Mr. Bowl

We've all seen our share of hidden restaurants in the city including ones in alleys, interior walkways and even ones that don't have actual signage.  Now here is another that is found near UBC.  You would never know it was there unless you were actually in the know or were looking for it.  Once inside, the place is quite large and spacious, especially for a restaurant near a University.  Mr. Bowl, as the name implies serves up rice and noodle bowls with a variety of components. In addition, the menu is a collection of small snacks and larger Northern Chinese, Szechuan and Taiwanese dishes.

We began with the smaller items including the Fried Chicken Wings and the Fried Pork Cutlet.  Nice touch with them being served on a wire rack as it kept things crispy.  The wings were golden brown with crispy well-rendered skin.  The meat was nicely brined being juicy and well-seasoned.  As for the cutlet, it was crunchy despite sitting for a bit (while we took photos).  The pork was moist and tender.  It was served with a tangy sauce that was akin to BBQ sauce.

We had a few more small dishes in the Braised Wheat Gluten and Braised Pork Trotters.  The wheat gluten was more or less pretty standard where they were rehydrated and then braised in a sweet sauce.  Each piece was tender and fully soaked.  As for the pork trotters, they were also tender, but still had bite.  The skin beautifully gelatinized and flavourful from the braise.  The meat was also tender.

We also ordered a small bowl of Hot & Sour Soup.  Although served in the size of a rice bowl, the soup was packed with ingredients.  There was more of that than the actual soup!  The usual bamboo shoots, carrots, tofu, wood ear, pork and egg drop were all there providing texture.  The soup itself was balanced with a good spice level.  To go with our dishes, we had the Scallion Noodles and the Soup Noodles as well.  I would say that both of them weren't particularly flavourful, but again, we were pairing it with the dishes that did have plenty of flavour.  The noodles were al dente with a nice chewiness, especially the scallion noodles.

Onto the biggest item we had, the Pickled Fish Soup was massive where the slices of snakehead fish seemed endless.  They were cooked perfectly being buttery and soft with a slight bite.  The broth itself was pleasantly tangy with a touch of sweetness and spice.  In addition to the mustard greens, we also found some bean curd strips and luncheon meat (aka Spam).  Normally, I don't really drink the soup because it can be salty, but this was quite nice.

 

Another large dish was the Tomato Braised Beef Brisket with Chinese Fried Dough Stick.  We added another dough stick for good measure!  It was a good idea because the dough stick (Yau Tiao) was excellent.  Light and fluffy inside with just the right amount of chew while the outside was crispy and not overly greasy.  It was also perfectly salted.  As for the stew, it was tomatoey but in a sweet way where the sauce was relatively thick.  The beef was fatty and tender.

 

We ended up ordering the Sweet & Sour Pork Ribs and these were quite good except it was on the greasier side.  Despite that, the meaty rib pieces were tender with minimal fatty portions.  The ribs seemed to be stewed before they were deep fried and then wok-tossed in sauce.  Hence, it would explain the fall-apart texture.  On that note, the ribs had an inherent flavour already that was complimented by the sweet and sour sauce that had the unmistakable taste of black vinegar.

 

As much as it didn't look overly impressive at first glance, the 3-Cup Chicken was rather delicious.  It was aromatic, tangy and sweet.  The dark meat was moist and juicy.  There was enough wok hei for caramelization as well.  Deceptive in size, the Cumin Beef Fried Rice didn't look like a lot in its modest-sized bowl.  However, there was actually lots of perfectly wok fried rice.  Each chewy and nutty grain was discernible with aromatics from the caramelization and earthy cumin.  This was one of my favourite dishes!  In fact, the food here at Mr. Bowl was super surprising.  We thought they were merely a place for rice and noodle bowls (like Dragon Bowl), but they are much more than that.  It is a full-blown restaurant dishing up classic dishes that are both well-portioned and well-executed.

 

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

 

The Good:

- On point food

- Large portions

- Reasonably-priced

 

The Bad:

- Location is not obvious, hope the word spreads

- Drinks are so-so 

Chef Tian's

Originally, the plan was to hit up Max Wonton House for some Chinese comfort eats.  Seeing how they only take cash, I had to make a quick pit stop at the bank.  This brought me to the Central at Garden City shopping complex.  After snagging a parking spot, I looked over and thought that maybe we should just head over to Chef Tian's instead.  I've always wanted to check out their gigantic salty donut as well as their other signature dishes.  Situated in the former location of Z & Y Shanghai, Chef Tian features Hunan cuisine (which is rarely found in the GVRD).

