Street Noodles - Taipei

Back to the Streets for Eats
Bouncing around the globe, trailing crumbs in my wake, I land in Taipei with the cutesie on my arm.  I feel confident, worldly, hungry.  We take down a batch of street noodles like two pros, she with the order, me with the mouth.  Well, ok, she with her big mouth too!

Restoran West Lake - Kuala Lumpur

KL Hokkien Mee
Looks can be deceiving, my friends.  What appears to be a plate of fetid earthworms is in fact the famous Kuala Lumpur Hokkien Mee.  Thick yellow noodles, pork and specks of cabbage sauteed in a dark soya sauce over a charcoal fire.  Bits of deep fried pork fat lurk within, setting off a frantic chopstick battle royale that I lose time and again.  Dodo brought me to Restoran West Lake to show me how this dish is supposed to taste.  For reasons I cannot discern, it's miles better than the wan versions I've tried in Singapore.

Myeongdong Gyoja - Seoul

In Korea, they Replace the Z with a J
Not gyoza, but gyoja.  We heard this was the place to be for dumplings in Seoul.  Judging by the line and the fact that so many were willing to wait in it through bitter cold, I expected good things.  The place runs like an efficient assembly line.  You're given a table and a menu and they take you order and your money without leaving your side.  About three minutes later, ta-daaaaaaaaa.

Hisago - Kyoto

Going Against the Crowd (Us Usual)
Visiting the famous temples in Kyoto nourishes the spirit but not the body.  Using a Japanese food guide as our bible we made our way to Hisago (ひさご) to try their famous Oyakodon.  We, as in her.  I went against the norm - every single person there was ordering, waiting for or eating Oyakodon.  I thumbed my nose at them all and chose the cha soba, cold buckwheat noodles zapped with green tea.

Zuzu Ramen - Brooklyn

Traveling Changes You, Sometimes for the Worse
From a very young age I wanted to travel.  As soon as I graduated college I got a Eurail pass and bounced around Europe for a summer.  I even did a 41 day stretch on the trains, sleeping upright in the seats and pulling into a new town every day.  Now I split my time amongst three continents and am constantly amazed by it.  I've learned more from travel than from any classroom.  Unfortunately, it's spoiled me.  I cannot eat Mexican in Paris (sorry Candelaria) or croissants in New York.  I'm stubborn about ramen, even though I've slurped it many times in Tokyo and should know better.  My latest disappointment was at Zuzu, where they plied me with gyoza with skin as tough as a rawhide football....

Cocoron Soba - Manhattan

You Better Be Good With the Sticks
One more hour of tweaking powerpoints and I was going to snap.  I hoped a faraway lunch adventure would break up the drudgery.  No planes involved, only a NYC subway ride to Cocoron Soba.  Just what the doctor ordered - pork croquettes and plenty of noodles.  However, there's work to put in - the chopstick variety.  You better be able to maneuver with the wooden sticks - at Cocoron you may have to dip your own soba into boiling broth, one pinch at a time.

Yi Wan Xiao - Hualien, Taiwan

Perfect Post-National Park Meal
Hualien is a city on the Eastern coast of Taiwan near the spectacular Taroko National Park.  We'd spent the day at Taroko, gawking at seascape, rivers and mountains through sun, clouds and cold drizzle.  By dinner time we were famished and looking for restoration.  Luckily our B&B owner gave us an insider's inside scoop and sent us to Yi Wan Xiao for noodles.  The name could be translated as "A Small Bowl" and indeed that's all it took for me to be totally satisfied and ready for a night of unconsciousness.

Les Pâtes Vivantes II - Paris

It's Official, Happy Nouilles Takes em Out!
I'm a Zha Jiang fanatic.  If that doesn't mean something to you, it should.  We're talking hand-pulled noodles with ground pork and fermented soybean paste.  Maybe that doesn't sound enticing to you if you've never had it - think of it as a spicy, porky spaghetti.   Still doesn't sound good?  Seriously?  I cannot get enough of the stuff and in Paris, my favorite version is at Happy Nouilles, not Les Pâtes Vivantes.  I confirmed it with a visit to the latter's recently opened second outpost on Blvd St Germain.

Xi'an Famous Foods - Manhattan

Game, Set, Match!
You're unlikely to find a tastier, more satisfying batch of noodles than those served at Xi-an Famous Foods.  I was dumbstruck when I took my first bite of their "Savory Cumin Lamb Hand-Pulled Noodles."  I didn't think something could be this delicious.  These are giant, flat, ragged, hand torn noodles that you might not associate with Chinese cuisine, but alas, China is a big place.  Xi'an presents food from Shaanxi province in northwestern China.  Their noodles are spicier, heartier and more delicious than any I've ever had.

Naruto Ramen - Brooklyn

Memorable, for the Wrong Reason
I'm no food expert, and I definitely don't know much about ramen. But as it turns out, it wasn't necessary at Naruto. Four hours later I still have a stomach ache, just like I did at Minca in the East Village. It's as if the ramen got to my stomach and wove itself into a tight ball and refused to move any further.

