Had intended to go check out the newly opened Sushi Edo at Garden City last week, but found it to be surprisingly crowded and with a considerable wait for food, we opted to try our luck at 8 Street instead. With our love of malatang, we thought that the popular Yang Guo Fu MaLaTang, which appears to have successful restaurants across Sydney would be a safe bet.
Being situated in 8 Street, space was always going to be a bit lacking, however the setup was largely the same, with plastic bowls and tongs for the DIY acquisition of ingredients for our lunch.
Compared to other places we had been to, the ingredients here were somewhat lacking. Options were few, and meats looked extremely fatty and not too fresh. Veggies were adequate, noodles were notably pre soaked in water.
The two of us got our food and weighed up. The staff at the counter was chatting loudly on the phone the whole time on a personal call and barely acknowledged our presence. When I asked her about the spice level of our soup, this was waived aside and dismissed. I probably haven't had such bad service for quite a few years now.
We got our number from our receipt and sat down nearby waiting for our number to be called. I was surprised at how expensive the meal was, given that my companion and I often go out to eat at other MaLaTang places and we are often very full on a shared bill of $25. Two things struck me at that point. The first is that we were charged for our containers. I fail to see how you could go to a food court environment and order food without it being served to you in a container. We were not given reusable bowl options, so I consider this to be an excessive and unfair charge. Secondly, it was also apparent to me that the soaking of the noodles in water pre weighing really added to the bill. My companion was really unimpressed.
Sauces were not DIY given the 8 Street setting. We had to ask the staff who wasn't on the phone for sauces. There were no extra containers for sauce to be kept separate. It was just poured on top.
Our food was prepared soon enough. The white paste on top is apparently garlic sauce. Taste wise, she found the noodles to be overcooked and very soft. She also said that the soup was salty and one dimensional.
This is my bowl, although not much larger than my companions, I was charged for the larger container. It was very visually unappealing, and frankly even my (very bad) cooking at home looks better. Like my companion, the noodles were extremely soggy and disintegrated in my mouth, the meat was stringy, fatty and unfresh, whilst the tofu and seafood sticks soaked up considerable amounts of the bland salty soup. I also noted an absence of the enoki mushrooms that I had picked up earlier. This has been the worst meal I've had since April 2016.
Price Range: $15 - $25pp
Taste: 1/10
Value: 2/10
Service: 1/10
Environment: 5/10
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