Tag: Noodles

Delicious baby oyster noodles from San Mou I Kuong Fok Chiu

I found this noodle shop (cafe de fita in Portuguese) almost by accident and I tried one of the best dishes of my October 2019 Macau trip.

The visit

The shop is a typical old-school noodle cafe. It was one of the few establishments open for breakfast in the neighborhood.

The interior was simple.

They had an English menu and also a menu with some pictures, so ordering was not a problem. You can choose between normal noodles and thin ones and you can customize your bowl with a number of toppings.

Their most famous noodle dish is with baby oysters. I added crab balls.

Well, the oysters were just exquisite. Salty, meaty, and fresh. The crab balls were not particularly tasty, but who care… did I tell you that the oysters were so good?

Some spicy condiments were available.

The check

I spent 40 MOP for my noodles (5 USD). My friend took the same oyster noodles with no crab balls for 10 MOP less. This was incredible value for money considering the generous amount of oysters in the soup. Highly recommended.

Where in Macau:
45 Rua de Bruxelas.
(Another shop is located at 149 Rua de Coimbra, Taipa.)

Nagasaki’s own noodles: lunch at the Champon Museum (Shikairo)

Champon or Chanpon (ちゃんぽん) is a noodle dish that originated in Nagasaki. Lore has it that it was introduced by Chinese students (or merchants). The dish is made by frying pork, seafood and vegetables with lard; a soup made with chicken and pig bones is then added. Unlike other ramen dishes, only one pan is needed as the noodles are boiled in the soup.

I am not a fan of noodles, but I decided to try it while in Nagasaki in a trip in the summer 2019. I went to Shikairo (四海樓), a restaurant that has been serving champon since 1899 and even has a small museum on its premises.

The visit

The restaurant is occupies a massive five-story building overlooking the port. It is an ugly building… you won’t miss it.

The proper restaurant is located on the 5th floor.

As soon I as stepped inside the crowded dining room (I had to queue 10 minutes or so), I immediately felt that it was a touristy place. It was. But it was not a tourist trap. This was a very well-oiled and efficient operations satisfying hundreds of customers every day. I have a lot of respect for this kind of operations. Once I sat, my bowl of noodles came quickly.

I had their house Champon. Also a number of other Chinese side-dishes was available, but I just wanted the noodles.

Here they were. The stock was quite creamy. The shredded egg yolk was another of the characteristic features of the dish. I did not find it particularly good, but it was a filling bowl of noodles.

Before leaving I took a stroll in the museum (free of charge) on the second floor. On the ground floor you can buy the Champon noodles and soup stock if you wish to do so.

The check

I paid 1,080 yen (10 USD). Considering the nice (even if crowded) dining room, I did not mind paying this price. I am pretty sure that we were all tourists in this restaurant. If you wish to try a Champon that locals like, ask someone in Nagasaki for a pointer.

Where in Nagasaki:
4-5 Matsugaemachi.
In Japanese: 長崎県長崎市松が枝町4-5.

A restaurant where to try traditional Tainan food

Tainan is regarded as the culinary capital of Taiwan (or at least by its inhabitants as a friend of Taipei once remarked). I agree that food in Tainan is a big deal and they have a lot of local specialties that should not be missed. This restaurant does a good job in offering a selection of these specialties.

The visit

The restaurant in English is called Chikan Peddler’s Noodle and is located just next to a Tainan’s landmark, Chihkan Tower.

I initially went there for their Dan Zai noodles, but then I realized they had a set menu to sample some of the main local dishes and I went for it.

I was asked to sit on the upper floor. The building is an old traditional house and the stairs are quite steep…

The dining room upstairs was almost empty and I was quickly served.

The first dish was a bowl of their Dan Zai noodles, a type of noodle topped with minced pork ragu (and a shrimp). The pork meat goes through a long preparation process and the result is outstanding. The meat is full of herbal flavors and is extremely delicate. It is really a dish to try.

Then one by one I got the other dishes of this set menu. The second was boiled spearfish thick soup. Quite a good soup with some good pieces of white fish.

The oyster omelette was another typical dish included in the set.

I also had an opportunity to try the milk fish (boiled with a traditional bean paste).

Another dish was rice cake with deep-fried shrimp rolls.

Finally, I was served a kind of flan.

