March 1, 2009
Noodles show and sell
Chefs are enticing diners with displays of noodle making and the promise of freshly made food
By Huang Lijie
First impressions go a long way.
No wonder more eateries selling freshly made noodles are twirling skeins of it in their store fronts to whet appetites.
At least 23 Chinese noodle outlets here showcase their noodle chefs at work. They range from casual restaurants to food court outlets, with the most recent one being the two-month-old Formosa Delights stall in Raffles City, which specialises in dao xiao mian (knife-shaven noodles) from the Shanxi province of China.
Indeed, diners spoilt for choice by the variety of gastronomic offerings in shopping centres and food courts often find themselves drawn to stalls selling wheat noodles made on the spot, mesmerised by the chef's performance.
Mr Low Chee Chiew, 44, director of an electronics company, who ate at Mian Mian Ju Dao, a Chinese noodle speciality restaurant in The Cathay last Tuesday, says: 'I was walking around the basement trying to find a place for lunch when the sight of the chef tossing noodles caught my eye.'
The chef, Mr Wei Xiang Yang, was stretching the dough for che mian, a flat, broad noodle originating from Shaanxi, another province in China, in a glassenclosed kitchen in front of the eatery.
Besides visually enticing diners with fancy showmanship, the display also lures diners with the promise of fresh noodles.
Mr Lim Boon Kok, 43, executive chef of Koo Kee Dumpling & Ramen House, which has three outlets specialising in la mian, a Northern Chinese staple of hand-pulled, cylindrical noodles, says: 'We make our la mian to order so customers know that they are tucking into fresh and tasty noodles.'
For Mr John See, 58, owner of Tai Shek Hei House of Bamboo Noodle in Joo Chiat Road, the shop's display of the making of the noodles helps diners better appreciate a dying culinary art form.
Bamboo noodles are thin, yellow, egg noodles made by kneading the dough with a long bamboo pole. Traditionally, the pole is laid across the table and hinged at one end to create a lever. To knead and flatten the dough with the pole, the noodle-maker bounces the pole up and down by sitting on the free end.
To speed up the labour intensive operation without losing the spirit of the noodle-making process, Mr See, a former engineer, took more than a year to come up with a machine that mechanises the pounding action of the bamboo pole.
He says: 'Increasingly, people don't get to see their food being made. There are children who think chickens don't have feathers because that is how it comes served to them on a dinner plate.
'In the 1950s, there were a few bamboo noodle-makers here, but they have since disappeared. I want to make sure that this tradition lives on.'
Beyond the novelty of watching noodle chefs turn a lump of dough into strands of noodles, however, what keeps diners returning to such stalls is the toothsome taste of the noodles, which can be enjoyed both dry or in soups.
Unlike machine-made versions, hand- pulled noodles are chewier and have a pleasant, springy bite, due to the stretching, flinging and pounding that the dough is subjected to.
Engineer He Bian, 27, says he is a fan of hand-pulled noodles such as che mian because its springy texture cannot be replicated in machine-made varieties.
La mian is the most common type of hand-pulled noodle sold here, although dao xiao mian is fast gaining popularity, given its proliferation in food court stalls.
Formosa Delights, for example, is selling dao xiao mian at 11 food court outlets including Food Republic at VivoCity.
Hand-pulled noodle specialist, Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao, which has seven outlets, also introduced eight other types of traditional hand-pulled noodles in 2007 to offer customers a wider choice.
Among its new varieties are triangle la mian, which as its name suggests, are hand-pulled noodles with a triangular cross-section, and dragon beard la mian, which is much finer than the original.
At Mian Mian Ju Dao, less common noodles on the menu include ma shi, otherwise known as cat's ears noodles because of its shape, and yi tiao mian, where the bowl of noodle is a single, unbroken strand pulled from an almost 2m-long coil of dough.
While the chefs make it look simple, learning the art of noodle-making and mastering it requires years of practice (see story below).
Chef Wei of Mian Mian Ju Dao, 36, who is from Shaanxi, says he started as an apprentice when he was in his early teens and spent almost three years learning to master making the various types of noodles. He says a measure of good handmade noodles is the uniformity in thickness. It should also have a good bite when cooked.
On whether he relishes the attention from diners who ogle his noodle-making skills, he says: 'I'm focused on making my noodles, so I don't really notice it. But I do hope that diners will be wowed by my skill and the taste of the noodles.'
Watch and eat
Feast your eyes on the chef's skilful display of noodle-making before slurping up a bowl of freshly made la mian at the following outlets.
Formosa Delights
Where: 11 outlets, including Food Junction in Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, 03-15, Open: 10am to 10pm, tel: 6337-2569, and Food Republic in VivoCity, 1 Harbourfront Walk, 03-01, Open: 10am to 10pm, tel: 6376-9336
What: Dao xiao mian (knife-shaven noodles) is the draw here. Order it with stewed beef ($5.80) or chicken ($5.80).
Mian Mian Ju Dao
Where: 2 Handy Road, The Cathay, B1-21, Open: 11am to 10.30pm, tel: 6887-4570
What: Pick from six types of noodles that are made to order. If you like noodles with a springy bite, order yi tiao mian (single strand noodle), which goes perfectly with the Xin Jiang sauce of spicy beef chunks ($7.80). Another popular offering is stewed beef noodle paired with che mian, a flat broad noodle ($6.80)
Koo Kee Dumpling & Ramen House
Where: Three outlets: 80 Marine Parade Road, B1-125, Parkway Parade, Open: 10am to 10pm, tel: 6348-9705, 2 Tampines Central 5, B1-27, Century Square, Open: 10am to 10pm, tel: 6782-6338, and 233 Victoria Street, Open: 11.30am to 10.30pm, tel: 6339-6817
What: Its la mian (hand-pulled noodle) comes in two widths to satisfy diners looking for a chewier noodle. A hot seller is the Beijing-style fried noodle ($10.80).
Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao
Where: Seven outlets, including 470 Toa Payoh Lorong 6, 01-70,
Open: 11am to 10pm, tel: 6397-2383
What: Diners are spoilt for choice with its nine types of handmade noodles, including the crowd-favourite la mian and dragon beard la mian, a finer version of the original hand-pulled noodles. A signature offering is its la mian with spring onion oil ($6).
Tai Shek Hei House of Bamboo Noodle
Where: 283 Joo Chiat Road, Open: 11.30pm to midnight, tel: 6345-5095
What: This eatery serves one type of noodles - thin, egg noodles made from a special blend of three different types of flour and kneaded with a bamboo pole. A must-try is tobiko (flying fish roe) dumpling noodle ($6.80). Tai Shek Hei makes a batch of noodles every two days, including Saturdays between 12.30 and 1.30pm. If you miss the live demonstration, you can still catch a show of it playing on the TV screen at the entrance of the shop.
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