Some call it Mala Noodles, while others call it Hai Chi Jia Suan La Fen (嗨吃家酸辣粉). Now you may have seen a handful of your friends on the ‘Gram raving about this particular cup of noodles — with many taking Instagram Stories about their review of these noodles while the rest of us are left wondering, what’s the hype all about?

You might be thinking, “It’s just your usual cup noodles, how life-changing could it be?” Well, for those of you who love Mala or spicy food (including those who like it but can’t handle the spice), this highly raved about instant noodles, that first gained traction in Taiwan, has been claimed a ‘godsend‘ to others and who knows, it might just tickle your tastebuds too.

Obviously, as someone who eats Samyang’s Spicy Korean Noodles for breakfast — I’m not psychotic, the noodles just taste amazing — I love anything that’s spicy and have a high tolerance for it. Oh, the sweet numbing sensation of losing part of your senses while indulging in a bowl of spicy noodles — who can relate?

So when these noodles came circling ’round, I knew I had to get in to see what the craze was all about — which then led me to order a carton of these noodles. Yes, unfortunately, these noodles are only available at selected Sheng Siong outlets and online on Shopee, where I ordered my batch. There are other options out there including the Mala Hot & Spicy Oden Noodles, however, I opted for the Hai Chi Jia Suan La Fen, based on its popularity.

Although I was expecting it to arrive a week or two after I placed my order, surprisingly, I received mine 4 days later. No complaints here, in fact I was very impressed with how was it was delivered considering how impatient I get when I shop online.

The carton consisted of 6 of these cup noodles — enough to satisfy your mala cravings for the next few days.

PREPARING IT

Unlike your average cup noodles, this one came with a mixture of 6 toppings and sauces to add to your noodles including ingredients. These include vegetables, seasoning, peanuts, chilli paste, vinegar and chilli oil.

It isn’t rocket science — so preparing this was really easy especially when all you need to do is to add some hot water into the mix.

And most importantly to follow the line at the corner of the cup and not fill it to the brim with water.

After doing so, you’d have to wait 10 minutes before consuming it to allow the noodles and other ingredients to cook.

VERDICT

For someone with a high tolerance for spicy food, this Mala noodles wasn’t as spicy as I thought it would be. Nevertheless, I thought that the vermicelli noodles were really springy and chewy, while the toppings went well with the sour and spicy broth. At first look, it might seem intimidating to some as it would bring thoughts of drinking the tongue-numbing Mala soup from Hai Di Lao, but surprisingly the flavours were very well-balanced and it had little to no numbing sensation.

I’ve tried it a few times, some without the vinegar and some with. In my preference, I’m not big on vinegar so I preferred it without, because it tasted better. But if you do like your fix of vinegar, then you’d be glad to know that they have a large packet of it inside the cup for you to add to your noodles.

Overall, the noodles weren’t too spicy — those who can’t handle spicy flavours too well should give this a go! The broth is tasty and its spiciness doesn’t compromise the taste of actual Mala. Their vermicelli noodles drenched in the sour and spicy broth also makes this the perfect supper go-to snack that’s surprisingly filling if you’re having it all by yourself in one seating.

Would I recommend it? Yes, if you love the taste of Mala, but not if you’re looking to numb your senses because these noodles aren’t spicy enough.

Hai Chi Jia Suan La Fen (嗨吃家酸辣粉) (from $19.90) noodles are now available on Shopee.