The check

Total was 420 NTD (13.65 USD), which included a large cup of iced tea (white gourd to be precise).

The restaurant clearly caters to tourist, but I think it did a decent job in presenting this selection of traditional dishes. My impression is that the noodle were really great, while the other dishes were quite bland. I do not have enough expertise to say if this was just the norm, or there was a difference between the quality of their noodles and the rest.

Where in Tainan:
No.118, Section 2 Minzu Road.
Address in Chinese: 老店  台南市中西區民族路二段 180 號
Website: https://www.chikan.com.tw

Tip: for the thick soup the Tainan’s King of Thick Soup has its store just across the street around the corner.

Crabs, zen, and noodles

In a trip in Shanghai at the end of 2018 I noticed something familiar on Guangdong road. It was a restaurant very similar to one I had visited one year earlier in another part of town. Initially I thought it may have been a rip-off, but no, it was a new branch just a stone-throw away from Bund 3/5. 

I had learnt about the place whose English name should be Cejerdary. in a very well-written article published on Smartshanghai. 

It only serves two dishes: two types of crab noodles. Apparently it is owned by a vegetarian ascetic that has never eaten a crab. Apart from the backstory, I loved my previous visits so I tried the new location on the Bund. 

The visit

I arrived early and at that time there was no queue. They have a waiting room. They also take reservations. 

The style of the environment is very distinctive. Wooden furniture, wicker basket where to place your bag and overcoat…

And a wall of photos picturing the owner with famous people. 

The service begins with a cup of ginger tea and peanuts. Then the choice is pretty simple: they have crab noodles with the meat from the claws or with the meat from the whole crab, this second choice being more expensive and allowing to taste the crab roe. You can also make your selection a “combo” by adding a steamed crab. They use hairy crabs that are very popular in Shanghai especially during their mating season (peaking between October and November). In the past, I knew that this restaurant was open only during the mating season, but a waiter told me that they are now open all year round. If I understood correctly, not sure how the noodles would change. 

I went for the option with the claw meat. Personally I think it is even better as it is less sweet. 

The noodles are very delicate and are a good match for the crab meat.

This is a picture of the more expensive version: you can see all the roe that confers the dish a sweet flavor.  

I liked my crab noodles, even if I remembered a more delicate flavor in the past, not sure if anything has changed since they opened the new location. 

The check

The generous portion of crab noodles (with claw meat only) cost me 72 CNY (just a little over 10 USD). Very good value. The other version of the noodles with the meat from the whole crab costs around 50 USD (hairy crabs are expensive). 

There are other restaurants that specialize in crabs in Shanghai, but only this one managed to create such a distinctive experience and branding. It is worth a visit. 

Where in Shanghai:
59 Guangdong Lu, a couple of block down from Bund 3. 

350 THB luxury khao soi vs. 40 THB street khao soi: which is better?

In my trip to Chiang Mai of course I had to try the khao soi, one of Northern Thailand’s iconic dishes. Khao soi is basically a curry soup (but in the curry there is also coconut juice) with deep-fried crispy egg noodles on top and normal boiled egg noodles soaked in the soup. It comes with either beef, chicken and pork and it is usually served with a side dish of  pickled mustard greens, shallots and lime as a condiment, along with chili paste. Normally it is a mildly spicy dish, but the level of spiciness can vary depending on the establishment.

The street khao soi: Khao Soi Khun Yai

Following food youtuber and blogger Mark Wiens’ advise, I tried my street khoi soi in a diner located along the northern perimeter of Chiang Mai’s old city called Khao Soi Khun Yai.

The diner is open only until 2pm, so I went for a breakfast. I was not the only tourist, I guess Mark Wiens can really make a difference with his recommendations! They are tourist friendly with an English menu now:

I am not a fan of noodles, ramen and such, but I found this khao soi a delicious dish. Mixing the soft boiled and the crispy fried noodles gave the dish a particular texture. I chose to have chicken in mine and I enjoyed every bite. I finished the soup. (Looking back with more experience I can add that the fried noodles were a bit soggy and that overall this was a very spicy khao soi, which may be good or bad depending on your taste.)

Special bonus: I enjoyed their longan juice too!

Total price: 40 THB for the small khao soi, that would be 1.20 USD (plus 20 THB for the drink).

