Now that I’m approaching the six-month mark in Korea, Ma La Tang (마라탕) has become a kind of ‘home comfort’ – with no access to a nourishing roast dinner or a traditional Friday night trip to the chippy, this is the closest I’ve had to ‘proper family food’ (sounds like something Jamie Oliver might say?). My favourite food in Korea is healthy, veganish and ironically, not Korean.
Nestled at the end of the traditional market in Gwangju-si, is a humble, family-owned Chinese restaurant. There’s a friendly messiness about the place; the little boy’s toys, the family photos and the half eaten snacks hurriedly left on the table as the cook has seen us approaching.
A simple feng shui of four tables; two with chairs, the others on the floor, gives spotlight to the impressive food buffet counter perched at the end of the small restaurant. The idea is to grab a A4 sized basket and tongs and fill up with fresh food that you want, depending on how greedy you feel…the vast selection includes noodles, potatoes, an array of mushrooms, tofu (sliced, diced and cubed), pumpkin, courgette, coriander, lotus root, spinach, bean sprouts, bok choy and meat/fish/egg if that tickles your fancy.
Ma La Tang; a Chinese street food Hot Pot
Once your basket has been weighed, its passed back to the modest kitchen and is cooked up there and then, in an amazing Chinese style broth. You’re presented with a big hearty bowl of spicy soup; fiery but full of additional flavours & tailored for your appetite. The par-boiled potatoes and lotus root add a satisfying crunch, whilst the tofu and mushrooms soak up the flavour and become hot piles of gooey spice. And of course, everyone knows a good soup must come with a good bread – accompanying the dish are two, warm-from-the-oven, fluffy dumplings; ideal for devouring the remains.
This sensational Asian steaming hot pot is perfect for the rapidly changing seasons; we’ve well and truly left summer behind, autumn flew by and now winter is coming, it’s cold; I’m feeling nervous about the bitter weather ahead, especially after being warned of temperatures dropping to -15 degrees. Oh well, just means more soup for me.
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