Of course we were here for more than the salty donut, and hence, we began with an interesting dish I've never had before - Stir Fried Egg with Vinegar.  Honestly, we were both interested and a bit apprehensive at the same time.  Turns out that it was a great decision to give it a go because the eggs were super fluffy and silky.  Also, the most important part was that the dark vinegar was definitely there but not so much that the dish was sour.  It was nicely balanced in terms of sweetness and savouriness with only a hint of vinegar.  The addition of chili peppers gave the dish a slight kick.

For some people, they might be laughing at me for ordering the Sweet & Sour Pork.  Yes, we were at a Hunan restaurant, so maybe I shouldn't order it right?  Well, they do have their own version of it and I'm pretty sure they adapted this one for the masses.  However, it was unique in its own way though.  The pork came in strips and was coated with a lighter starch batter that was crispy and airy.  As for the sauce, it was pretty red, but had a nice viscosity where the balance of sweet and sour was quite nice.  The pork itself wasn't too fatty and was tender.

Arriving on a huge dish, the Spicy Diced Chicken was one of the best we've ever had.  Not only was there a good portion of crispy nuggets of chicken, we found crispy rice as well.  That was a textural delight that was crunchy and airy that took on all of the appealingly spicy saltiness of the dish.  As for the chicken, beyond the crispy exterior, the meat was actually juicy and completely seasoned.  The brine on them was on point while the outer seasoning was salty, spicy and slightly smoky.

Probably our 2nd favourite dish was the Feiteng Fish featuring slices of grouper in a spicy oil broth.  This was similar to the Szechuan spicy boiled fish, but without any broth (just oil).  This was a huge portion of delicate and flaky slices of fish.  They were buttery soft and naturally sweet.  The spicy properties of the oil from the dried peppers and the Szechuan peppercorns were soaked up by the fish and it was a impactful without being completely overwhelming.  Underneath, there was bean sprouts, Taiwanese cauliflower and seaweed.

Even our one vegetable dish was outstanding.  The Baby Napa Cabbage with Vermicelli and Garlic was super tasty.  Each leaf was perfectly steamed being completely soft, but not mushy.  The delicate texture had a great mouth feel and the abundance of garlic and chilies on top permeated through.  However, the best part of the dish was the mung bean noodles.  They had soaked up all of the flavourful goodness and the natural sweetness of the cabbage.  In addition, they were on point texturally having a slight chewiness.

We ended up getting one noodle dish in the Braised Beef Noodle Soup.  This didn't look like anything special, but believe me, it was good!  There was an overload of al dente noodles sitting a clean and flavourful broth that had concentrated meatiness as well as hits of star anise.  In fact, there was so much noodle, I think we needed more soup!  The cubes of beef finger meat was super tender with only a marginal amount of fat.

 

Finally, the dish I was waiting for - the gigantic Salty Donut!  Served hanging from a hook (so that it stays crunchy), it was cut table side.  This has to be one of the best versions I've had.  Beyond the crunchiness of the outside, the inside was fluffy and appealingly chewy with a nice elasticity.  It was also well-salted where I could just eat this without anything to dip it into.  So yes, I came to Chef Tian's for this donut, but discovered that their other dishes are just as appealing and well-portioned.  I will definitely come back, not just for the donut!

 

The Good:

- Excellent salty donut

- Other dishes are delicious too

- Well-portioned

- Good service

 

The Bad:

- Menu isn't the most descriptive, confusing for people who do not know the dishes

- Finding parking is not easy 

New Fuji

Ever since my initial visit to New Fuji on West 1st, I've been meaning to go back.  Well, with Mijune back in town, it was that time!  For those who do not know, New Fuji belongs to the same group that brought us Kingyo, Raisu, Rajio and Takenaka. Hence, you know the food will be interesting and of course, delicious.   There is an obvious 80's theme going on at New Fuji with Japanese CD covers adorning the entranceway.   Prominently at the centre of the restaurant, we find a wall of glass bottles.  This all blends into the bustle of the grill where the chef pushes out many of their grilled and seared dishes.

Just like the last time, I was happy to see the Tofu Cheese arrive at our table.  This seemingly simple dish (which really is a simple dish) is one of my favourites.  It features a house-blend cheese dip that is rich and creamy while beautifully sweetened with maple syrup.  With the addition of figs, this ate very much like a dessert.  There were some cheesecake vibes going on but creamier and silkier.  Once spread onto the buttered crostinis, we had a nice textural contrast as well as a temperature contrast.

