you can't handle spicy food well, level 1 should still be plenty delicious.

Since someone like me who prefers mild flavors and someone like my husband who prefers a bit more spice can each order their own level, I think this place would work well for couples or families with different spice preferences visiting together.

Rather than just having malatang alone, I'd recommend ordering guobaorou or shrimp egg fried rice to share alongside it.

Mini guobaorou, ₩12,000

It felt like a shame to just have malatang, so we ordered the mini guobaorou as a side dish too. Honestly, since the name has "mini" in it, I assumed the portion wouldn't be that big, but I was surprised by how generous it actually was. It was plenty for the two of us to share alongside the malatang, and the crispy fried pork with its sweet and tangy sauce paired really well with the malatang.

Shrimp egg fried rice, ₩9,000

And surprisingly, the menu item we were most satisfied with that day was the shrimp egg fried rice. It was only ₩9,000, so we ordered it without much thought, but the portion turned out to be really generous.

It was more than enough for the two of us to share alongside the malatang and guobaorou. Most of all, I liked that the fried rice was cooked really well — the grains weren't clumped together or mushy, they were nicely separated and fluffy, and there was a good amount of shrimp and egg mixed in, making it just as good as fried rice from a Chinese restaurant. Ordering fried rice at a malatang restaurant felt like a satisfying combo to share as a side, and the shrimp egg fried rice's generous portion made for a filling meal.

Between the fun of picking your own malatang ingredients, being able to choose your spice level, and getting to enjoy guobaorou and fried rice on top of it, this was a great spot to visit when you want a filling meal. Next time, I'd like to come back and try choosing a slightly different set of ingredients.