Mala Tang - Panda Chinese Streetfood in Karlsruhe

5 stars deserved! The food is amazing, authentic, and delicious, and the ice cream shakes are the icing on the cake!

Great soups that can be prepared with your desired ingredients. The prices are absolutely reasonable!

For sure the best Mala Tang in town! Had the sesame dressing (dry) and it was delicious! Seating can be limited, so be prepared to take out, or wait :)

Very delicious Chinese food. I highly recommend it. Everyone builds their own plate. You pay by the kilogram. There aren't many seats, but I've never had a problem finding a place. Although the pictures might not look that delicious, it tastes absolutely delicious.

Very tasty soup and authentic ingredients. The price for a normal portion is between 9-12 €

Authentic street food, incredibly delicious. We eat there regularly and always leave feeling full and satisfied 😊

Delicious selection and a variety of drinks. Very reasonably priced.

good food and friendly people :)

Fully recommended. Note: Company closed until August 27th.

Very tasty, but on the high side of spice. The price is perfectly reasonable, with the large portion around €16 and the small portion €8.

A small, bright spot specializing in build-your-own spicy mala noodle soups. You choose your ingredients and toppings from the counter, then a broth to match, and the price is based on weight, it’s perfect when you want a customized bowl just how you like it. Sadly, reservations are not accepted. The menu also includes bubble teas and some juice drinks, which pair nicely with the soups. Outdoor seating is available, and the casual space works well whether you’re dining solo or with friends . One of the best things about Mala Tang is how spicy and aromatic the broths can be particularly their signature mala soup, which many reviewers say is “rich and bold,” and a draw especially when it’s chilly out. Portions scale based on your ingredient picks, so you can go light or hearty depending on appetite. The service: it’s noted as fast, friendly, and efficient, and the staff handle both dine‑in and takeaway orders smoothly. You can pay by card or cash, and the restaurant is accessible to most, though street parking nearby can be limited. Personally, I visited recently on a rainy afternoon and chose a medium‑spice broth with beef, lotus root, pak choi, mushrooms, and noodles. The soup was warming and flavorful, though the meat toppings seemed slightly less fresh than expected on that day. The watermelon “lemonade” was surprisingly well made and refreshing. Be aware: the shop is quite compact and fills up quickly during lunch, which means it can get a bit noisy and crowded. Still, food comes out fast, so turnover is high. All told, Mala Tang – Panda Chinese Streetfood is a solid pick if you’re craving customizable, spicy noodle soup in Karlsruhe with good value and friendly service. Just pop in early or avoid peak hours for a quieter experience.

I've eaten there several times and often find ingredients in my noodles that I didn't put in myself—be it meat, even though I'm a vegetarian, sprouts I don't like, or unidentifiable leftovers. Unfortunately, a hair made its way into my meal today, which is why I'm writing this review. I'm sorry to say it, but I've really lost my appetite to eat there these days. I've tried it many times because the noodles themselves are good, but it's always a surprise package.

very tasty, vibrant and relatively inexpensive. portions are very large, products are fresh, large selection; broth is very tasty

I used to like it a lot and went there almost every week, but the soup quality has dropped drastically lately and the soup tastes like nothing. Now it makes sense now after reading other comments regarding the ownership changes…a real shame! :(

Delicious soup, but because the meat had probably been sitting outside all day, I unfortunately got food poisoning 🥲

Update: 15.07.2025 I was told by a frequent that the shop seems to be taken over by a new owner recently and the offer/ quality has suffered. If this is true, then it would be a real pity. ******************************************** We are coming back! Small shop front with limited seatings. But the taste is GREAT!!! Mostly noodles in spicy soup with variety of ingredients to pick and mix. Non-spicy soup available as well. We tried it from our kid’s order and was equally impressive. Beverages are surprisingly well prepared. Juices to delicious bubble tea. In my observation and opinion, a fraction of food ingredients of Asian origin could I wish to be of a better freshness and quality level. Probably the long transport under refrigeration and the sourcing bears a mark. Overall, we like the cooking here very much. Indeed, it reminds me of the street-food experience of Asia.

We used to eat here a lot during our studies. Now we miss the delicious soups! The shop is centrally located, and you can quickly get your meal, which you can put together yourself. Soups 10 out of 10!!!

Lots of choices from a buffet of ingredients that you add to your soup bowl. It is then weighed to determine the amount you pay. Choose from 3 or 4 broths. Wait about 10 minutes while they complete preparing your hot pot in a bowl served with toppings of your choice. Mmmmmm so deliciously satisfying. Note that there are only a handful of tables inside and out.