Also like my first meal here, we had the Fulffy "Rare" Unagi Omelette.  What they mean by rare is that the eggs are a bit underdone, yet not raw.  It is a fine line between the two, but they managed to perfect this here.   The eggs were truly fluffy with some moisture to keep things even more "soft".  Mixed into this, we had a generous portion of buttery unagi.  Flavours were subtle, but it had the usual sweetness of unagi sauce as well as some brightness from the chives.

We continued on with the Truffle Corn Karaage that were lightly deep-fried and tossed in truffle butter sauce.  These corn ribs were really good where it was fried enough so that the flavours had caramelized and the outside was slightly crispy while the niblets were still juicy and sweet.  The truffle flavour was subtle but definitely there while the amount of salt was just right.  From this, we had the Dashi Butter Scallops.  These large and whole Hokkaido scallops were sweet and buttery with the wonderful textural contrast of the mantle and skirt.  That sweetened soy butter was so rich and full-of-depth, but was subtle enough to not overwhelm the scallops.

With another grilled item, we had the Whole Aged Mackerel marinated in a sweetened soy Japanese BBQ sauce.  Really loved just looking at the fish as it was large and in a beautiful shade of brown.  Since it was dry aged, the meat was firmer and less moist.  However, the flavours were more pronounced as a result.  Typical of mackerel, the fishiness definitely came through.  However, since the meat was a bit drier, it was quite pleasant and provided more depth-of-flavour.   The slice of lemon was more than garnish as it provided the brightness the fish needed.

I enjoyed their battera last time and was pleased to have all 3 of them for this meal.  This included Wagyu Long Yukhoe Pressed, Bluefin Negitoro Long Pressed and Salmon Kimchi Long Pressed Sushi.  If you look closely, there were 10 pieces in each pressed sushi.  Great for sharing and especially if you get all of them!  My favourite of the bunch was the bluefin where the buttery texture and sweetness of the fish was complimented by brightness of the green onion.  Extra texture and sweetness was provided by the chopped onions and apples.  That would be somewhat similar with the Wagyu as it also had the same compliments, except with the usual beefiness from the fat.  The crunch on top of both added a nice textural contrast.  Both also had shiso, which added some bright herbaceousness.  As for the salmon, it was both different and similar to the other 2 pressed sushi.  Sure, the seared Atlantic salmon still had a buttery texture like the others, but it was topped with chives, ikura and sweetened soy and yuzu-kosho mayo.  A good balance of salty, tangy and sweet.

One dish took awhile to come out was the Squid Ink Kamameshi Rice.  These take a bit longer  (about 30 mins) and should be ordered right away.  This featured a mix of prawns, scallops, squid legs, snow crab, clams, king oyster mushrooms, tomatoes, sliced onion on top of squid ink tomato rice.  On the side, we found chopped shiso, yuzu peels and parmesan that was folded into the rice tableside.  The result was a multitude of flavours and textures.  I found the rice a bit on the softer side, but when combined with all of the ingredients, it wasn't lacking in texture.  The yuzu peels really had a starring role as it stood out with a bitter tang.  It helped cut through the heaviness of the rice.  Loved the ample amount of well-prepared seafood, but they got a bit lost within the rice.

On the menu, the udon section takes up an entire page.  Hence, we decided to order 3 dishes including the Spicy Wagyu Miso Egg Udon.  Arriving in a bowl that was probably 4 times the necessary size (it looked impressive though!), the slippery udon was al dente with a nice chew.  The dashi broth was mildly spicy and full of umami from the kara-miso.  Loved the silky egg added to the mix of minced wagyu beef and chives.

Extremely garlicky, the Snow Crab and Mentaiko Peperoncino Yakiudon was pretty rich and creamy.  It was also spicy with the addition of red chili pepper and some spicy cod roe on the top.  Also on top was some briny snow crab along with peppery arugula.  The arugula provided the necessary counterbalance to the rich sauce.  Really enjoyed the plethora of sliced garlic as it provided aroma and a bit of sharpness.  Somehow, I thought this would've went better with a pasta than udon, but of course that would've defeated the purpose of udon menu.

