Mala Boom, the first restaurant to serve málà xiāngguō, a highly spicy Chinese specialty

The 11th arrondissement welcomes Mala Boom, the first málà xiāngguō restaurant in Paris, and that's good news for lovers of new flavors who like to confront their taste buds with chili. After all, málà xiāngguō is a Chinese dish that originated in the Sichuan region, renowned for its spicy dishes, and this specialty is no exception.

Asharing dish par excellence, málà xiāngguō consists of meats and vegetables carefully stir-fried in a wok in a málà sauce with Sichuan chilli and pepper . After passing under the flame, which offers a beautiful spectacle from the dining room, the whole thing is brought to the table in a large dish, from which all the guests happily pick with their chopsticks.

At Mala Boom, 4 predefined recipes are offered as solo versions at lunchtime only; but true adventurers compose their own málà xiāngguō from 18 à la carte ingredients. For 2 people, Patrick El Khoury, the owner of the place, conselle 8 to 10 ingredients, for 3 people, 12 to 15 ingredients, and for more gourmets, 16 ingredients to choose from.

As far as spiciness is concerned, the restaurant offers 6 levels of spiciness ranging from 0 (no spice in the dish) to 5. Those who finish their dish at level 5 see their face displayed on the wall of champions at the back of the restaurant; that says a lot about the difficulty and courage it takes!

Proud of our two málà xiāngguō, we share our creations with you! The first consisted of beef skirt steak, fried tofu, broccoli, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, bean sprouts, rice cakes and sweet potato noodles, with a 0 level of chilli ; while the second consisted of squid, pork loin, soy skins, lotus roots, shimeji mushrooms, black mushrooms, cabbage and rice noodles, with a level 1 spiciness; both topped with coriander, peanuts and toasted sesame.

Both our versions were excellent, each ingredient stood out in the dish, and the level 0 was rich in flavour - no chilli means no spice! Note, on the other hand, that for our puny little Parisian palates, level 1 was already heating up in the mouth, but everyone has their own tolerance. The bowl of rice next to the plate helps to put out the fire.

• To be read
• Chinese restaurants in Paris
• DimDimSum Paris, the excellent restaurant of Chinese dim sum and baos - karaoke
• Bolo Bolo Paris, the Chinese restaurant that takes you to Hong Kong

As are the delicious potato salad grated in a tangy soy sauce (7.80€) as a starter and the very good gin and tonics with Szechuan sauce (10€), infused with red Sichuan berries - which we recommend you bite into if you want to test the truly unusual anaesthetic sensation these little berries provoke on the tongue.

A friendly address with a real buzz!