Hot pot dishes are a treat but are rarely enjoyed due to how expensive hot pot restaurants can be. Often, the dish is only served alongside samgyeopsal buffets. But fret not, one hot pot restaurant at Araneta City has taken pride in the affordable soup dishes it has on offer.

Those who frequent Cubao’s rich nightlife might instantly recognize the bright signs of Souper Hot Fast Ma La Tang Hot Pot. Certainly, a mouthful of a name. Although it’s a particularly small space, it works in the store’s favor as it forms a more intimate setting for diners.

Souper Hot’s menu takes inspiration from the Chinese street food favorite, Malatang. It’s a popular dish to keep residents by the Yangtze River warm. Malatang gains its name from its key ingredient, Mala sauce. Its literal translation in Mandarin is “spicy numbing hot,” a reference to how the mouth feels after taking in the Sichuan dish. Souper Hot’s rendition of the dish uses over 21 rare herbs and spices, prepared, cooked, and mixed in a professional procedure to bring out the correct flavor and taste. Its base is a 10- hour cooked beef bone soup.

There are several soup variations to pick from. The most commonly ordered version is the Kung-fu broth soup. If you’re hoping for a more familiar taste, the beef bone soup is the way to go as it tastes similar to bulalo. You can then pick how spicy you’d like your soup to be, but be warned. Malatang’s spiciness hits differently as it can numb the entire mouth due to the Sichuan peppercorns used. Not even cold water can save you.

For ingredients used in the soup, it’s all up to you what you’d like to put in the dish and just how much you’re craving. Choose from the lineup of fresh vegetables, types of noodles, and various meats. For my dish, I went for a mix of oyster mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, beef balls, maling, and thick vegetable noodles with the Kung-fu broth soup at the extra hot spice level. You can also choose to enjoy the dish with a side of rice or have an egg placed in the soup. They price each meal by weighing the ingredients you select.

Sure enough, once served the soup is enough to warm your insides. Taste may vary depending on what ingredients you pick but the base broth stands out each time. If you’re hoping to add more spice to the soup, there’s a condiment corner where you can add chili flakes, leeks, garlic sauce, and your choice of chili oil.

Should things get too hot for you, cool off with the restaurant’s signature lemonade drink.