Makan Malah: Beloved local mala brand A Hot Hideout opens new concept, working towards halal certification
Looking for halal mala options? Then read on about Makan Malah, a new concept by beloved homegrown mala brand A Hot Hideout.
Right now, there is one outlet in NUS UTown only, but a second outlet is coming up soon — look out for it!
As far as local F&B brands go, A Hot Hideout is probably one of the most notable newcomers of the 2020s, with long queues forming during dinner at its array of outlets across the island.
The brand, known for its “Singaporean-style” mala, was started by a trio of university hallmates in 2020 — and boasts a whopping 11 locations today.
Makan Malah is located in NUS UTown and is the team’s 12th store, albeit under an entirely new concept.
It’s working towards halal certification, too, but this is still in the works, since Makan Malah launched officially just earlier this week (September 7). It has been in its soft-launch phase since mid-June. But owner Lee Ray Sheng, 26, is hopeful that this will be confirmed soon!
He tells us that the brand is Muslim-friendly and was created with the ultimate goal of serving the Muslim crowd who might be curious about A Hot Hideout’s popular signatures.
That meant rigorous overhaul of many A Hot Hideout recipes, including a brand-new chicken-only collagen soup base — the OG contained pork — and even a modified chilli paste.
Same-same, but with some deep-frying
“We are basically trying to keep the flavours as close to A Hot Hideout as possible. We even did a blind taste test for our new soup base during the process!” says Ray.
Prices are also kept the same at Makan Malah, where ingredients are priced at S$2.98 per 100g.
Bases are charged separately, with options including the signature mala collagen soup (S$2.50), tomato collagen soup (S$2.50), and bestselling mala stir-fry (S$1.50).
Makan Malah isn’t shaking things up too much — it offers many of the same ingredients in its display chiller, though some changes were necessary.
Obviously, one big change is swapping out pork for beef, which isn’t offered at A Hot Hideout.
For Ray and team, the nascent Makan Malah was also a good testing ground for many interesting new ideas. One such example was a heavier focus on fried goods.
Although A Hot Hideout is already known for its fried potato chips and lotus roots, Makan Malah goes further into deep-fried territory.
The ingredient bowls now have a divider separating broth and fried sections, so that the kitchens can tell, at glance, how each ingredient should be prepared.
That means guests have the choice to deep-fry certain items, such as broccoli and cheese tofu, if they wish.
The team has also introduced a slew of new items meant exclusively for the deep fryer, including seaweed chicken, karaage, and popcorn chicken!
Of course, there’s a limit to what can be deep-fried, and those items will be labelled accordingly in the display chiller — don’t try to ask for deep-fried mushrooms, please.
Makan Malah taste test
After hearing Ray’s rundown of the new Makan Malah concept, we had one question in mind: “Does the A Hot Hideout crowd prefer this to the original?”
According to the team, it has been just as well-received, and fans visit it for some of the new offerings, too.
As always, we recommend pairing the mala collagen soup with scrambled eggs (extra S$1.50) — something that we enjoy from A Hot Hideout, as the eggs add a very enjoyable silkiness to the ensemble.
The broth itself wasn’t markedly different from the OG broth.
To us, the chicken-based collagen broth proved to be just as creamy, and also sports a tinge of comforting sweetness to complement the spice!
Those who enjoy springy Chinese-style noodles would be happy to know that you mian has also been introduced at both Makan Malah and A Hot Hideout — and it pairs so, so well with the broth!
Beef lovers can also try out both the beef slices and beef shortplate. While we are used to pork belly in our mala, we actually quite enjoyed the marination and firmer, meatier texture on the latter!
Given the emphasis on deep-fried goodies at Makan Malah, we also had to give the wider range a go — beyond the usual potato chips and lotus root, that is.
We have to give the deep-fried broccoli a shout-out. If you are a lok lok lover, this is quite similar to what you’d get, with fragrant and lightly crispy florets.
This is something you can get at Makan Malah only, since A Hot Hideout doesn’t offer its broccoli deep-fried!
Another sinful option we really enjoyed was the cheese otah. This isn’t new to the menu, but this was our first time trying it. The soft, juicy insides, and the light gooey cheese definitely hit the spot.
Ray says you won’t find this anywhere else, outside of A Hot Hideout and Makan Malah, since the team created it with the help of a manufacturer.
As for the rest of Makan Malah’s new deep-fried options, we didn’t find its spicy karaage or seaweed chicken particularly memorable, but they were as decent as it gets.
After this visit, would we consider heading to Makan Malah instead of A Hot Hideout in the future, if it opens near us?
Honestly, maybe. We love the OG Singaporean mala and still eat it regularly, but with standards being kept the same here, we might just be tempted by the larger pool of deep-fried options!
This was a hosted tasting.
For more ideas on what to eat, read our stories on the cool new McSpicy rollouts for September and the limited-time Sushiro x Pokemon collab!
Tue 11am - 9.30pm
Wed 11am - 9.30pm
Thu 11am - 9.30pm
Fri 11am - 9.30pm
Sat 11am - 9.30pm
Sun 11am - 9.30pm
- Dover
- Kent Ridge
- One-North
Evan started off writing about food on Instagram, before joining outlets such as Buro and Confirm Good to pursue his passion. His best work usually comes after his first whisky shot in the morning.
Read more stories from this writer.
