165. Taiwan Day 1: A Quick Bite at Little Lin's Noodle Shop / 小林麵食館 (Taipei: Da An District / 台北市: 大安區)

Just a few hours into my trip in Taiwan, I called up fellow Triton alum Diana.  We just so happened to be right across the street from each other, so we met up and headed down to Little Lin's Noodle Shop (小林麵食館) for a quick bite.  Thankfully, this little corner shop puts its air conditioning on full blast because the heat and humidity in Taipei was slowly killing me.

We started off with an authentically prepared sliced goose.  It is simply poached in its own broth and served with strips of fresh ginger and green onions.  The meat is tender and flavorful, and the juiciness oozes with each bite.  Ask any local, and they will tell you it is one of their favorite Taiwanese delicacies. 

Of course, since it is a noodle shop, we had to order a big bowl of their house special black sesame noodles (黑芝麻麵).  The sesame sauce is covered by the porcelain white noodles until mixed.  When the sauce covers the strands of noodles, the aromatic fragrance of the sesame wafts up from the bowl.  The restaurant says that sesame, along with green tea and miso, are key ingredients to the Japanese people's longevity.  The Taiwanese have adopted many Japanese culinary and lifestyle habits since their rule in Taiwan, and health has been one of them.  There is also an option for white sesame sauce, but this is Diana's usual go-to noodle choice.

Eating with Diana means that there are bound to be vegetables on the table.  We went for some gorgeous, green sweet potato leaves (地瓜葉) to round out our quick meal.  Whether blanched or sauteed, the sprouted leaves taste like a tender version of spinach, and they are another local favorite as well.

And now... maybe an iced beverage to cool us down... or perhaps more noodles? Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Little Lin's Noodle Shop (小林麵食館)
台北市大安區大安路1段28號
No. 28, Da An Rd., Sec 1, Da An District, Taipei City

ML - 20130630

123. The Savory Uni Goma Tofu from Aburiya Toranoko (LA: Downtown/Little Tokyo)

Finally finished with the 12-post series on Portland, I am now turning my attention back home to a restaurant in Little Tokyo called Aburiya Toranoko.  This sushi bar and izakaya has an extensive menu with nearly 100 appetizers, entrees, sumiyaki skewers, sushi and sashimi selections.  However, after tasting the fresh oysters with ponzu sauce, various grilled skewers, and the obligatory fried chicken karaage, I knew that there was one dish that stood out to me.  The savory uni goma tofu made me gush with delight as it has done with esteemed writers such as Jonathan Gold.

Uni goma tofu, wedges of sea urchin roe laid out ever so carefully across a perfectly square cube of tofu made of ground sesame, is served in a fist sized teacup with a puddle of sexy soy sauce at the bottom.  It is the star of the Toranoko menu, and it wowed upon first and every subsequent bite.  The tofu is savory... it is smooth... and it is packed with sesame flavor.  Cutting into it with your spoon is like diving into a savory custard or firm pudding.  It is almost flan-like, and you can savor it by swirling it over the waves of your tongue over and over again until the very last bite.  It is the most recent amazing-delicious moment that I have had, and I must have more.  Made in house by the chefs themselves, it is something that everyone who is a fan of Japanese food should taste.

Other items that we ordered include the tsukune burger made with chicken meatballs and topped with bacon, the succulent braised buta kakuni, and the squid ink and clams risotto.  A few Toranoko crafted cocktails, such as the shiso leaf martini, can round out your experience here in this dimly lit social gathering spot. 

Special thanks goes out to Mr. Ken Lee and his brother John for entertaining that night and introducing me to the very gracious restaurant management.  Until the next amazing-delicious moment, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Read Jonathan Gold's First Bite of the uni goma tofu from Aburiya Toranoko here.

ML - 20130402

Post 56: Islamic Chinese for Uncle Ma (OC: Anaheim)

When I mentioned that there was Muslim Chinese people and hence, Muslim Chinese food, many of my co-workers responded that they never knew such people or cuisine existed.  So I decided to do a little research by browsing online and asking various family members about this unique group of individuals that happen to make delicious noodles and flatbread.

