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2009-09-14
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Dinner was good, really good in fact. There were leftovers, doggie-bags too. The drinkers were very well satisfied for the night. They had a swing on their steps as they headed out onto the streets. The lightbulbs were extra bright and blurry for them, but suited me just fine as we skipped our steps next door for just another extra load into for the palate before we head home. The blazing flames of an old stove on the streetside lit up half the space, as wooden tables and fold-up stools set aga
The blazing flames of an old stove on the streetside lit up half the space, as wooden tables and fold-up stools set against a wall painted a dull emerald green, and the menus in small frames hung from the wall. On the other side men in their skimpy white vests stuck to their sweaty backs, running around serving dishes of steamy hot noodles -- soup or stirred. We were on a high for the night, as we promptly placed our orders -- Stir noodles with soy sauce (豉油撈麵, $18) and Stir thick noodles with meat sauce (炸醬撈粗,$26). Each order comes with a bowl of hot broth. which was believed to be the soul of the entire dish.
In less than no time the noodles arrived. The stir noodles with soy sauce arrived in a small mount. Glossy brown strands gloriously landed on a shallow green soup dish, garnished with chopped scallions. I seemed to detect a whiff of nutty aroma from it, perhaps from the noodles, or maybe it was the broth? Turned out it was the secret ingredient that creates this aroma -- LARD, or more specifically, pig's fat. The noodles were slick and easy to pick up in small strands. The texture was slightly chewy, sort of like al dente, and with a more wheaty taste to it. The sweet soy sauce also provided its dark brown colour, as the taste matches with the depth contributed from the pig's fat. The broth that accompanied, was faintly briny with a delicate sweetness from dried fish used for the long simmering process. It was clear and light golden in colour, and as soothing as real chicken soup when you need some warmth and comfort in the stomach.
The Thick noodles with spicy meat sauce was attractive enough as it is -- thin golden bunch of noodles resting in a bowl, topped and partially garnished by a thick ladle of sauce filled with shreds of pork. The sauce, the colour of light burgendy with a little magenta mixed in, bears the depth in terms of flavour. It seemed to have a little sweetness, heat, and soy-sauce savoriness within it, as different sensation crisscross along the palates. The thick noodles provided the perfect canvas for the sauce to shine as a bright star, without letting it dominate the attention as the noodles itself has a crisp texture and can mop up every bit of sauce to give the dish more substance.
Noodles here may not be of big servings, nor do they bear a lot of variations featuring different types of meatballs or wontons with different fillings. It reminds me what suppers or midnight snacks are like in the old days. This is it, passing the vendors selling boiling congee and simmering offals (and the chop-chop clicking of the metallic scissors). With swift motions the vendors here with a wire colander in one hand and long chopsticks in another, the guys skillfully scooped the noodles from boiling water just in time. As the hand jerked at the colander, the noodles bounced up in the air, without us noticing, the hand with the chopstick has taken up a ladle with soy sauce and down it pour, the bounced up noodles were quickly coloured into dark brown as it landed back into the colander. The transformation is quite a show, and for those who have not had noodles here, really should consider coming along. The noodles itself is the reason to pay a visit, and everything else -- the quintessence of outdoor dining at a local vendor, comes as extras.
張貼
