#yearofthenoodle

[yearofthenoodle]

Judge not by the size of the bowl, but by its contents. I thought this bowl of roast duck wonton noodle soup was tiny, its circumference contained in my two hands. Turns out it’s pretty deep, and the noodles have a magical swelling effect. I kept ladling up more wontons from the bottom, like 5 total, and a stash of Chinese broccoli stalks too. Satisfying and quick. Ran all my Chinatown errands this morn and was home by noon!

Bowl 87/100. Gum Kuo Restaurant (Oakland Chinatown, CA).

[yearofthenoodle]

Needed some highway miles before smogging the car, so I zipped out to San Leandro. Noodles Pho Me offers just three noodle soups, and some select appetizers and seasonal special dishes. Newcomers are offered a flight of broth samples: beef pho, khao poon, and khao soy. I liked the savory grit of the khao soy, but decided to do a seafood combo khao poon since I liked bowl no. 44 so much and wanted to see how they compared.

The medium bowl arrived overflowing with meat, vegetable matter appearing only for garnish, it seemed. I dug in. And... within a few bites, I was flooded with the strangest sensation. Hard to describe. Basically, my jaw clenched up and I could feel the skin on my cheeks moving over my tense facial muscles. I felt really, really flushed... but not overheated, if that makes sense? I drank a lot of water and just kept eating, slowly. I wanted to like this bowl because it felt like they had really tried to be generous. The shredded chicken just kept going and going. But honestly, I felt physically uncomfortable the whole time I was eating.

I have no known food allergies. This feeling has happened to me only one other time in another restaurant, where I figured the culprit was MSG. Yes, I’ve read the literature attempting to recuperate MSG because its past vilification can be traced to racist culinary presumptions, blah blah blah. But then again, its initial spread and ubiquity in Asian cuisine was problematic in the first place, with Japanese imperialism and modern advertising as primary vectors in its dissemination. Manufacturers of MSG have also provided major funding in the “discovery” of the taste known as umami, which MSG is said to enhance. Anyway, I actually have a lot to say about this but IN SHORT, I have no taste for *excessive* MSG, same as I dislike too much refined sugar, or most other synthetic flavorants.

I could not say for sure if too much MSG was what caused the trippy sensations. I just ate the meats and noodles, left the oh-so-flavorful broth, chugged another glass of water, and called it a meal. Then I drove back to Berkeley and the car passed its smog test. Yay.

Bowl 68/100. Noodles Pho Me (San Leandro, CA).

[yearofthenoodle]

Double skin 兩張皮 with mung bean flat noodles and extra prawn from my fish club. I really should eat this dish more than once a year.

Bowl 98/100. Great China (Berkeley, CA).

[yearofthenoodle]

Oops, I missed one from last week: calamari, tomato, cucumber salad, with bonus bulk of shirataki bundles. I love these konjac noodles, especially the bugly shapes of the bundled noodles. I admit they’re a little weird though. Barely any calories, carbs, protein, or any nutritional value, yet high in fiber -- made to pass through like a white waterfall flushing out your digestive system.

Bowl 97/100. Homemade.

[yearofthenoodle]

My first attempt at lion’s head meatballs, cooked in a big mushy stew of napa cabbage and other veggies and bean vermicelli noodles. I made my meatballs with ground pork though more of the bulk came from smashed tofu, nagaimo, scallion whites, shiitake mushrooms, ginger, seasonings, etc. They were very juicy but had a hard time sticking together. I don’t usually make my own meatballs. Do I need more egg or panko?

Bowl 96/100. Homemade.

[yearofthenoodle]

Squid ink pasta from Trader Joe’s, totally worth the $2. Cuttlefish from Real Good Fish, which continues to impress me with their generous portions of fresh, community supported local seafood. With olive oil, a bunch of herbs, heirloom grape tomatoes, and lemon, this made for an excellent meal. Just needed a slightly bigger plate!

Plate 94/100. Homemade (Casa Milo spaghetti noodles).

[yearofthenoodle]

Mohinga Burmese fish chowder, thick and hearty and full of taste.

Bowl 93/100. Tharaphu Burmese Street Food (Berkeley, CA).

[yearofthenoodle]

Why I’m a homebody: Because I need to nurse my stock for days to make turkey noodle soup. This was about $15 for ingredients, mostly turkey parts and organic gluten-free fusilli from the Berkeley Bowl. I have enough for ~8 hearty meals, including frozen quarts.

Bowl 92/100. Homemade.