The restaurant looks very unassuming. But the food and the bubble or milk teas are very, very tasty. And everything is very reasonably priced.

I was here three times and each of them I got very badly food poisoned. Even if the environment is pleasant, I wouldn’t recommend

friendly service and cozy atmosphere – absolutely recommended!

Authentic street food with indoor & outdoor seating.

Delicious food, lots of ingredients. The dishes were prepared quickly and very nicely distributed. :) It's nice to sit outside.

Very delicious food. You put together your own soup. You take a plastic bowl, put in whatever you want, and order the broth at the cash register. The whole thing is prepared in just a few minutes and seasoned with spices to your taste. The portion is very generous.

First Asian food I eat that is really clean and tastes good

Asian street food. Build-your-own Asian soup.

Super tasty, I'll always come back

Small, inconspicuous shop, excellent food.

Very tasty affordable food. Delicious broths. Nice little shop where you can also sit outside

You choose your ingredients and your broth yourself. You pay by weight. I had fun and it was delicious too.

Delicious ramen. Many options and quite cheap.

Nice (very) small restaurant, with very limited seating. Nevertheless, good food that you can put together yourself and then finally prepared by the chef. You choose your ingredients, pay per 100g and then have everything prepared. If you like spicy food, this is the place for you!

It's delicious, you can put together whatever you want for your dish. But it's a bit cramped. Overall I like it, I went for the second time today

The soup is very filling! The ingredients are very fresh! The milk tea is very delicious!

Large selection of ingredients, broths are very tasty and everything is fresh, highly recommend!

It’s delicious. The tomato soup is particularly fragrant. The chili is also delicious. The dried tofu is highly recommended.

Another hidden Gem in the center of Karlsruhe! If anyone craves chinese traditio al mini hot pot, then this is the place! It is not only Malatang, they have various flavours to choose, tomato, korean, beefboan etc. You choose your own ingredients and flavour, it will be then prepared for you. Reasonable prices. It is a bit small and you might need to share seats with others during lunch time but this is exactly how it is in China! I lived there for 6 years and I loved eating at small, random places like these. Reminds me of Beidahu, Jilin and Haerbin, Heilongjiang.

very tasty and a large selection

Far too expensive €26 for a bowl of soup plus €3.50 for a drink, too expensive!

Soups are all super delicious. Unfortunately a bit too little space.

Amazing, the first time I tried chinese street food style was here, and I still keep coming back to Mala Tang.

Cash only Although I always eat it every time I come here, I still come here to eat it. praise!

It is a small cozy place. Ramen tastes good and the options are fine. But due to the long wait, you need a lot of patience. Also finding seating is another issue. Usually all of the seats are occupied.

Very tasty food that you can put together yourself. Large selection of different ingredients and soups. The only point of criticism: little space both inside and outside. When bubble tea is being made inside, it can get pretty loud.

Nice humble place. I like the concept when you pick exactly what you want to have in your soup.

I went there with false expectations. Thought it would be more of a ramen

Now, whenever I go to any Malatang restaurant in Germany, I compare it to this one. This is my favorite malatang restaurant :D It’s just delicious. 😋 Going for lunch is generally better in terms of freshness of ingredients and soup than going for dinner! (I wish the store was bigger)

The food was super delicious, there were always endless options. Even though the shop is very small, I found it very, very good! There was even a small toilet! The bubble tea was the tastiest thing I've ever drunk!!! A top! 5/5 great! The food was very hygienic! I know, I was there myself and saw a lot! The food was always ready quickly and I didn't wait long! My favorite restaurant❣️

Nice but dont accept card or contactless payments, it's no go for me

everything is great about this place if you consider the price relative to the food you are getting. they have fantastic selection of topping and broth flavor which can accomodate anyone. whats also great is you can customize the portion you want to have which is great if youre not that hungry but still want to eat

Best soup in town. Pay attention to peak times!

Very good Malatang, can't fault it

The food tastes delicious and is also very fresh, even if the interior decor is not for everyone. The bubble teas are also very nice. I haven't had such a good one in a long time. I can really recommend this. BE CAREFUL, no chance of eating here on the weekend.

Going to Mala Tang with my Mala’s on Sundays has now become a ritual. The soups are very authentic and full of umami. Sometimes you have to be a little lucky with the seats. Really first class for a quick snack. Please do not compare with a full-fledged restaurant.