The Muslim Chinese are descendants of Arab and Persian Silk Road travelers.  Athough they have intermarried into the local Han Chinese population through many generations, they retain their religious beliefs such as the consumption of Halal meat and the restriction of pork from their diet.  Chinese Muslims are considered Hui people, which are one of the 50+ officially recognized ethnic minorities in China.  There is also a sizable ethnic Hui population in Taiwan as well.  In China, a large portion of Hui or Muslim Chinese are surnamed Ma (馬), meaning horse.  However, the root of the last name Ma supposedly originated from the Muslim name Muhammad.  It's no wonder that so many of the Islamic Chinese restaurants in Southern California are named Ma.

I dropped by Mas' Islamic Chinese Restaurant to grab some Muslim Chinese food, specifically the beef noodles and the sesame flatbread as a way to remember my Uncle Joe.  My Uncle Joe happens to be surnamed Ma and also happens to have parents who are Hui Chinese.  In fact, they even have a Koran that has been translated into Chinese characters.  But that all might just be coincidental...

Thin sesame flatbread (芝麻大薄餅)

listed on the menu as thin sesame bread with green onion

The sesame flatbread is what I came here for.  And let me warn you... the flatbread is no joke.  It's a platter of sixteen slices of sesame sweetness that will make your eyes open wide and your jaw drop completely open.  It's larger than an XL pizza pie, and it's something that even a family of four will have trouble finishing due to its sheer size.  The flatbread has a texture that is a cross between the firmness of a leftover French baguette and a spongey Ethiopian injera.  The look of it is also a combination of sorts... it reminds me of the delicate nature of an Indian naan but with the girth of a rustic Australian damper (bush bread).  When a co-worker took his first bite of this bread, he exclaimed, "it tastes like sesame."  No kidding.  There seems to be more sesame on this plane of bread than there are grains of sand on the beach.  But it's the sesame and the chopped green onions inside that form the base for flavor.  And it's the bread itself that forms an awesome foundation for whatever sauce or soup it gets eaten with.  Hint: it tastes great with the next item we ordered.



Green onion, ginger, and garlic stir-fried lamb (蔥爆羊肉)
listed on the menu simply as lamb with green onions

The absence of pork from the Islamic diet leaves a gaping void for a Muslim Chinese restaurant to fill.  And although Mas' seems to have filled that void with fish and seafood, it's lamb that seems to be the underacknowledged champion protein.  Each of the lamb dishes on the menu has been prepared with strong and flavorful ingredients (pickled cabbage, Chinese style barbeque sauce, chili peppers, etc.) to minimize the gamey taste that lamb naturally has.  The dish that we ordered was no different.  Upon first whiff the gamey taste dominates all other smells.  But one bite into the lamb, and the pungent garlic, spicy ginger, and hearty green onion immediately knock out that gamey flavor.  It's almost like Taiwanese stinky tofu... the smell is horrible, but one bite and you would think someone took Febreeze to the air.  Well... okay, maybe not so much.

Beef stir-fried with hand-sheared chow mein (牛肉炒刀削麵)

listed on the menu as beef dough sliced chow mein

Noodles! Oh, noodles and pasta are my weakness... especially freshly prepared noodles.  This "dough sliced" chow mein refers to the way that the noodle is prepared.  Rather than making hand-pulled noodles (think ramen or spaghetti), the chef takes a blade to a big ball of fresh dough and shears the noodles off one ribbon at a time (think machete).  For a less violent image, think about that Tillamook commercial that shows the block of sharp cheddar getting sliced one perfect perpendicular plane at a time.  But think a lot faster... and less perpendicular... and also imagen a vat of boiling water at the other end of the figurative machete plank.  After a quick boil and an even quicker stir-fry with bountiful slices of beef, bean sprouts, green onion stalks and scrambled egg, the result is a chewier, more elastic version of the typical Cantonese beef chow fun.

Beware though, there was a significant layer of leftover oil on my plate.  If you are an avid gym-goer, then by all means, help yourself to another slice of flatbread to swivel around and soak up the fatty juices leftover by the lamb.  But if it's tough for you to hit the gym (if you have absolutely no discipline like me), then maybe taking a swig of that hot tea (to wash away the oil) is a better idea.

