麻辣烫
má là tàng
ZH
Malatang: a popular Chinese street and casual dining dish consisting of various ingredients boiled in a strongly spiced, numbing and spicy hot broth
我下班路过街边店，买了一碗麻辣烫当晚餐。
I passed by the street shop after work and bought a bowl of malatang for dinner.
Etymology
Malatang originated along the Yangtze River banks in Sichuan, China, from street vendors in the 1990s. Its name directly describes its signature characteristic: numbing (麻) from Sichuan peppercorns, spicy (辣), and served hot (烫).
Memory Aid
Remember the three characters literally: 麻 (má, numbing), 辣 (là, spicy), 烫 (tàng, hot) — these three words directly describe the core sensory experience of this dish.
Collocations
一碗麻辣烫麻辣麻辣烫骨汤麻辣烫自选麻辣烫