Asian Noodles - I Want My Mami

*** As of August 2011 Asian Noodles has closed

We pass this shop just about every time we go to Golden Chopsticks and Seafood City in National City.

And the Gal who works there is always waving us in whenever we're looking in the window. So I asked around about this place and found that they make their own noodles, and that the dish to order was the Pancit Canton(Chow Mein - $6.50).

And so one afternoon we gave in to temptation and decided to have a snack, and ordered the Pancit Canton:

What came to the table was a very large plate of stir-fried noodles with beef, pork, shrimp, chicken, and various vegetables. The sauce was very thin, soy sauce based, and very, very salty. And the noodles were much too soft, almost mushy. This was a dish that was really not to my taste. I found out later that the noodles were supposed to be cooked soft, so I thought this was pretty much the end of this. Just something that I would post about on when I had time. But that was not to be so.

You see, I made a point to make sure to see a Documentary called Chinese Restaurants on The Islands during the San Diego Film Festival. It was an engrossing film that looked at the Chinese diaspora, through the Chinese Restaurant. The film covered three different Families on the islands of Trinidad, Mauritius and Cuba. In each location "Chinese cuisine" had evolved to account for tastes and resources. During the film, the front window of Asian Noodles stuck in my mind:

It said, "Home of the Famous Ma Mon Luk Family", "From Manila Chinatown". I just knew that there was a story here. So again I asked around and mostly just learned that Ma Mon Luk was a famous figure in "Chinoy" cuisine, the blending of Filipino and Chinese food, that includes Siopao and Siomai, the Filipino version of Charsiu Bao and Siu Mai.

After googling Ma Mon Luk, I found an article in The Manila Bulletin Online about Ma Mon Luk. In short Ma Mon Luk,  was a poor migrant from Canton, who traveled to the Philippines in 1918. Though trained as a teacher in his homeland, he found his fortune creating and peddling what is now known as Siopao and Siomai; and most importantly, the dish now known as Mami; the Chinese based noodle in broth. My favorite quote from the article: "In prosperity Ma Mon Luk was dressed in a felt hat, de hilo amaricana cum vest and glittering gold watch chain across his chest. It hid the fact that his left shoulder was lower than his right, a result of supporting the pinga (carrying pole) in the hard beginning days of his youth. Tango shoes hid his feet calloused from a once-daily routine of walking over the bridge to the ice plant to save 5 centavos on caretela fare."

So what did this mean? It meant I had to pay a visit to Asian Noodles, and get me some Mami! So I found myself in the restaurant, and again the Ultra Energetic Liza, the Gal who always tried to wave us into the place, took my order. This time for the Beef Mami ($5.50):

In all honesty I was expecting to be underwhelmed. But to my surprise, this was a decent Beef Noodle soup. No, it wasn't Niu Rou Mein. The broth was a light beef broth, just faintly beefy, I'd been expecting the noodles to be mushy, but they were pretty good. Think somen in flavor and width, with a little bit more "pull", not bad, really. There were 3 "won tons", that could have been a bit more flavorful; but the beef made up for it all. The pieces of beef were very tender, with a bit of fat and tendon on each piece, and because of the nice soy and sweetness was obviously braised separately. Though it was not an especially large bowl, it filled me up. I'd definitely have this again. This beef noodle soup with a history.......

Asian Noodles
1430 E Plaza Blvd 
National City, CA 91950
10am - 8pm Daily

Comments

[thess]

oh man! I'd like to try that beef noodles... and that 'tendony' piece looks yummy (like i need? to stuff my body w/ more fat this winter *lol* )
hi kirk!

[Rachel]

Hey kirk,
I like how you throw in bits of history together with the food. LOL I guess thats really food for thought hehe.
That was an interesting post. I guess it shows that one bad dish does not speak poorly of the restaurant in general. It also shows that it pays to do some research and see what "signature" dishes a restaurant might have.

[Angie]

Kirk--

Interesting bit of history. I think it always helps, the more you know about a cuisine. I would love to see the movie about Chinese restaurants. I'm fascinated by how cuisines adapt to local flavors. (I'll be posting soon about my visit to a Chinese restaurant in Italy.)