I have yet to learn more about the Muslim Chinese dishes or even about the people and their history, but sesame flatbread is a good start to further exploration.  I hope future culinary curiousity reveals more surprises about a people or world culture previously unknown to you.  To new discoveries and to my Uncle Joe... until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110725

Post 16.3: Oodles of Noodles (LA-SGV: Arcadia/Alhambra)

A post on A&J Restaurant (半畝園) cannot be complete without mentioning the oodles of noodles on their menu.  As a purveyor of the hand-pulled noodle, A&J has a variety of noodles that ranges from the ever-popular Taiwanese braised beef noodle soup to Szechwan-style noodles in sesame and peanut sauce (AKA dan dan noodles) to native favorites such as zhajiang noodles.  Many of these noodles hail originally from Szechwan (Sichuan) Province of China, but have been popular in America by Taiwanese noodle houses like A&J.  Here is a look at some of A&J's most popular noodles:

Braised beef noodle soup (紅燒牛肉麵)
listed on the menu as spicy beef noodle soup



Braised beef noodle soup is almost a staple of Taiwanese noodle houses everywhere.  And although it was first introduced to Taiwan in the 1950s, it has become one of Taiwan's most popular and well known national foods.  Every family, every chef, every restaurant adds different ingredients to their beef noodle soup, but the method is standard everywhere... and it begins with braising or stewing beef broth until the beef is tender and the soup is flavorful.  A&J's beef noodle soup is infused with soy sauce and succulent beef that isn't the least bit tough.

It's topped off with bok choy and sliced green onions for health, color, and flavor.  Some noodle-goers like to add cilantro as garnish while others cannot go without topping the noodle soup off with pickled mustard greens for some crunch and flavor contrast.

Dan dan noodles (擔擔麵)
listed on the menu as noodles in hot spicy sesame sauce topped with peanut powder



Dan dan noodles are simply noodles with sesame and peanut sauce.  Dan dan refers to the shoulder poles that peddlers or hawkers used to carry the noodles back in the old days in China's Szechwan Province.  It's one of my go-to noodles that I know I can count on whenever I'm indecisive... or feeling down.  This is my big bowl of comfort.  I remember the days when I used to sit at the kitchen table watching my Aunt Wendy make this dish.  I would ask my Aunt Wendy to top off my bowl of dan dan noodles with a dollop of Peter Pan brand peanut butter to soften the blow of the spicy Szechwan chili.  I ate dan dan noodles whenever I needed to soften the blow of bad grades or parental punishment.  How fitting.



Dan dan noodles are the grown-up, sinicized version of licking peanut butter from a spoon.  I relish in its comfort; I relish in its simplicity.  Even the name is simple... dan dan.  Anyone, Chinese-speaking or not, can order it easily.  

Many variations of this noodle exist.  Some are prepared with a heaping pool of chili oil, and some others include ground pork.  But my favorite is simply noodles, sauce, and a hint of pickled mustard greens.  How simple, how amazing.

Zhajiang noodles (炸醬麵)
listed on the menu as noodles with ground pork, bean sprouts and shredded cucumber



Zha is to fry, and jiang is the word for sauce.  Ground pork has been stir-fried with either soybean paste or black bean paste as the base for these noodles, hence the name zhajiang noodles.  Some versions of zhajiangmian include diced carrots or dried bean curd (tofu) in the sauce, but I prefer mine without.  I prefer A&J's version... hand-pulled noodles cooked just to a chewy, elastic, al dente consistency (or a 'Q' consistency for Taiwanese), ground pork, and cold bean sprouts and cucumber.  Yum.

A&J offers many more noodles on the menu, but these were some of the favorites for regulars and first-timers alike.  The same menu (and more) is offered at A&E Restaurant (北平麵館), which was A&J Restaurant's original location before it became a chain restaurant.  Got a favorite bowl of noodles? Share yours.  Until then, let's get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20100926/20100116+0419+0423+0711