Malatang

Malatang is the democratic cousin of Sichuan hot pot. Diners grab a basket, choose from refrigerated displays of skewered vegetables, meats, tofu, and noodles, and hand it to the cook, who boils everything in a fiery, numbing broth flavored with chili and Sichuan peppercorn. The name says it: ma means numbing, la means spicy, tang means scalding hot.

Born as a street snack in Sichuan and reinvented in the northeast, malatang scaled into chains like Yang Guofu and Zhang Liang that operate thousands of outlets and have expanded abroad, where the choose-your-own format translates easily. It is cheap, fast, solo-friendly comfort food, which makes it a staple of students and office workers.

Malatang's global march, alongside hot pot restaurants and milk tea shops, is part of the broader story of Chinese casual dining chains becoming international brands.