Tang Bar San Mateo - San Mateo (CA)

5 /5 Xiao Lin: Came here with my wife and her mom, and our kid absolutely loved the complimentary iced grass jelly & sago dessert. My wife ordered the Hot and Sour soup and said it tasted very authentic. Her mom chose the chicken broth and mentioned it was extremely smooth and high quality. I was a bit busy chatting, but still really enjoyed the atmosphere and overall vibe of the place. I ordered the Laksa—staff explained it’s a South Asian–style flavor that they make fresh every morning, which was a nice touch. Definitely coming back next time with friends.

3 /5 Xiaoxiao Z: This restaurant has a nice environment and a great variety of fresh ingredients, and overall I really enjoy coming here. However, about half of the times I visit, I end up waiting for a long time, even when the restaurant isn’t busy. I’m not familiar with their cooking process, but whenever the wait is long, the mala tang often comes out with many ingredients overcooked to the point that they fall apart and can’t even be picked up. I hope the restaurant can improve the cooking time or consistency so the overall experience can be even better.

5 /5 Kathy L.: Quite an experience if you have not tried a mala bar. This is NOT to be confused with an all you can eat (AYCE) restaurant, but rather a build your own meal and eat it with broth or without broth. You can easily go overboard by eating with your eyes but just remember the price you pay is based by weight and the base starts at $15.99 per lb. You can easily walk away with a $40 bowl if you are not careful. Once you select your proteins and veggies, you have your choices of carbs, primarily different kinds of noodle types and finally you get to decide if you want it in a soup or dry and you can pick the level of spiciness. Hand your bowl over, you get a receipt with your number and monitor the teleprompter board for your number. Then you return to the front counter and pick up your bowl. The restaurant is brightly lit and open and airy. You also have the option of sitting outside on the patio--which is 4th Ave, but plant boxes separate the diners from the pedestrians. Its definitely a fun experience and worth checking out.

3 /5 Gatsby Lee: UPDATE 2025-10-03: This place gets better. I updated to three stars. UPDATE: lower to two stars due to hygiene issue. I found a small piece of paint ( or manicure ) from the food when I visited on July 2025. But, the food is good anyway. ( added the photo ) The food was decent, but I’m not sure the price is justified. The best part is the ability to customize your meal—you can even build your own ramen. I’d like to try that next time. What I didn’t like, however, was the limited seating and the way they stack the stainless steel bowls from customers before cooking. While the food is fully cooked at high temperatures, there’s no guarantee about what might be on the bowls that could end up in your dish. In summary, I love the option to customize my meal, but the price feels a bit steep considering the self-seating arrangement and concerns about hygiene.