New Mala Hotpot Brand “Chrysanthemum in Bloom” Opens With Free Treats and a Stress-Relief Shrimp Dish

A hotpot brand with an unusually provocative name is making noise in Taiwan. Mala International Restaurant Group has opened “Chrysanthemum in Bloom Mala Old Hotpot” in Taipei's East District and at E-DA in Kaohsiung, using Chongqing flavors and irreverent dish names to attract attention on social media, including Threads.

The restaurant centers on Chongqing beef-tallow mala hotpot. Staff add a mountain-city oolong tea broth to the carefully fried beef-tallow base and aromatic spices when the pot opens, creating a rich, spicy soup designed around Taiwan diners' tastes.

Its most talked-about dish, “Beat Up the Villain Fresh Shrimp and Scallop Paste,” lets customers write troublesome people or bad experiences on edible bean paper, tear it up, and pound it together with shrimp and scallop before cooking it in the broth. The brand presents the ritual as a way to vent frustration while eating.

The “Face-to-Face After Dissection” selection includes beef, large-cut kidney slices, shredded tripe, beef omasum, layered tripe, and freshly made vegetable-and-meat balls. The menu also offers Chongqing fried pork, sauce-filled buns, cured-meat fried rice, cooling chrysanthemum drinks, Chongqing milk beer, desserts, and other items.

The Taipei location began trial operations in August, while the Kaohsiung branch is scheduled to begin trial operations on Sept. 22. The group says it plans to reach four stores by the end of the year. September promotions include free cooling drinks for qualifying diners wearing chrysanthemum-themed clothing or accessories, and free brown-sugar glutinous rice cakes for customers who join the brand's official LINE account and meet the minimum spending requirement.