9 mala foods & snacks to spice up your CNY

Have a love affair with all things mala? If you’re up for embracing the burn, here are all the places to get mala snacks and savour tongue-numbing dishes for Chinese New Year this year.

1. Pizza Hut's Te La Fiery Mala Blossom Pizza, Mala Fries & Wings

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If you aren’t yet in the know, Pizza Hut has rolled out a series of mala items on its menu, including the  Te La Fiery Mala Blossom Pizza (from $24.80 for a regular pizza).

Available in three levels of spiciness, the flower-shaped pizza comes with mala marinated chicken chunks and mozzarella cheese that’s drenched with an in-house mala sauce on a pan crust pizza.

And if that’s not enough, you can order the Mala wings ($8.90 for six or $12.90 for 10) as well as Mala fries ($6.90), with crisp fries tossed in a spicy seasoning to go accompany your pizza.

Visit its website for more information.

2. Siao La – Mala Pineapple Tarts, Pineapple Tarts Sg

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Tongue-numbing pineapple tarts? Yes, it sounds strange but we’ve tried it, and while it definitely packs a fiery punch, the blend of the aromatic (and spicy) Sichuan peppercorn goes swimmingly with the sweet pineapple filling, making it interestingly addictive.

$34.90 for a bottle of 20. Visit its website.

3. Pringles

Pringles has pretty much every potato crisp flavour under the sun, and one of its new additions is the Mala Hot Pot crisps ($2.45 for 110g). If you enjoy the aroma of ma la but aren’t a fan of the tongue-numbing quality, these ones are for you.

The chips are seasoned with mala powder made from Sichuan peppercorns and chillies, and boast a piquant flavour that even non-spice folks can enjoy.

4. McDonald's new Mala McShaker fries

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The mala trend has made its way to McD’s and the fast-food chain is here to shake up your CNY with its Mala Shaker Fries that has been on the menu since December.

It comes with a packet of spices and a paper bag so you can coat your fries evenly with a ” blend of Szechuan peppercorns, chilli powder, and other umami spices”.

The Mala Shaker Fries cost from $3.50 for a la carte orders, or at an additional $0.70 for extra value meals upgrades. Available in-store or via delivery. 

5. Mala chicken wings at Ikea

If you’re popping by Ikea this festive season to shop for CNY decor and feeling peckish, make your way to the restaurant for its latest mala offerings, too.

Not only are there mala chicken wings ($9.50 for six), there’s also a mala chicken leg with spaghetti ($9), available from now till Feb 7, 2021. Not a fan of Sichuan peppercorn? Another new menu item is the BBQ Pork ribs with fries ($12).

Visit its website for more information.

6. Sichuan Mala HotPot Snackbox from The Golden Duck

Breaking out the snacks during CNY? Get yourself (or your fellow mala-loving friends and family) the Sichuan Mala Hotpot snack box ($39) from The Golden Duck Co., which has mushroom crisps, beancurd skin, and fish skin that’s coated in a seasoning made with 17 herbs and spices.

This is not for the “xiao la” or those who prefer their mala mildly spicy – you can definitely count on the snacks here to bring on the heat.

Visit its website for more information.

7. Spicy snacks from Mala Mala

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Another spot to stock up on snacks for your pantry or for the Lunar New Year – Mala Mala. As its name suggests, here’s where you can literally feed your mala addiction, from mushroom crisps ($9) to potato chips ($7) and fish skin ($8).

Visit its website for more information.

8. Mala Xiang Guo bak kwa, Fyre

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We were definitely quite expecting mala bak kwa to make its debut, and you can find it at homegrown brand Fyre.

The brand’s Mala Xiang Guo bak kwa ($128 per kg) is handmade with premium cuts of meat. Its mala flavour is also concocted by frying spices together with mala seasoning in a wok over high heat to produce a ’wok hey’ for that smokey flavour.

Visit its website for more information.

9. Mala specials at Food Capital, Grand Copthorne Waterfront

Just for the month of January, buffet line Food Capital at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel has introduced two mala specials: Seafood Mala Xiang Guo and Sichuan-style Braised Pork Trotter Mala Xiang Guo.

Both the seafood, which has mussels, clams, yabbies as well as black fungus, lotus root, leeks, and more, and the braised pork trotter are doused in a piquant sauce and topped with roasted peanuts. Apart from the mala dishes, we also recommend that you go for the barbequed items, tandoori, sashimi as well as roasts.

Food Capital’s buffet prices are at $65++ for lunch and $85++ for dinner. Visit its website for more information.

This article was first published in The Singapore Women's weekly.