Probably my favourite udon of the bunch was the Chili Rose Carbonara Yakiudon.  This was also creamy and cheesy with plenty of parmesan, mozzarella and egg yolk, but the addition of red chili pepper, Korean chili pepper and spicy bean paste, there were layers of spice.  In that sense, it didn't eat as heavy as it appeared.  Arugula on top provided some freshness to the dish and the ample prawns provided some snap texture to go with the chewy udon noodles.

We ended up getting 2 mocktails in Peach Passion Mojito and  Watermelon Gin & Tonic (without the gin of course).  Both were refreshing a nice compliment to the heavy rice and udon dishes.  For dessert, we had a trio of them including the Ichigo Cake Daifuku, Tiramisu Parfait alle Fragole and the Strawberry Molten Chocolate Cake.  I've had 2 of these desserts before and if you have noticed, there is a strawberry theme to the menu.  I loved the delicate and appealing chewiness of the mochi blanket atop the light sponge cake with a strawberry and sweet red bean paste.    The tiramisu was so light and mildly sweet.  There was some crunch added to the mix with cocoa cookie crumbles to go with the smooth mascarpone.  The layer of tart strawberry sauce provided the tang to liven up the dessert.  Lastly, the chocolate cake was rich, yet moist with a molten centre.  The addition of freeze-dried strawberries provided a light crunch while the strawberry ice cream on top cooled things down with sweet creaminess.  Overall, this second visit to New Fuji confirmed that the food is both interesting and delicious.  Love the vibe and 80's music playing in the background!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Interesting food
- Some real winners on the menu such as the pressed sushi and udon
- Nice vibe incluidng 80's music

The Bad:
- Sure, I said it was pricey in the last post, but what isn't these days?
- The squid ink rice was good, but maybe the seafood gets lost?

 

Overflo Dessert Cafe

With me needing to head down to 24/7 Parcel in Blaine, it was convenient for us to drop by Overflo Dessert Cafe in White Rock afterwards.  Located right on the Marine Drive strip, it was a great place to hang out on a beautiful sunny day.  Upon walking into the place, we were greeted by small trinkets with plenty of Sanrio characters.  There was also a photo booth with all the accessories to capture moments with your friends.  But we went straight for the menu and tried a selection of their wares.

We began with their Fresh Ade with the Lemonade, Blue Lemonade and Passion Fruitade.  These were pretty to look at and would be great for a hot Summer day.  Well, it was Winter, so we had to pretend it was hot.  At least the day we were there looked like Summer.  These were sparkling and were super refreshing and lightly sweet.  My favourite was the passion fruit as it had the classic tropical taste.  Both the lemonade and blue lemonade were quite similar with a light sweetness and light tanginess.  I found the blue one to be more floral for some reason.

From light, we moved onto something with more body in the Special Jolly-Pong Shakes.  We opted to try the Original and the Cookies & Cream.  Piled high with Jolly Pong cereal, it needed the domed lid to keep everything from spilling out.  The sweet nuttiness of the Jolly Pong was enjoyable enough by itself, but there was a shake underneath.  I found the texture of the shake to be more like a Starbucks Frap with a milky iciness.  Now it was pleasant though as it was blended quite well.  Hence it was somewhere in between a Frosty and shaved ice.  Both drinks were lightly sweet with the cookies & cream being sweeter.

Trying something from their coffee menu, we had 2 iced coffees with the Dalgona Latte as well as the Oat Lavender Latte.  So far, I'm sure that you have noticed that their drinks are visually-appealing.  Well, it wasn't any different with the iced coffees.  For the Dalgona, it was topped with a considerable amount of Korean crunchy toffee candy.  Thankfully, we didn't have to lick it like in Squid Game!  Anyways, the coffee itself was aromatic and strong enough to stand up to the sweetness of the dalgona.   As for the Oat Lavender, it had a cute little ice bear on top.  It had a background floralness of the lavender.

We had their Soft Serve Ice Cream as well, still thinking it was Summer.  There were several flavours available including plain, but we went for the more interesting ones in the Earl Gray and the Thai Tea.  I found that base vanilla soft serve to be somewhere between creamy and icy.  So once again, it was more like a Frosty in texture but thicker.  It was lightly sweet with a definite milkiness.  For me, the Thai Tea was my favourite of the two with a strong tea flavour combined with the usual intense sweetness of condensed milk.  As for the Earl Grey, it was mild-tasting with its usual floral notes.

