We were invited to @vanfoodster and @tastingplatesyvr’s 10th annual Noodle Mania Fest, held on Feb 12th. This fest was an epic noodle “crawl” where you drive/transit between four different eateries to enjoy tasty noodle dishes from local Vancouver restaurants.
Our first stop was @JingleBao_Restaurant (774 Denman) – a generous plateful of BBQ pork chow mein with season greens (cabbage, onions) with broccoli garnish), served with colourful shrimp crackers. The noodles were good everyday fare, but the mala chili oil condiment took them to a whole ‘nother level! We had the shrimp crackers with that mala oil, as you would have Indonesian keropok with sambal chili.
Since this place is “the Lamborghini of soup dumplings”, we had to have the Classic xiao long bao (+$14, not part of noodle fest). The manager did warn us that we still had three stops left on our noodle “crawl”, but that didn’t stop us from polishing off the entire 8-pc steamer basket! Each soup dumpling was expertly wrapped in thin, hand-rolled dumpling skin, with flavourful broth bursting forth on first bite. Enjoyed these dipped in black vinegar with pieces of ginger, and some more of that mala chili oil! We have to make a return visit with the kiddos to have their fave Magnificent Seven XLB (each dumpling is a diff flavour!) and the colourful supersize XLB.
Our second stop was @Saino.Restaurant (622 W Pender St) – opened 7 months ago, this place specializes in Indian, Hakka, and Nepalese cuisine. It is quite spacious inside and has the potential to hosts groups and events. The Noodle Mania offering here was the Chili Garlic Hakka Noodles – expertly wok-fried, these noodles reminded us of Malay mee goreng that we used to have back in Singapore (lotsa Hakka Chinese living there), but thinner, dry-fried noodles, rather than yellow noodles in sticky sauce). These chili garlic Hakka noodles had a nice chew, with pieces of chicken and veggies in a tasty sweet, tangy, mildly spicy sauce. Loved that they have Mukhwas (fennel seeds, sugar) as a digestive and to help “freshen your breath” after the meal.
Stop number three was the @TamalyShop (2525 Main St.) – comforting bowls of steaming hot Birria lamb noodle soup, garnished with cilantro & pickled red onions and served with tortilla chips. On first spoonful, you do get that distinct slightly gamey (but not pungent) lamb odour. We appreciated that this noodle offering was a soup, as the first two were dry stir-fries. The tasty mango and hibiscus Mexican Aguas Frescas were sweet, refreshing & thirst-quenching.
The Tamaly shop is a restaurant and specialty Mexican grocery store in one, known most notably for their tasty tamales. Carrying products like Horchata concentrate, Polvorones cookies, Valentina chili-lime seasoning, Pulparindo tamarind candy, this place has everything you need to instantly transport you to Mexico.
Our last stop for the night was @TheSaigonville (2129 E Hastings St.) – This restaurant serves classic Vietnamese cuisine like phở, bánh mì, and grilled meats on rice, and also has creative fusion Vietnamese dishes like truffle crab spring rolls, Bò Kho poutine (a special creation for @foodsterchallenges Poutine Challenge), and the Vietnamese lemongrass beef rigatoni (Nui xào Bò ướp sả) that we had for Noodle Mania Fest – al dente rigatoni, stir-fried with lemongrass beef, garlic, green beans, and cured pork, generously topped with aged Parmigiano cheese and garnished with spring onions. Each piece of beef was nicely caramelized with a little char, and that means flavour! There was just enough sauce to hug each piece of pasta. Wish there was more of the tasty sauce! The green beans were a welcome textural difference and provided a bit of a break from the buttery dish.
Thank you @vanfoodster and @tastingplatesyvr for having us at noodle mania fest experience. It was an enjoyable pre-Valentine’s day date night, and by the end of the night, we were stuffed with so much food that there was more of us to love!
