First Encounter: Exploring the Heat and Flavors of Chinese Malatang at Yang Hero in Cebu IT Park

Hi, my fellow foodies. It's my first time posting in the Foodies Bee Hive Community. Let me share with you my recent lunch date with my best friend. It has been a while since the last time we went out with my best friend. Before this year ends, we made sure to explore new flavors and spend some quality time together. This time, we chose Yang Hero, a Chinese restaurant in the bustling Cebu IT Park, as our food spot.

This was our first time to dine at Yang Hero. My best friend was the one who suggested this restaurant, and we had been talking about it for quite some time. Due to busy schedules and different priorities in life, we didn't have the chance to go on our food trip here earlier this year. Better late than never, right?

When we arrived there, it was almost noon. At first, we were uncertain what to order, but the staff at the main entrance explained their offerings and suggested the Malatang, a Chinese spicy hotpot. My best friend and I were intrigued, so we decided to try it out. Then, we were ushered inside by their staff to our table. It was beautiful inside. The lanterns and color of their interior made me feel like I was in China.

While looking around, I found this art positioned directly above my seat, and I admired it so much.

After putting our bags on our seats, we headed to the Malatang Set Individual Selection section. It was the most fun and exciting part. I let my best friend pick up a big bowl, and the two of us picked up tongs to choose ingredients we liked for our Malatang.

Many vegetables, meats, and seafood were available to choose from, along with barbecue skewers.

My best friend, who usually includes eggs in her meals, picked up the egg first. She also selected shrimp, seaweed, crabmeat, and enoki mushrooms. As for me, I grabbed few pieces of lettuce, bits of octopus, tofu, and few thin slices of pork belly.

Then, we placed the bowl on the weighing scale, which displayed the grams and the corresponding cost of our food. We believed it wouldn't be enough for both of us, so we informed them that we would add more ingredients. We picked some colorful balls without knowing their names or flavors, simply grabbing what looked delicious.

After putting the bowl back on the scale, we asked for a mild spicy soup and confirmed our order; then, they added thin noodles.

They gave us a green hair tie with a number attached to its extension and told us to wait while they cooked our food. At first, I was confused, thinking they wanted me to tie my hair up. Nevertheless, we were excited to see what our cooked Malatang would turn out.

While waiting for our food, we settled our bill. And looking around the restaurant, I appreciated the ample space with plenty of tables and seats inside.

After a couple of minutes, finally, our Malatang was served!

We excitedly tried the soup. It was really good! A bit spicy and flavorful. We both agreed that it had a unique taste. Look at how satisfied my best friend was.

I was looking forward to trying the balls, and to my surprise, they had a filling inside. The balls were soft, tender, and full of flavor! The filling melted in my mouth. Both tastes perfectly complemented each other.

I was enjoying my food so much that I accidentally swallowed a spoonful of the soup down my throat, and it was so spicy! I was teary-eyed. I quickly poured cold water into my glass and drank it to cool down. Following that, I carried on as if nothing happened, continuing to eat happily.

After enjoying bites, sips, and slurps, we finished our lunch. We loved the soup with delightful surprise filling, enoki mushrooms, octopus, and pork belly. The thin noodles were perfect — lightweight and didn't make us overly full. However, we felt that the tofu didn't really complement the taste of the other ingredients.

Overall, our dining experience at Yang Hero in Cebu IT Park was incredibly wonderful. It was worth it! We were satisfied and look forward to returning to explore more of their menu. Leaving the restaurant with full stomachs and smiles, we felt delighted.

I'm thrilled to have shared our FIRST experience with you, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Peace out, my fellow foodies! See you soon!