Dragon Hot Pot has made a name for themselves, opening more and more shops around Melbourne so it’s no surprise when they decide to embrace veganism and release a vegan Ma La Tang soup base! So if you’ve never been here before, just walk in, get a table and then pick up a pot and put whatever the hell you want in the pot. From meat to seafood to fishcake and heaps of veggies, there’s something for everyone. Once you’ve got all your ingredients, shuffle over to the counter so they can weigh your pot and it’s $3.38 per 100g and the minimum weight you need is 400g. So you’ve guessed it, the more you put in your pot, the more you gotta pay.
After all the money exchange, you’re asked to choose your soup base such as collagen bone broth, ma la tang and even a vegan one. Next step is deciding your spicy level – non spicy, mild, hot, fire hot or dun dun dun…dragon hot. The staff will take your pot, make everything for you and bring it out to you.
Now, for the vegans out there, the signature ma la tang vegan version was awesome sauce too! It was light, it was subtle and the flavours was so balanced that I was surprised that it tasted totes AMAZEBALLS (because well…I’m not a vegan kinda gal). Even Mr D was impressed with the soup base too.
Signature Ma La Tang Vegan Non Spicy base
This was Mr D’s first dragon hotpot and of course he had to try the original Ma La Tang spicy base. It had a kick, it was flavoursome and boy he enjoyed it so much he almost drank his whole bowl.
Original Ma La Tang Spicy Base
The food here always satisfies me and you always know you’ll get great soups. Unfortunately when we walked in just before 11:30AM (opening time) we were shooed out even though the door was wide open. When they finally flipped the closed sign over to the open, we walked in and another staff turned around and said “we open at 11:30AM” which we proceeded to confirm that it was in fact 11:30AM. However, despite a bad beginning, Yen, was oh so friendly and made sure everyone in the restaurant was looked after. Will we be back? Most definitely. Will I be getting the vegan soup again? Of course. Oh and just an FYI, they only make one pot of the vegan broth and it’s quite popular so it does sell out, first in first serve. For now the vegan broth is only available at the Glen Waverly and the QV store in Melbourne.
Verdict: π·π·π·π·
Food: π·π·π·π·
Service: π·π·π·
Value: π·π·π·π·π·
Disclaimer: I was invited to dine by Dragon Hotpot and Harvey Taylor Publicity and all opinions expressed are my own.
108 Kingsway, Glen Waverley VIC 3150
Tel: (03) 9545 1668
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