In their display case, there is a selection of cakes and macarons.  We went for the Basque Cheesecake and it was great.  To get things out of the way first, the actual cheesecake was more like a NY-style, which is not exactly typical, but I felt it was exactly what I wanted.  This had the usual burnt and sunken appearance on the outside while having the rich cream cheese texture of the classic NY version.  It was purposefully sweet and was super creamy and firm.  As for the Macarons, they were not bad with a crispy shell and chewy interior.

We moved onto their small selection of savoury items with the Rose Noodle Tteokbokki consisting of udon, fish cake ribbons and rice cakes.  I thought this was quite good with a thick rose sauce that was creamy with only a touch of spice.  The udon was still al dente while the fish cake ribbons had a nice bounce to them.  Rice cakes were chewy but not tough.  The other available noodle was the Instant Nong Shin selection right next to the cool noodle soup heating station.  For some reason or another, eating instant noodles in an establishment is so much more satisfying than in your own home (for much more money).  Go figure.  In general, Overflo is a great place to grab a beverage on a nice day along the Drive in White Rock.  There are some trinkets for sale and a photo booth for those "friends" moments.  However, as much as I loved the Nong Shin ramen, not sure if I'd pay for it beyond my own home.  I'd stick with the Tteokbokki instead.  But if you want a drink, check Overflo out if you are in the area.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post* 

The Good:
- Large selection of various drinks
- Cool spot to hang out with friends
- Photo booth for those who want to capture the moment

The Bad:
- Loved the instant ramen and the cooking machine, but it is expensive

Musubi Kai

Whenever I'm in Hawaii, it is more about the food than anything for me.  Yes, that doesn't seem like a revelation, given that I absolutely love to eat!  Okay, I do enjoy the scenery and the sights in Hawaii too.  So whenever I'm back at home or anywhere on the mainland, I am excited to see anything related to Hawaiian cuisine.  How about a place called Musubi Kai in Seattle?  A restaurant dedicated to Musubis?  Just like the one in Honolulu???  Well I'm game!

So let's get right to it shall we?  We got a selection of Musubis including the classic Spam Musubi.  The slice of meat was thick and evenly-seared.  There was a certain sweetness to it from the glaze.  Sushi rice was moist but still had a great chewiness.  Perfect ratio between meat and rice.  Delicious.  We also had the Spam, Egg and Avocado which made things a bit heartier but not heavier.  Again, it started with the base classic musubi with a thin slice of fluffy egg omelet and ripe avocado.  More of a breakfast item here that cut down the saltiness with the other ingredients.  The next one we had was the Spam, Egg and Eel which was extra savory and more robust due to the buttery eel.  It added more sweet saltiness and this would be great for those who like it hearty.

Onto the next 3 options, we had the BBB Eel and Pickled Daikon.  Okay, no Spam here, so it was a bit less heavy and considerably less salty.  This was all unagi with its soft texture and accompanying sweet sauce.  The crunch from the pickles added texture and also tanginess.  With a whole halved wiener, the Beef Frank & Egg was just as filling as the Spam versions.  It had a different saltiness and naturally a more bouncy texture compared to the Spam.  Lastly, we had the Shrimp Katsu with 2 ebi.  This was the most different since it had a crunchy texture to it.  Combined that with some katsu sauce and it was sweet and tangy.

They also have other items to supplement the large Musubi menu.  What better to represent Hawaii than some Poke?  We had the Salmon & Tuna Poke Bowl with all the fixins' including seaweed salad, edamame, imitation crab and corn on top of a mix of rice and mesclun greens.  This was a good poke that wasn't over-the-top.  There was enough fish to match the amount of rice and this was plenty for a meal.

Sticking with Hawaiian favorites, we found the Curry Loco Moco.  This was a hearty portion of chewy rice that was bathed in a curry sauce.  It was only mildly spicy with sweetness and equal parts savoriness.  I actually preferred this sauce over the usual gravy.  The burger patties were more like cutlets being soft and a bit bouncy.  With the addition of pickled ginger, furikake, crispy onion flakes and scallions, it kept things from getting too heavy with acidity and brightness.  Of course, there was a fried egg to offer up its yolky goodness.

Now for the overseas influence where they offered Nong Shim Cup Noodles as well as Udon.  You would find these in Korea and Japan where people happily eat them in store.  We did so too and although it wasn't anything they made or "cooked", it was satisfying nonetheless (especially on a cold day).  Overall, the Musubis were good and filling.  We liked how they had some other Hawaiian options to compliment.  Also, no joke, the instant noodles were great too!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Even ratio of rice-to-Spam
- Other Hawaiian dishes other than Musubis
- Loved the instant noodles!

