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COMPASS MAGAZINE, May 2006

MALA KING (04) 2223-2562 101, YiZhong Street Hours:10 am-12 am

--By Douglas Habecker, translated by Ann Li

This spacious, bright hot pot restaurant is located directly underneath that also-new Marton Restaurant (see April "What's New" note). Following the success of its other all-you-can-eat Mala King outlets (299, DongXing Rd., sec. 3; 5, WenXin S. Rd.), Mala King's latest addition is the first branch to focus on set hot pot meals. The straightforward menu provides eight main options (NT$180-NT$280), such as beef, pork, mutton, seafood, New Zealand lamb chop and other varieties of hot pot. If you're especially hungry, extra ingredients may be ordered at additional cost. The pot soup bases come with three options--mala (spicy), the non-spicy "da gu" base, or a two-sided pot with both soup bases. Standard meals also include rice and iced tea. An especially good bargain is the NT$120 Student Hot Pot offer (available to students and non-students alike), which only provides the standard "da gu" soup base with a choice of beef, mutton or pork, and is slightly smaller in size. The 60-seat restaurant, located in the Chung Yo Department Store neighborhood, has a modern, bright atmosphere with pink and red seating at tables or a long counter, with large flat-screen TVs showing sports and other broadcasts.