Damn Good Dan Dan Noodles
My Chinese cultural signpost.
I have an obsession with Dan Dan Noodles. These are the Chinese spicy noodles, usually made with a peanut sauce and fried pork mince. Otherwise known as Szechuan spicy noodles.
My favourite stall in Singapore is at Alexandra Food Village. I’ve tried others but these guys win out. Each store also cooks wantons in chilli sauce, fried dumplings and a few other favourites.
I found some excellent dan dan noodles in Japan recently, which was a surprise as ramen is generally the go to there. It was in a ski resort dining hall, so maybe it was the token dish for the Chinese skiers and boarders. I had dan dan noodles every day for six days. They were damn good dan dan noodles.
I wrote a Google review for the ski resort dan dan noodles. I’ve been writing a lot of Google reviews lately. I started a series of reviews of restaurants that my daughter threw up in but I stopped when I realised they might be taken the wrong way. I don’t want to hurt the restaurants that were invariably understanding as they hustled us out the door hoping we never returned.
She filled an entire beer glass at one hipster spot in Kyoto. The poor staff had to throw it out. Such a waste.
The Google review of the ski resort dining hall praised the dan dan noodles and it has been quite popular. I get much more love from Google reviews compared to Twitter posts, where the tumbleweeds roll.
Dan dan noodles used to be a popular post of mine on Facebook back in the day. I had a following of dan dan noodle lovers. Usually people with some link to China. I would get knowing likes and loves.
I find it difficult to engage with social media now so I’m writing about dan dan noodles here. The reason is that my favourite stall at Alexandra Food Village has hit the big time and opened an outlet at Alexandra Retail Centre.
As a hawker it was always a hit, every lunch and dinner there would be a long queue and I have never minded the wait. The noodles are that good.
The new outlet is clearly a huge success too as they’re pumping them through even after 1.30pm, which is very late lunch in Singapore.
I like dan dan noodles because they taste great. First and foremost. I also realised quickly that, because they’re a Chinese staple, my love for them gave me a little connection to my wife’s culture. And now, the kids culture. And then when I started learning the language, this particular stall was the first time I kinda understood a Chinese character on a sign.
I have, since though, never been brave enough to utter a single word in Chinese to the lady who runs the show and always remembers me despite the doubtless thousands upon thousands of regular customers she serves.
I like their attitude too, when it comes to Chinese New Year, which is just around the corner, they shut up shop and leave. This is what sent us to the new outlet today, the original stall was closed.
During the pandemic, when going home to China meant multiple layers of quarantine and many weeks going in and out, they were closed for three months. That’s commitment to family. The same commitment shines through to the consistent quality of the food.
The name of the shop is Zhang Ji Shanghai La Mian Xiao Long Bao. Oh, I forgot the signature dish, which is the mainstay of so many Chinese restaurants, the soup dumplings, Xiao Long Bao. Din Tai Fung is particularly famous for them. They’re damn good too.