With the rainy weather these days, a hotpot meal with Sichuan mala soup is perfect to heat up the tummy, in more ways than one!

Riding on the trend, DeMala Hotpot Restaurant – the name is a wordplay of ‘the mala’ – offers halal mala hotpot which promises good quality meat and seafood. Located in a newish part of 1 Utama mall opposite KFC (LG) in the food hall area, you need to make your way to the area just outside the mall.   

Varying sets are available, depending on the number of diners (from RM88/2 pax to RM188/4 pax), and you can top up with more meat such as lamb, chicken and premium beef slices. Seafood options include fresh grouper, snapper, baby lobster, mussels and scallop, among others. Prices range from RM16 to RM78 (tiger prawns)/RM128 (seafood platter). Fresh fish go by market price.  

There are also a whole variety of meatballs and other stuff as well as a selection of side orders such as veggie, mushrooms, noodles, etc. Demala goes the extra mile by providing fresh hydroponic vegetables which you can freshly pick from the rack. Veggie, mushrooms, noodles and dessert are on free-flow here.

You have 5 choices of broth to choose from: Sichuan Mala, Mushroom, Tomato, Tom Yum and Chicken Bone Broth. We had the mala and chicken bone broth. The mala wasn’t as killer spicy as some places, which was a good thing ‘coz if your whole mouth becomes numb from the spice, the meal is no longer enjoyable as you can’t taste what you’re eating anymore. The chicken broth started out mild and subtle but by the end of the session, it had a lot more depth and flavour after all the ingredients that were dunked in it.

For this review, we found the prawn paste (cleverly shaped like a koi fish) and prawn balls particularly delightful as they were fresh and springy. Tiger prawns and other seafood come super fresh as well as the farm is just nearby. We also had the lamb and beef slices – good quality slices and tender to the bite. 

In case you have that family member or friend who prefer separate dishes to pair with a bowl of rice, Demala has an la carte menu offering dishes such as sour spicy Sichuan Fish Slice Soup and super crispy Spicy Diced Chicken, laden with dried chillies that will give that extra kick.

Service is prompt and friendly with choices aplenty in the menu, making Demala a good bet for those looking for Muslim-friendly hotpot places to dine.

Add: LG603, 1 Utama Shopping Centre, 1, Lebuh Bandar Utama, Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya.

call: 03-7499 3705