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2009-01-31
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A noodle joint started here, did good businesses and opened new branches all over the city, made you wonder whether the very first joint will have the best quality noodles to begin with. This assumption was sound theoretically but not always in reality. This night for the last bit of snack, we walked two blocks against the deserted pedestrian sidewalk ending up here. The fishballs on the front was assuring enough, and the milky soup base was a scene of comfort -- We were in the right place.We or
We ordered Noodles with fishballs (鱼蛋河, $19). Deep fried fish-skins were sold out long before we were here. There were also two orders of
Noodles with 4 treasures (四宝河, $26, including pork meatballs, fishballs, pork dumplings with fish, and cuttlefish meatballs). Disappointment grew but some of our group members' appetite grew faster. They ordered the "nutritional meal". At $24 the meal consisted of a beverage of choice, and a plate of 2 slices of toasts, eggs and two meats of choice. One ordered fish fillet and the other boned chicken thigh.
The arrival of the noodles with fishballs marked no signs of horror. Rounds of fried mashed fish slices(鱼片) fanned out on one side, fishballs and preserved vegetables on the other side, completely covering the rice noodles. I took a sip of the broth, and it tasted surprisingly bland. A thought flashed across my mind, thinking maybe a drizzle of fish sauce could save the day. It did, but only slightly. The fish slices tasted fine, but somehow the fishballs were softer than I anticipated them to be...The texture was firmer than beancurd but certainly wouldn't be considered good fishballs (Yet, texture wise it didn't fit into 杭州鱼丸 either). Texture aside, the 'fishiness' was also not up to par. Good thing there was plenty of chopped preserved veg, coriander leaves and scallions that offer a nice flavorful topping for the noodles. The rice noodles, apparently posed a problem. The noodles I grew up eating were white, and tasted of rice...they are, afterall, 'rice noodles'. Apparently nowdays these noodles have evolved (or deteriorated) into semi-transparent noodles that were too thin to begin with, and they didn't taste like anything at all.
Looking over to my friend's nutritional meal. The eggs were scrambled, Chicken steaming when cut across the golden brown crust, I couldn't stop but wonder whether this noodle joint has officially declared CHANGE to switch gear in their menu to focus on quality-food other than the noodles, which contributed into building the reputation and many branches in other districts to begin with. That, was a business decision not to be interfered by general public like myself, but the quality of the noodles had in this branch certainly can improve a great deal if only they would listen to what we have to say about it? I've had their 4 treasures noodles before, the rice noodles were disappointing, but their pork dumplings with fish (鱼皮饺) were satisfactory and the cuttlefish meatballs were meaty not starchy.
This joint may be good for a quick bite in wee hours, yet I wouldn't recommend the rice noodles to begin with, unless your favorite turns out to be somewhat mushy pile of noodles in bland broth. I've asked whether we can only have 鱼片 but not 鱼蛋...the answer I got was amusing enough...
"Why would you not want fishballs (鱼蛋)? It's our specialty!"
That, rendered me speechless as the disappointing order was set before me.
张贴