Please at least screen out the polite ones when recruiting employees. I won't go there again for the time being, and I don't want to spend money to look bad.

Delicious authentic Asian - highly recommended.

Unfortunately got food poisoning from the soups. Soup was my last and first meal of the day. There are better places for ramen in Karlsruhe. Putting the food together is very unhygienic if you think about it. There are four unmarked grippers so the same grippers can be used for raw meat and salad. It is also unclear whether the selection is regularly replaced and the grippers are cleaned.

small snack but nice<3 very very tasty mala thang & lovely staff.

We were here again and really enjoyed the delicious soup. Maybe the ambience isn't that great, but it's authentic and clean. Lots of choices for ingredients and broths that you can choose yourself and then prepare fresh and appetizing! We NEVER had problems with our stomach or digestion, it's not understandable! Of course there are ingredients that the European palate doesn't know, but there's nothing disgusting there either, you should just try it! Thank you for this great soup kitchen, we'll always be happy to come back!

The food is really great and cheap.

The soup was really delicious. You could put together your own dish from a variety of ingredients. I particularly liked the labeling of the individual ingredients - so you knew what you were putting in the bowl. Everything looked very fresh. You can sit in the restaurant or in front of it, but directly on the street. Depending on the amount put together, the soup costs around €10.

Great selection (endless combinations) and delicious soups. There is also an option with less liquid (sesame sauce)

Unhygienic shop! Tongs for selecting ingredients lie unwashed in front of the counter and are used for vegetables as well as raw fish and meat. The broth tastes like old meat. I'm still struggling with nausea and dizziness after a day.

The name soup doesn't deserve it, hot water with any finished powder, inedible, unhygienic, overpriced, one star too much

just didn't want to let us in...

Very delicious food you can choose the exact fresh ingredients you want in your soup. They have many vegan options. Unfortunately the thongs for picking the food are used for everything non vegan as well as well as the boiling pot.... not recommended if you are very strict or have allergies Update they now have thongs for vegan :) however anyone can use them

Exceptionally delicious! The price is totally fair!

Cool concept of self-service, authentic and super tasty soups with a variety of toppings that you choose yourself. The only drawback is the limited space, but with the good food that doesn't matter.

Very tasty, healthy, quick food. Large selection of soups and even larger selection of soup contents. Friendly staff are also happy to help. Card payment possible.

Delicious food and friendly staff, the best place in Karlsruhe!

Best soup to put together yourself. Only the bubble tea is not recommended.

I've been here more than 10 times and I'm disappointed in the current state of the store. The poor quality of the ingredients and the unfriendly attitude of the pink haired cashier is unacceptable. No smiles, no passion, no service commensurate with the increased prices. Menu items such as lotus root and beef dumplings have disappeared, and the storage conditions of the ingredients are also a problem (oil stains and dust on the plates). There are only a few seats and I can't accept waiting for more than 30 minutes without being guided. The deterioration in taste is also noticeable.

Awesome place to eat a very good soup, I’d recommend it 100%

The taste is okay and the freshness is average. Even if the exchange rate is high when paying via WeChat, I always get the wrong change when paying in cash (several times, I don’t know if it’s intentional). Then when there are a lot of people, they will come and chase people away. But when you encounter a group of foreigners occupying a seat and chatting after eating, you don’t chase them away. Do you think Chinese people are easy to bully?

Great noodle soup shop! Self-service buffet, then you choose your supper and toppings. My favorite is the scythe dressing!

This was our second time in the shop and the first time we only had a slight stomach ache and yesterday we went back to treat ourselves to some warm soup. And today we are completely knocked out, chills, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Full program! We feel so bad, we can't even get a drink. It's time for the health department to take a look. The food is not stored correctly!!! We're definitely not coming back!

I've known the store for almost 5 years when it first opened. But you have to say that there was a different owner 5 years ago. Nevertheless, I like being here. The service is great and you receive a friendly welcome. The selection isn't that big, which is understandable just because of the size, but there are a lot of Asian choices like mushrooms that aren't exactly cheap. There are enough vegetarian choices for soups, which also taste very tasty. I really enjoy coming here and am very satisfied every time. The best malatang shop in Karlsruhe. For me, all of Germany. Unfortunately the store is always very full, so I recommend moving to create more space. What should be noted is that there should be separate pliers. I don't like using tongs for my vegetarian ingredients where someone has previously removed the meat. There are also Jews and Muslims here who do not eat pork or halal meat. That means they would like to use tongs that are only intended for vegetarian ingredients. I would be happy if it were set up.

