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2021-06-03
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源興隆麵家 is like most other noodle shops. At least from the outside. It's not fancy. It's not serving social media crazed things to attract attention. But if you step inside, it's a totally different manner. A couple of my coworkers live in this area and they often remark about the amazing restaurants near by but one name often comes to mind when they say they repeatedly go back. And it was this place. Curious, I decided to find it and surprisingly, it was a place I had walked by here so many time
Inside is your typical noodle shop. The seats are stools with round tables easy for sharing. You see the kitchen right there, making the noodles. There is someone in the corner wrapping wonton. The place has been here since 1974 and is a family run restaurant. The place was not empty even on a weekday afternoon and it appeared to all be residents nearby. The staff was extremely friendly. This I was a bit taken aback as they must have noticed we were not regulars as others obviously were. They were extremely chatty and loved to talk about their restaurant.
On one wall was a bunch of meal tickets with drawings from children. The staff informed us these were meal tickets they offer to the church groups and senior homes to give to seniors for a free meal here. I thought was really kind hearted of them. The drawings, they said were from outreach programs they participate in where school children come here to learn about how a restaurant works.
The menu is in Chinese only. There is no 10% service charge. But not to worry. The owner seemed to speak good English and took the time to explain the items to me.
They also had not one but several different chili sauces to choose from. Aparently they like to provide a lot of choice and flexibility. Including choice of noodle where they have several different kinds.
But despite all the choices of noodles, I'm fond if rice vermicelli. The noodles were chewy and not over cooked but the star was clearly the soup. It was strong, intense pork soup with no hint of MSG. There was a slight taste of dried mandarin peel to give it freshness. On one wall, they note the ingredients they use. One noted the soup was slow cooked over night with pork bones, mandarin peel and monk fruit. It was definitely different than most of the noodle soup bases I've been to in Hong Kong.
I chose the squid tentacles. The small squid was delicious! Firm with a nice crunch. A light addition of sesame oil gave it a lift of extra flavor.
Boyfried and I shared a bowl of balls and mushrooms.
The pork stomach balls with pepper (豬肚丸河) was something I had never heard of before. When I heard it had pepper, I was a bit wary as I'm not a fan of black pepper beef balls as I always find there is always way too much pepper and thus I never taste anything other than pepper. I was pleasantly surprised! There was a hint of pepper. Not too much but just enough to enhance the flavor the meat. The meat itself had a strong taste. The ball was extremely firm and bouncy.
The beef tendon balls (牛筋丸麵) were one of the better ones I've had in a long time in Hong Kong. Usually, I find beef tendon balls in Hong Kong lack any sort of beef taste but not here. Biting into it, they were also juicy.
Taiwanese beef balls (自製貢丸) had lots of chunky pieces of shitake mushrooms. They had an intense beef taste and very firm in texture.
Dace fish balls with mandarin peel (手打鯪魚丸) were perhaps my favorite of all. My coworker told me these were her favorite so I was very intereste in try them. One of the best dace fish balls I've ever had. They were firm and bouncy. Not soft and fluffy like most other places. The fish meat was balanced out by mandarin peel, to lessen the strong fishy taste that this fish is known for. Even boyfriend, who normally hates this type of meat, liked it.
Braised shitake mushrooms braised in Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce (蠔皇燜冬菇) were so big and thick. The braising liquid had seeped through the entire mushroom, It was firm, sweet and savory. I later told my coworker who told me during Chinese New Year she likes to buy these instead of making her own as they are excellent quality. And I can see why. These were banquet quality mushrooms.
Boyfriend had zha jiang noodles (炸醬麵) and it was served with rice vermicelli as it soaked up the sauce much better than thick. The sauce was surprisingly sweet with a touch of spiciness. But not so spicy that it over powered everything. This was a zha jiang noodles I could eat. The sauce was thick and rich. It coated the noodles well.
His friend ordered shrimp roe noodles (蝦仔麵). The noodles are good amount of bounce. There was plenty of roe that coated everything so well. It was lighlty dressed with soysauce. It smelled so fragrant when it was place on the table.
A place that adheres to tradition and doesn't sway into the trendy. The staff was super friendly and the people there were definitely regulars. The food was delicous and though familiar was definitely different than the others around them. Prices were not expensive at all. Each bowl under $50. I told my coworker who lived nearby I eventually gave this place a try. She was delighted and told me to come back in the evening as once a month the shop owner closes the shop to lend out to a local band for an impromptu jazz session. This I should find more about and will definitely be back.
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