"Two Pounds of Soup, Please": Foraging for Hot Pot with Metal Tongs and a Giant Clear Bowl at YGF Malatang

Tukwila, Bellevue, the U District.

Until March, that's where all the YGF Malatang restaurants were in the Puget Sound region. But now, this choose-your-own-adventure version of hot pot is among us, in Edmonds, and all I can think about is how I'll design my next pound(s) of soup going forward. 

When I have a rough day of teaching high school English, sometimes I head to Highway 99 just to hear a bit of Vietnamese spoken, or to get herbal advice from the apothecary on one side of 99 Ranch Market, or a massage at the Foot Spa on the other. It was state testing week for the Edmonds School District, and my students are, let's say, 'opposed' to the idea of being put into labeled boxes. So after experiencing secondhand testing anxiety for four days, I decided it was time to grab a couple of friends and go to the International District of the North for food therapy. 

Dat of Rise and Shine Bakery--son of owner Mai Tran and my ID North consultant ('The nicest young man you'll ever meet' says my mom)--told me about YGF Malatang the week it opened. He said he and his friends have been traveling all the way to Tukwila for it, and they can't believe one has opened here. "You really need to go soon," he said. 

Well, now I get it; this place is pure, delicious, fun. Just walking in the door and viewing the food landscape lifted my spirit instantly. 

A sign meets you at the door, telling you what to do: collect your food, weigh it at the register and pay by the pound, then wait for chefs to cook it for you. I'll take you through the steps here so you'll know what to expect:

1. Grab some metal tongs and a monster plastic bowl:

2. Let the foraging begin!

    a. Choose your carbs from a selection that includes ramen, udon, vermicelli, corn rice noodles, carrot noodles, fried dough sticks and sweet potato noodles:

     b.  Decide on your greens. Lettuce? Broccoli? A choy, bok choy, cabbage, spinach, or . . .

     tong ho?:

     c.  So many veggie options!: Bean sprouts, enoki mushrooms, king mushrooms, sliced potato, baby corn, bamboo shoots, and lotus root (yes to lotus root, always!):

     d. Make your meat and seafood choices: Sliced lamb, pork, beef, or 'special recipe chicken', calamari, shrimp, clams, oysters, scallops (and you can even get abalone, charged separately at the register):

     e. How will you restrain yourself from overdoing it with rice cakes, fish cakes, shrimp balls, fish roe balls, Taiwanese tempura sticks, tofu, salted egg yolk balls and shrimp fortune bags (described below)?:

3. Bring all of your special finds to the cash register and have your bowl weighed. Here is my first bowl of MalaTang, weighing in at 1.11 lbs. At $14.99/lb., it came to $16.64 (plus tax and an automatic 20% tip) for a grand total of $21.71:

4. This part is more difficult. Now you have to choose your soup base/mix:

I'm glad Dat told me to get the beef bone broth, otherwise I would have wilted under the pressure of so many enticing preparation ideas. "Get the 1/2 star on your first visit," he said. "The Sichuan peppercorns are hot!"

6.  Take your number, and while the chefs are doing expert work with your ingredients in back, go to the condiment bar and fill yet another, smaller bowl with fun: choose from a huge jar of chili crisp and vats of garlic, green onions, cilantro, creamy sesame paste, sesame oil and vinegars. 

Careful, this is the only place you can mess anything up! (It's difficult to add too much garlic or chili crisp, though!)

7.  When your number is called, collect your soup. Here's my creation, full of surprises I had chosen just minutes before. 

The shrimp fortune bag--shrimp wrapped and tied in a bean curd wrapper, marked with the auspicious Chinese symbol for luck--made me feel lucky just by putting it in my mouth. The thick and chewy sweet potato noodles were beyond satisfying to this glutinous-rice-loving person, and the salted egg yolk balls were the perfect balance of sweet, salty and custardy. Other highlights: the Taiwanese tempura sticks, crunchy lotus root, tender calamari, and the floral, peppery tong ho greens. Tying everything together was the savory beef bone broth, rich with umami flavor. 

And Dat was right, the half-star spice level was plenty. Now I know that 'Malatang' means 'numbing, spicy boil' in Sichuanese. All three of us got some of those peppercorns in our mixes, and our tongues were tingling enough that we had to use our our napkins as Kleenex. If you aren't a fan of spicy things, though, don't worry--the "rich tomato soup" broth is 'not spicy' (and has a 'hearty and flavorful flavor', too!).

Here is my friend's 1.69 pounder, with 'spicy mix' (dry, without soup)-- 'before' and 'after' (yes, that's a piece of pork blood in the middle!):

Do you ever sit in an ID North restaurant, feel like you're overseas, and thank the food gods for your good fortune? I sure do. Thank you, YGF Malatang, for choosing Edmonds. Thank you, Dat, for the heads up. And thanks to all who have brought Asia here, to us. 

'YFG' stands for Yang Guo Fu, which translates to 'Lucky Northern China.' But now it translates to 'Lucky Northern Edmonds', too, doesn't it?

Optional Fun Fieldwork:

YGF Malatang is just one of the new restaurants opening in the rebuilt strip mall on the site where 14 Asian-owned businesses lost everything to an act of arson in 2021: Qin Xi'an Noodles, Wonton Noodle House, Tapioca Express, and Waroeng Jajanan among them. 

Below is some refreshing news to counter the absolute horror of that act, along with so many recent acts of hate toward our immigrant communities: a new exhibit celebrating immigrant stories at the Edmonds Historical Museum. I was honored to be a part of putting this exhibit together, and will be there to help host the opening. Hope to see many of you there! Here's more info:

The Edmonds Historical Museum is unveiling its new exhibit “An Immigrant History of Edmonds,” opening Saturday, May 24, 2025, which honors the diverse cultural heritage of Edmonds and the significant contributions immigrants have made to shape our community into what it is today.

It will feature personal stories, photographs, and artifacts from the early settlers who arrived from Scandinavia and Japan to more recent immigrants from Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa.

“This exhibit is about more than history — it’s about connection,” said Polly Yorioka, Curator of the Edmonds Historical Museum. “We’re sharing real stories from real people who’ve made Edmonds home. Their journeys speak to resilience, identity, and the power of community.”

Visitors will hear first-hand accounts from local residents about the challenges they faced, the traditions they brought with them, and the impact they’ve had on shaping the city’s character through interactive displays, video kiosks, and QR codes to watch interviews on smartphones. Attendees are also encouraged to share their own immigration stories or those of their families.

The opening weekend will include a multicultural celebration on May 24 from 9am to 2pm, featuring food and musical performances representing Edmonds’ diverse heritage. Catering will be provided by Mai Tran from Rise and Shine Bakery. Indo-Fijian singer-songwriter Jess Pillay will perform at 11am and 12pm. Kenyan artist James Kiare will be present at 1pm to share about his artistic journey.

For those unable to visit the museum in person, the exhibit will be available online as a virtual exhibit, opening on May 24th. To experience the virtual exhibit, please visit www.animmigranthistoryofedmonds.com.

Edmonds Historical Museum, 118 5th Ave N, Edmonds, WA. Free with suggested $5 donation.
(425) 774-0900
Email: info@historicedmonds.org Website: www.historicedmonds.org

YGF MalaTang
22315 Hwy 99
Edmonds, WA 98026

425-510-3067

YGF MalaTang Website

Open Daily from 11am--9pm