Koon Kee - Singapore

Garage Farewell Dinner
As midnight approaches I realize how Cinderella must have felt. It's time to head back to Paris but I don't want to, I'd rather stay here with Dodo. We spent our last meal at Koon Kee where I was on the prowl for Beef Hor Fun, described to me as beef stew with flat noodles. Who coulda guessed that the prawn-paste fried chicken and the decor would steal the show.

Beng Chin Garden - Penang, Malaysia

A Surprisingly Near-Perfect Coffee Shop
After touring the nearby Kek Lok Si temple we were ready to chow. We picked this coffee shop at the bottom of the hill almost at random. In these parts a "coffee shop" is a collection of street vendors selling various foodstuffs as well as coffee. We weren't expecting too much but were pleasantly surprised, especially with the Char Kway Teow, literally "wok-fried rice-cake strips." It's so-called for the flat rice noodles that are fried at a high heat with lard, soy sauce, chili, shrimp paste, tamarind juice, prawns, cockles, bean sprouts and chives. It was smoky and slightly spicy and absolutely delicious. Best meal of the day, hands down.

Ippudo - Singapore

Well, Ummm, I Don't Know...
Because I have the highest expectations for Ippudo I came away feeling kinda so-so about the Singapore branch. Ippudo Manhattan has never disappointed but maybe my standards have risen since eating so much ramen in Tokyo, I don't know. When my bowl of "Akamaru Kasaneaji" arrived it looked to be bursting with flavor. It's a tonkotsu soup with pork belly, fragrant garlic oil and blended miso paste. Unfortunately the flavors didn't live up to their colorful promise. It left me flat - just not enough flavor.

Tasty (IFC) Congee & Noodle Wontun Shop - Hong Kong

The HK Welcome Lunch
One of the nice things about being in Asia is not having to select or order food. Unlike Paris, where I have to translate and describe the menu, here in Hong Kong I lay back in the cut like a mafia don and have the Puffin take care of everything. Oh, and if I keep eating like I've been, I am going to be fat like a mafia don soon. Anyway, I will worry about that later, back to the food. I'd not tried Zha Liang before but man am I a convert! It's a fried dough cruller wrapped with wonton skin and dipped in soy sauce. A really nice contrast in texture and an instant "add to my global favorite food list."

Onya - Manhattan

Delicious Midtown Udon
Puffin is perfect so far during this NY trip, she's picked out the last three places. My status is slipping after bad meals at Minca Ramen and Shake Shack (OVER-RATE-ED, clap, clap, clap-clap-clap.) This may be the best of her picks - a Japanese noodle spot in Midtown, not far from Grand Central where the Udon is made fresh. If you're thinking to yourself "I'm not much of an Udon fan" then you definitely should go to Onya to have your mind changed.

Shan Goût - Paris

One Foot in China, the Other in France
As suggested by its name, a melding of Chinese and French that could be translated "Tasty Meal", Shan Goût is a fusion of two cuisines. I'd describe it as de-fanged Sichuan with a French accent. Case in point the Dan Dan noodles, which had a pleasingly tender texture but lacked bite. I had to adjust my expectations, this is neither a Sichuan nor a Chinese restaurant. Once I did, I began to enjoy it more.

Jalan Hock Chye - Singapore

No Brainer - It's Got "Economic" in Its Name
I'm a stingy bastard so by nature I get excited when I can eat well for next to nothing. One of my favorited dishes in Singapore is called Economic Bee Hoon. It's brilliant. It's a cheap man's dream - a tasty noodle dish that in its simplest form costs about 75 cents. As you add extras, like the fried egg and fish cake below, it gets a bit costlier - about 2 bucks. I'll type that again - two US dollars! I'm excited all over again - so cheap yet so delicious.

Tangra Masala - Queens

Chinese Indian Mashup
Unlike the mash-ups that I do myself (see here) this one came pre-mashed. During the meal, my Indian colleagues and their wives debated the origin of Tangra food - Chinese re-mixed for the Indian palate. A little post-meal research proved one of them right - it originated from a specific neighborhood in Kolkata (Calcutta) where many Hakka Chinese settled. Tangra is traditional Hakka food with Bengali influence. I don't know Hakka from Bengali but I can tell you this - if you like it deep-fried and spicy, this place is a godsend. Just take a look at this shrimp pakora!

Noodle No 1 - Paris

On the Drawbacks of Being White...
There aren't many negatives to being white but when it comes to spicy food, there's a major one: nobody will serve you any. They figure you can't handle it, or worse, you'll drop dead on them in mid-chew. I've been on a Dan Dan noodle hunt here in Paris and got a recommendation from a reader, Daddy D, who pointed me to Noodle No 1. Today was perfect timing, a frosty winter day that would be laughable after a mouthful of fiery Sichuan noodles. I did everything I could to signal I wasn't a typical gwai lo, I even ordered in Mandarin, but it just wasn't to be.....

Kwong Satay and Swee Guan Hokkien Mee - Singapore

Looking for Gold, Finding Diamonds....
Of all places, I was in Jakarta watching television and saw a show about good places to eat in Singapore. This Singaporean guy was waxing philosophical about Swee Guan, a place that specializes in Hokkien Prawn Mee (otherwise known as wok-fried noodles with shrimp.) I convinced Puffin to take me there. Turns out, the real find was the stall next door, Kwong Satay. We're talking delectable....