[Kirk]

Hi Thess - I really enjoyed the beef - tender and tasty. A nice layer of "insulation" might not be a bad thing for the winter! :o)

Hi Rachel - Yes, you're right. I'd have never gone back if I hadn't read that signage on the window.

Hi Angie - The evolution/adaptation of Chinese Cuisine fascinates me, probably since I realized that even Chinese Food in Hawaii is different from anywhere else. I look forward to your Ita-nese post!

[milgwimper]

It is amazing how food changes as it depends on it surroundings. Thanks Kirk for posting this interesting Chinoy food. :D

[MEalcnetric]

Thats pretty cool how your research really paid off and made a mediocre dining spot into one you would visit again, knowing now what to order. Good investigating

[Kristy]

Wow. Saucy chow mein! ;P And yes, I agree w/MEalcentric...good history lesson. I love finding the "secret life of..."

[Dylan]

kirk, nice research dude. the siopao and siomai part is cool! it's always interesting to learn that other cultures have similar forms of food. i.e. ja jiang mian (chinese) = jja jaang myeon (korean).

[Kirk]

Hi Mills - Yes, it is interesting, huh? Kind of a fun thing for me.

Hi MEalcentric - The documentary really got my attention, and it ended up being kind of fun.

Hi Kristy - Thanks, I guess there a story behind all of these Chinese Adaptations.

Hi Dylan - I'm still trying to find out what the Sino-Chinese connection is, other than geographic location.

[elmomonster]

Just like everyone, I never knew about the story of how siopao and other Chinese dishes made it to Philippines. Way to do research!

Now I wonder about peanut sauce. Who first made it? And although it's used as satay sauce and in gado-gado in Indonesian food, how did it end up in Kare-Kare in Pinoy cuisine!?

[Kirk]

Hi Elmo - The article was interesting. Peanut sauce - I think we need an oncall Food Anthropologist, know of any?

[Jack]

I really wanted to see that movie, but didn't get to the festival this year.

Great ariticle find. I knew a little about the history but didn't know the specifics.

Is Lourdes restaurant in National City still around? Many (many!)years ago we use to have late night mami and a few beers.

[Kirk]

Hey Jack - I heard Lourdes is still around, get's kinda scary there at 2 in the morning doesn't it?

[Reid]

Hi Kirk,

What an interesting story. Don't you just love eating at places like this?

[Kirk]

Hi Reid - It's always nice to know the story behind what you're eating.

[Angela]

hey guys ! I'm new in town , what is the best dine in restaurant besides ma mon luk

[Angela]

I mean , what is the best filipino restaurant dine in national city ? :)

[Kirk]

Hi Angela - Welcome and thanks for commenting.

For sit down restaurants, the Missus like Villa Manila the best:

http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2005/10/villa_manila_re.html

But it's kind of pricey.

We also enjoy meals right across the street at Zarlitos:

http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2006/08/guess_the_resta.html

The prices are quite good.

For Turo Turo joints my favorite is Tita's:

http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2005/09/titas_kitchenet.html

Though I like the Lechon Kawale at Point-Point, and the Missus enjoys the Sinigang there as well:

http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2006/06/point_point_joi.html

Conching has some pretty good food, though sometimes it's a bit too greasy for me - they have pretty good Sisig, when they have it:

Conching's Cafe
3400 E 8th St Ste 110
National City, CA 91950

They also have a buffet upstairs.

Goldilocks has also opened next to Seafood City:

1420 E. Plaza Boulevard
National City, California 91950

I haven't had a chance to visit yet, and have heard mixed comments about it.

A few people I know like Maharlika, but I've found the food there to be too oily, even for me the one time I visited:

Maharlika Cafe & Grill
1819 E Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950

I hope this helps.

[Angela]

Hey Kirk , that was nice of you ,thanx .I will be checkin out the Conchings cafe later on today .

[Kirk]

Hi Angela - No problemo...I hope you find something that pleases you! Good luck.