The luxury khao soi: Le Grand Lanna

Le Grand Lanna is a luxury Thai restaurant located on the ground of the five-star resort Dhara Devi. It is around 8 km outside the old city.

Their khao soi was pretty much the same size as the one tried in the other restaurant and came with the usual pickles, lime and chili paste.

What to say? I enjoyed this bowl as well, but I found it more of a soft ball. The soup was less tasty, less spicy and the egg noodles gave me the impression to be cut by a machine, if not bought ready-made (I am pretty sure that at Khao Soi Khun Yai were hand-made).

The khao soi was part of a set menu, but the cost from a la carte menu (after service charge and tax) was a little over 350 THB, around 11 USD.

The verdict

Was the luxury khao soi worth the extra money? While I am not a khao soi expert by any stretch of the imagination, I do not think it was worth. Clearly you are paying for the ambience, not for the food.

To be honest, the two dishes were quite similar, but I found the soup of the khao soi served at Khao Soi Khun Yai more tasty and spicy. Also, their noodles, especially the dried noodles on top, presented a better texture.

For other reasons, I would not recommend Le Grand Lanna as a destination in Chiang Mai. On the other side, khoi soi is really a dish to try while visiting the city and the multitude of diners serving khoi soi are certainly more interesting than the glossy environment of Le Grand Lanna.

Hitting the noodle jack pot in Sham Shui Po – Hong Kong

Authentic hand-made food in Hong Kong is a rarity nowadays. Chain restaurants are quickly taking over all available spaces and for the long-timers the temptation to just cash-in on the touristic traffic is high. Luckily, good traditional food outlets still exist and thrive. This post is about Lau Sum Kee, a noodle place that came to a certain degree of fame with Western audiences after a visit by Anthony Bourdain and that continues to offer delicious noodles no matter what.

The shop is located in Sham Shui Po, an interesting area in itself. People used to come to Sham Shui Po mostly for the markets (there is a huge electronic market, a fashion and garment market, a Jade market, you can really find everything here). Now more and more food outlets have opened around the crowded streets and it is a perfect destination where to combine food and shopping.

The visit

I was lucky enough to be escorted by two local friends. Given the recent departure of Bourdain, I was expecting to find a long line of tourists trying to retrace the celebrity chef’s footsteps in Hong Kong. Luckily I could have not been more wrong and at around 1.30pm on a Friday afternoon there were no tourists and our small party was immediately seated (sharing the round table with two ladies, Hong Kong style for this kind of establishment).

When you step in, you can smell the aroma of fresh noodles in the air. You can see two staff members (I suppose family members as well) working on filling wontons just across the cash register. The round table are meant to be shared and, as expected, you seat on stool. The menu is in Chinese only.

I ordered soup noodles with shrimp wontons and my friend went for the classic Hong Kong brisket noodles. Pickles are available on the table to kill time while waiting for the food. Also warm water is available for free.

Finally the food arrived. You can easily detect that the noodles are hand-made: their texture is irregular and every strand seems to have its own individuality. But the real surprise was the shrimp wonton. I have eaten many shrimp wontons and so many times they are tasteless, like crunching a piece of plastic. Not these ones! The fresh shrimp flavor immediately emerged bite after bite.

Their menu is not limited to brisket and shrimp noodles. They also have fish balls, other types of meat and you can even order two or three toppings. The noodles are available both with soup and with just sauce.

The check

A reasonably sized bowl of shrimp noodles cost me 32 HKD (around 4 USD). I was extremely pleased by the experience and I plan to go back, next time probably having a combo topping.

Bonus

Not far away, we completed our short foodie excursion with a tofu pudding, another quintessential Hong Kong dish. It is a piece of cold tofu that you can mix with sugar cane. It is the perfect dessert for the summer. Among the many shops that sells tofu pudding we chose Hong Kong Kung Wo Bean Curd Factory (bean curd means tofu) that is a sort of a local institution and also offers tofu in other savory preparations. A small portion of the pudding goes for 10 HKD (1.25 USD).

Where in Hong Kong:
Lau Sum Kee: 48 Kweilin Street, Sham Shui Po
Hong Kong Kung Wo Bean Curd Factory: 118 Pei Ho Street, Sham Shui Po