Zhangliang Malatang (张亮麻辣烫) - Lido Plaza

We were passing through Lido Plaza on 11 November 2026 when we noticed Zhangliang Malatang and discovered that it was their grand opening day. We went in to have a look. The restaurant is in the former Guan Guan Mi Xian premises, with a build-your-own bowl format for enjoying hotpot-style ingredients without ordering a whole spread to share.

You start with a large transparent bowl and choose your ingredients from the display, including noodles, vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, meat and seafood. The operator told us there are around 80 ingredient choices available each day. The display is not a fixed selection: they introduce new items and adjust the mix from time to time based on what is available in the market. This does not mean the entire selection changes every day. They also said customers can ask in advance about ingredients they would like to order.

The operator said the drinks are imported from China, and that they aim to keep introducing new choices so customers can experience flavours from China without leaving Malaysia.

The bowl is weighed at the counter before you choose a broth or dry-style preparation. Ingredients are priced at RM7.50 per 100g, with a minimum of 300g per bowl. The total depends on how much you select. You receive a number tag and collect the bowl when called. We did not have to wait long during our visit.

For an idea of how much a bowl would cost, the weighing screen showed 450g at RM33.75 and 485g at RM36.38. The subtotal displayed was RM70.13, with a RM0.03 rounding adjustment bringing the displayed total to RM70.10 for two bowls. We included a photo of the screen in the gallery below so you can see the price breakdown. The amount will vary with the weight of the ingredients you choose.

The operator told us that the beef-bone stock is freshly simmered every day, using around 5kg of beef bones. The restaurant serves no pork.

We tried the Classic Spicy Bone Broth (经典麻辣骨汤) and Sunshine Tomato Broth (阳光番茄浓汤). The classic mala was our favourite. It had a gentle numbing-spicy flavour without being overwhelmingly hot or sharp. We do not usually go for very spicy food, but this was comfortable for us to eat and had the taste we were hoping for from malatang.

The tomato broth was nice too. There is a thicker or lighter version, and we chose the thicker one. It had a sweet-and-sour, appetising flavour, and we finished the soup. We would still choose the classic mala first, but we enjoyed the tomato version as well.

Other choices include tom yum, mushroom broth, sour-and-spicy golden broth, dry mala mix and mala xiangguo. We did not try those, so we cannot compare their flavours.

The fish and prawns tasted quite fresh to us too. Both bowls were filling for us. Cutlery, condiments and ice are at the self-service area, and takeaway containers are available if you cannot finish. Daily opening hours are 11:00 AM to midnight, with last orders at 11:30 PM.

For a return visit, the Classic Spicy Bone Broth would be our first choice. We like being able to choose a mix of ingredients for an individual bowl, especially when everyone wants a different combination.

See Zhangliang Malatang’s location, opening hours and details.