Sehr schlechter Service. Der Laden war voller Leute. Ich wollte drinnen essen, aber als ich fragte, ob ich draußen warten solle, sagte die Kellnerin, ich solle zuerst die Zutaten bezahlen und draußen warten. Als das Essen fertig war, brachte sie es nach draußen. Ich sagte nochmal, dass ich drinnen essen möchte, aber sie sagte, dass alle Tische wieder bereits von neuen Gästen besetzt seien. Sie hat keinen neuen Tisch für uns reserviert. Was sollen wir mit der abgekühlten Mala-Tang draußen machen? Ihre Reaktion ist unakzeptabel, und sogar die Zutaten waren überhaupt nicht frisch.

Eins meiner Lieblingsrestaurants in Karlsruhe! Auf den ersten Blick vielleicht etwas ungewöhnlich, aber man bekommt direkt das Gefühl in Asien zu sein.

Kleiner hübscher HotPot Laden mit großer Auswahl und unkompliziertem Zusammenstellen.

Street style Chinese food. My friend took me there. It is basically soup bowl where you have to choose your noodles and other ingredients and then they mix everything up with soup and spices. Spicy and hot, good for winter.

Meine Frau und ich haben das kleine Restaurant zufällig auf den Weg zum Auto entdeckt und sind spontan eingekehrt. Es war super lecker - wir können bestimmt wieder, wenn wir das nächste mal in Karlsruhe sind.

Authentic flavour of Mala Tang. The light spicy version is really not spicy, so if you are looking for more flavour, go for medium spicy

Es gibt hier super leckere und scharfe Nudelsuppen. Großes Plus: eigene Auswahl sämtlicher Zutaten die man in der Suppe haben will! Platztechnisch etwas klein ausgerichtet aber in der Regel findet man mit etwas Wartezeit immer Platz. Kann ich total empfehlen!

Extrem nettes Service und sehr leckeres Essen

Essen ist so preiswert und legendär gut.

Great traditional chinese soups in a tiny setting

Sehr leckeres und günstiges Essen. Authentisch chinesisch und wenn gewünscht auch wirklich scharf... 😋 lecker!

Man kann sich nach Lust und Laune die Suppe selbst zusammenstellen. Wenn man es gerne chinesisch und aromatisch hat, wird man hier glücklich.

A bit too crowded coz it’s really tasty haha lol. My favorite mala tang place in the town! Boba tea is also a wise choice!

Sehr lecker, authentisch und das zu fairen Preisen! Man bekommt eine sehr große, reichhaltige Nudelsuppe mit genügend Fleisch und Gemüse für ~11-13€. Sehr lecker 🤤

Unglaublich gute asiatische Nudelsuppen zu einem günstigen Preis. Ist inzwischen mein Lieblingsrestaurant hier in Karlsruhe.

这个小店有点出乎我的预料，味道太好了！店面虽小，但真的比在国内的麻辣烫味道还好吃！还会再去！

Definitiv mein "Geheimtipp" für Essen in Karlsruhe. Lage und Sitzmöglichkeiten sind nicht fancy, aber das Essen ist im Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis fast unschlagbar. Auch Mitnehmen (sogar mit eigenem Container für die Müllvermeidung) ist möglich. Gehe sehr gerne & oft dorthin.

Super Konzept, sehr schnelle Zubereitung und schmeckt auch sehr gut. Preis ist auch in Ordnung.

I have been to this place multiple times and the food was really good. Also they make it fast. I highly recommend this place. Their spicy food is really spicy.

Super tasty, fast, and you can pick all your ingredients. So awesome!

Quite authentic mala tang place with great price value.

In der kühlen Theke Zutaten aussuchen, zur Kasse geben, auswählen zwischen 6 verschiedenen leckeren Suppen (Knochensuppe ist mild, auch für Kinder geeignet) und toppings wie Knoblauch, Chilli oder Sesam. Und schon ist eins der leckersten Suppengerichte fertig die ich je in Restaurants hatte. Portionen sind durch das eigene aussuchen der Zutaten individuell groß/klein. Wer schnell etwas zu essen möchte das schmeckt ist hier richtig.

Absolut leckere Ramen. Zum anständigen Preis. Geheimtipp für Fans der Asiatischen Gaumenschmäuße. Klein, gemütlich und freundlich. Würde auch 10 Sterne geben.