Chongqing Noodle

Needing to get a quick lunch before we headed out for the day, we made the short drive to Chongqing Noodle closeby to the nearly-deserted Newpark Mall.  For those who are unaware, Chongqing Noodles is a popular dish from, well, Chongqing in China.  For me at least, there aren't many places to get this dish in Vancouver, B.C., but it is nice to see there is a restaurant dedicated to it down here in the Bay Area.

Before we got to the noodles, we had a couple of cold dishes to whet our palats.  The first was the Spicy Cucumbers which were devoid of their skin.  That made for a muted crunch, yet at the same time, the marinade penetrated into each piece more effectively.  Hence, there was noted spice and some tanginess.  I would've liked a bit more salt though.

I was so delighted to see Spicy Beef Tripe on the menu and yep, that was a no-brainer to order it.  Consisting of thin slices, the honeycomb tripe was tender, yet still maintained a soft chewiness.  To me, this is the ideal texture for this type of tripe.  There was textural contrast from the crunchy celery and added aroma from the cilantro.  Unlike the cucumbers, this was more savory and spicy.

Here we are with the Chongqing Noodles.  The most distinguishing feature of these noodles is the inclusion of tender yellow peas.  For this version, they were served whole rather than being smashed.  We also found some the usual minced pork as well.  When combined with the chewy white noodles, this bowl had numbing spice and nuttiness.  Some creaminess was provided by the soft peas.

We also had another bowl of noodles in the Stewed Pig's Feet Soup Noodles.  Cooked until the skin was soft and gelatinous while the fat being rendered, the pig's feet also featured melt-in-my-mouth meat.  These were flavorful on their own, but the mildly spicy broth helped things along with some nuttiness to go with the heat.  Noodles were al dente and stood up to the broth.

Lastly, we went for the Vegetarian Buns.  These featured a fluffy bun that was fairly thin.  Hence, there was a wealth of tender, yet not mushy, greens in the middle.  They were seasoned just right to provide enough flavor for the entire bao.  Overall, the food at Chongqing Noodle was solid and reasonably-priced.  People were nice there and the portion sizes were generous too.

The Good:

- Solid eats

- Well-portioned

- Nice people

The Bad:

- Limited menu