The Bad:
- Parking in the area is limited (could park in the adjacent parking lot though and buy something from Staples)

Noodle Dynasty

So I'm sure that authentic Chinese hand-pulled noodles aren't the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Portland's culinary scene.  But over the past 15 years, Asian cuisine has come a long way in the Portland Metropolitan Area.  I remember a time when I had Dim Sum on SE Division Street and had probably the worst I've had in my life.  Fast forward to the present, we find all types of good Asian cuisine (in particular, Thai).  So I went in with relatively high expectations when we visited Noodle Dynasty in Beaverton.

We ordered a variety of dishes and began with the Hot & Sour Soup.  This was a somewhat pale-looking version, but in terms of taste, it was decent.  I definitely got sour and savory elements with only a bit of heat.  There was enough components for effect such as crunchy wood ear, fluffy egg, delicate tofu, bamboo shoots and carrots.  I would've liked to see some sort of protein as the soup was a bit lacking depth.  It also could've used a bit more starch too for thickeness.

The Beef Pancake Roll was possibly one of the best I've had in quite some time.  The pancake was flaky and had an appealing crunch on the outside.  It was fairly light, yet still had a good chewiness.  It was aromatic and had a beautiful nuttiness.  Wrapped inside, the beef was tender and had the aroma of 5-spice.  There was enough hoisin sauce to add the usual sweetness while the amount of green onion was balanced.

Onto the noodles, we had the classic Lanzhou Hand Pulled Beef Noodle Soup.  The noodles you see in the picture were literally hand-pulled to order and cooked immediately.  They were prepared al dente and had nice elasticity and bite.  This type of beef noodle featured a clear broth which I found was clean and light tasting with sweetness.  The sliced beef was tender and also mildly seasoned.  For some, this is purest form of the beef noodle since it is so simple, but I much prefer the next one we had.

The Spicy Beef Noodle Soup was more up my alley with tender nuggets of braised beef.  The soup itself wasn't super spicy, but did have a slight kick.  I could still taste the base flavor of the broth, but it did lack natural meatiness and body.  We had the wide hand-pulled noodles for this bowl and they were predictably chewier than the thin ones (also prepared al dente).  This was a decent bowl of noodles, wished there was more spice though.

Now that wasn't an issue for the Spicy Pork Ribs Flat Noodles though.  Sometimes referred to as "Biang Biang" noodles, these wide sheets were extra chewy.  Now the chewiness wasn't a bad thing though as it is generally a hallmark texture.  I found these noodles just a tad thicker than I would've liked, but still appealing nonetheless.  Yes, these had quite the heat to them, but it was a good thing as the wide noodles needed all the seasoning it could take.  The pork ribs were super tender and had a good balance of sweet and savory notes.

Although the Pork Wontons with Chili Sauce looked super spicy, they were quite mild (at least according to me).  I have a high spice tolerance, so for some, this might be scorching.  I found the dumplings to be delicate with tender and juicy pork inside.  It had a nice bounciness to it and was well-seasoned.  The chili sauce was smoky, sweet and a bit nutty.  It did have heat, but again, it wasn't tongue-burning.

To temper the spiciness of the meal so far, we had the Hot & Sour Fish Filet.  Yes, this had spice in it too but rest assured, it was very mild where the pickled mustard greens were the dominant flavor.  The broth itself was quite appetizing mostly due to the tanginess and also some sweetness from the fish.  There was an abundance of what I though was basa filets.  Say what you will about the fish, it was pretty buttery tender in texture.

Beyond the spicy wontons, we also got the Pork Xiao Long Bao for good measure.  Although these featured medium-thick dumpling skin, the texture wasn't dense.  In fact, it was a bit wet.  Despite this, there was a good amount of sweet soup inside that had a hint of shaoxing wine.  The meat itself was bouncy and tender.  If they could improve the dumpling skin (in terms of thickness and texture), these would be quite good.

For dessert, we had the cute piggy Egg Yolk Bao.  The bun itself was fairly fluffy with a sweet salted egg yolk filling.  It wasn't the runny type (Lau Sa Bao), but I prefer this kind more anyways.  It is much easier to eat and less messy.  Overall, the food at Noodle Dynasty is pretty legit.  Sure, some items can use improvement, but in general, the food is enjoyable and authentic.  Portland has really come a long way where Asian food is more plentiful and delicious.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Legit hand-pulled noodles
- Large portions
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- Soup bases could be more impactful