I had a craving for some Cantonese style noodle soup this weekend so together with Charice, Michala, Rasmus, Alexander and Tim we headed over to an old standby, NY Noodletown at 28 Bowery. Most families in the NY area, or at least the Jewish ones, have a go-to Chinatown restaurant. Most of the sheep head.to the cramped basement barracks of eateries like Wo Hop on Mott Street, whose ubiquitous tee-shirts are spotted on the backs of the culinary unenlightened all around town. My own, more refined family, has always preferred NY Noodletown and their highly un-kosher pork laden noodle soups.
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| Hello Pork! |
My father loved this type of food so much that towards the end of his days, when he was very sick from a draining chemo regimen, I would bring him this soup. His favorite pork and pasta delivery method was the dry version, or Hong Kong stye Lo Mein. which we would order to go in plastic quart containers piled high with thin egg noodles topped with a dollop of oyster sauce and copious amounts of Char Su pork.We were always very careful to specify EXACTLY what we wanted, lest we receive the less savory white man's version of Roast Pork Lo Mein with fat greasy noodles and the type of roast pork that doesn't hang in the window (Wo Hop style!) and isn't nearly as good. The dry version, ordered with broth on the side, is absolutely the right way to go if you are taking your noodles home, unless you prefer eating soggy, slushy noodles. In fact, it may be the best way to order this dish at any time. Putting Char Su pork inside the soup, although it may add some flavor, makes the pork soggy and much less enjoyable to eat. The pork adds salt to an already very salty chicken based broth and is much better dry and slightly crunchy.
We started off the meal with beer and some roast duck, a previous occupant of the window display. Noodletown is known for their roast duck, as well as their "salt baked" dishes like fish. I found this duck a little too oily and fatty for my liking.and the skin lacked the intense flavor that its appearance belied.
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| Half duck- Roasted |
We also ordered a little greenery, some Choy Sum topped with oyster sauce, a real must-have side dish with any type of Cantonese soup eating. At $4 a pop, these are just as enjoyable as Bok Choy and only half the price.
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| Choy Sum straddling duck |
Everyone ordered the same exact thing, Roast pork noodles soup with Wontons. They have some really fantastic wontons at Noodletown.
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| Wonton loaded with shrimp |
And then the merriment ensued......
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| Tim and Alex dig in |
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| Rasmus contemplates |
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| David, Michala, and Tim in action |
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| Charice goes to town |
The soup itself was good but not the best I've had at Noodletown. The pork was a little fatty, the broth was a little salty, but the noodles and the wontons were really perfect. I'm willing to forgive Noodletown for these errors as they were minor footnotes in an otherwise very enjoyable meal.. The overall experience was a solid B. On a better day it can be a B+, especially if you take the time to ask for less fatty pork. Still, NY Noodletown and I, we have history, and that counts for a lot. At $16 a piece including drinks, it didn't break the bank either. I also noticed other people ordering heaping plates of lightly fried shrimp and squid with scallions. They looked like they were fried perfectly and didn't appear too oily either. I'll file that away for next time, which I'm sure will be very soon.
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