A Hot Hideout Review: Popular Mala Chain Opens At Junction 10 With Collagen Soup And More

A Hot Hideout opens a new outlet at Junction 10

Mala-loving Westies, we have good news for you! A Hot Hideout is opening their fourth outlet at Junction 10 on September 1st. During our visit to their first outlet at NTU in 2021, we loved their mala, so we hurried down to their new space to see if they were still as good. 

If you didn’t already know, A Hot Hideout is a popular mala chain that went viral a while back for their unconventional toppings, scrambled eggs, and an assortment of deep-fried items. What first started as a passion project by two NTU students, A Hot Hideout now operates four branches in Singapore.

Food at A Hot Hideout

Your meal is charged by the weight here, instead of charging per ingredient like most mala spots. TLDR, you weigh out a bowl yourself at the machine, and it comes at quite an affordable price of $2.88 per 100g for all ingredients. This price also includes their unique toppings, which consist of their deep-fried potato, lotus root, dory fish, luncheon meat, and scrambled eggs. 

Carbs are just as important as veggies and meat in mala, so we were glad to have a wide selection at the new outlet, including spinach noodles, sweet potato noodles, rice cakes, instant noodles, and rice. We also made sure to get our favourites to fill our bowl: luncheon meat, pork belly, sausages, tofu skin, cheese tofu, spinach, cabbage, and enoki mushrooms—to name a few. 

Their base prices start at $0.50 for the non-spicy Oriental Stir Fry and $1.50 for the classic Mala Stir Fry. But what we really wanted to try here were their soups as they are not just any mala broth. 

We kickstarted with their signature Mala Collagen Soup ($2.50) and opted for a medium spice level just to play safe as we weren’t familiar with their spice game. Though we definitely felt a kick as the first spoonful went down our throats, we were glad it was pretty milky, which certainly helped to dial down the heat. 

I typically prefer mala xiang guo, AKA dry mala to malatang as for the latter, the mala flavours tend to get lost in the broth. But I could see myself getting their collagen soup again if I craved a comforting, spicy bowl of soup. I also loved that the noodles were cooked to a springy al dente texture. It did not get soggy after sitting in the broth for a while, which is a recurring issue at a lot of other malatang places. 

Next, we got the Collagen Soup ($1.50): a safe choice if you want something more clean-tasting. As it was on the lighter end, it really allowed the other ingredients to shine through. 

We recommend going for healthier ingredients such as fish and shrimp, and lots of vegetables to add a bit of sweetness to the otherwise mild broth. 

For the last bowl, we went for the Tomato Collagen Soup ($2.50), another great option if spice isn’t your thing. As someone with a relatively low spice tolerance, this is a soup flavour I often go for when I have hotpot. Thankfully, the tomato soup didn’t fall short of my expectations, and I thoroughly enjoyed the delightfully sweet and sour broth here. This tasted especially delicious with the warm bed of scrambled eggs atop the soup and other ingredients.

This was my first time trying their scrambled eggs, and after having tried some, I could finally understand the hype around it. They were silky, fluffy, buttery, and unexpectedly tasted great in the soup. Unlike in an egg drop soup situation, the thick scrambled eggs here soaked up all the flavours of the soup well.

On to the fried goods, the lotus root and potato were thinly sliced into and deep-fried to resemble chips with a delightful crunch. Thanks to the crispy texture, this was my favourite out of the bunch. They also had a variety of seasonings and sauces to dress them up, including peanut sauce and a house-made special seasoning. Overall, we really liked the crispy addition which gave our meal a nice contrast of textures. 

We ended our meal with the fragrant, sweet Thai Milk Red Tea ($3.50) and Thai Milk Green Tea ($3.50), which did the perfect job of quenching our thirst after all the heavy flavours. 

Ambience at A Hot Hideout

The new outlet at Junction 10 is their biggest one yet, housing around 132 diners at a time. The space is decked in a black and red interior, with large booth seats to seat big groups. My colleague and I visited during their soft launch period when it wasn’t as busy, but I see the outlet raking in big crowds when it opens on 1 September. FYI, Junction 10 is located right outside Bukit Panjang MRT station. 

The verdict

A Hot Hideout has earned itself the Best Mala In Singapore title several times, and it was only after my visit I could see why. With a huge variety of ingredients including some unique ones that can’t be found elsewhere and relatively affordable prices, you can’t call yourself a mala lover if you haven’t given this place a shot! Now with four outlets across Singapore, it is more convenient for everyone to make a trip. 

For more mala recommendations, check out our feature on Xiao Man Niu Mala Xiang Guo for $10 mala buffet in the CBD! Alternatively, check out our guide to the best food places in Bukit Panjang.

Address: 1 Woodlands Road, #01-34/45, Junction 10, Singapore 677899
Opening hours: Daily 11am to 9:30pm
Website
A Hot Hideout is not a halal-certified eatery.

Photos taken by Paula Formantes.
This was a media tasting at A Hot Hideout Junction 10.