Chow Foon

[Ericandblueboy]

I typically order the beef chow fun and lo meins of varying sorts. I've found them to be pretty good and not drenched in oil like other places in Chinatown (Chinatown Express comes to mind). I also like their dumplings and their egg drop soup is pretty good. My wife likes the congee quite a bit if that is your thing.

Those aren't exactly the food I would order to judge a restaurant. That's the equivalent of eating at a Chinese McDonald's.

[synaesthesia]

I typically order the beef chow fun and lo meins of varying sorts. I've found them to be pretty good and not drenched in oil like other places in Chinatown (Chinatown Express comes to mind). I also like their dumplings and their egg drop soup is pretty good. My wife likes the congee quite a bit if that is your thing.

Those aren't exactly the food I would order to judge a restaurant. That's the equivalent of eating at a Chinese McDonald's.

This is not to make a judgment on Chinatown Express, but my experience is that chow foon is not easy to make well. The noodles can be finicky, especially if you're not working from homemade ones (most likely the case). I've eaten them at a ton of Chinese restaurants, and it's hard to get it right. The noodle texture, the flavor and amount of sauce, the quality of the beef (I've had lots of crappy beef in chow foon). Of course it's not complicated, but like the burgers served at McDonald's it is a staple that has varying levels of quality. You can run the gamut of Palena-level chow foon to McDonald's chow foon.

The same could be said for dumplings as well. I've eaten a lot of really awful ones.

Whether his taste matches yours is something else entirely.

[Ericandblueboy]

If you order a burger, you get an oily glop of ground meat. If you order chow-fun or lo-mein, you get an oily noodle dish. I liken it to many people praising Palena as a great Italian restaurant after eating its burger and chicken.

[synaesthesia]

If you order a burger, you get an oily glop of ground meat. If you order chow-fun or lo-mein, you get an oily noodle dish. I liken it to many people praising Palena as a great Italian restaurant after eating its burger and chicken.

You seem to have mixed two arguments in here.

1. Chow foon is always oily - that isn't always the case, and isn't a necessary condition for it being great

2. That chow foon is not an authentic part of the Chinese food experience as a burger and chicken are not authentic to Italian. Chow foon is a staple Cantonese dish. Is it a dish completely representative of goodness? No it isn't. But Adam23 did bother to cite more than one dish, as I did in my discussion. And the original discussion was about "good", not great. Unless you're saying that I'm comparing a burger to an authentic Italian experience, which I was not.

[Sundae in the Park]

Does anyone know where to get chow foon/fun (or any other thick rice noodles) fresh around here? Bonus if in the Fairfax/Vienna area. If they're available at Super H, I can't find them. Frozen just doesn't cut it. Alternately, if you know how to revive the frozen noodles so they don't taste gummy and break apart, that would be great!!

'Tis the season of oily comfort goodness!

[Ilaine]

If you order a burger, you get an oily glop of ground meat.

Have you ever had one of Michael Landrum's hamburger's? If not, please do.

Ray's Hell Burger.

[goodeats]

Does anyone know where to get chow foon/fun (or any other thick rice noodles) fresh around here? Bonus if in the Fairfax/Vienna area. If they're available at Super H, I can't find them. Frozen just doesn't cut it. Alternately, if you know how to revive the frozen noodles so they don't taste gummy and break apart, that would be great!!

'Tis the season of oily comfort goodness!

I don't know off the top-of-my-head, but I'm replying to say that I'll report back after this week's shopping at the local Asian markets. I did see somewhere once about steaming them, but was not sure if that referred to steaming frozen chow foon, or something else. How are you thawing and cooking them? What brand & what ingredients or preservatives used? That can play a part in the gumminess, as well as the heat on the stove, when you're putting them in, and so on and so forth.

In chiming in to the other comments: Chow foon isn't meant to be oily, but that from what I've seen and tasted, Cantonese (or some Chinese) restaurants DO tend to be heavy-handed with the oil, and well, woks aren't really washed that thoroughly after cooking one dish after the other, fwiw. If we're talking about McD's analogies, well, I guess you'll have to imagine fries cooked in a fryer that hasn't had its oil changed for a LoNg time.

[Sundae in the Park]

I don't know off the top-of-my-head, but I'm replying to say that I'll report back after this week's shopping at the local Asian markets. I did see somewhere once about steaming them, but was not sure if that referred to steaming frozen chow foon, or something else. How are you thawing and cooking them? What brand & what ingredients or preservatives used? That can play a part in the gumminess, as well as the heat on the stove, when you're putting them in, and so on and so forth.

I think I've just left them out to defrost on the counter, and I believe my mom would soak them in warm water. Then stir or pan fry with veg and meat over high heat. Neither technique works particularly well, texturewise. I would welcome cooking suggestions!!! Surely the restaurants don't always stock or make fresh noodles, so there must be a way to revive them!

I don't recall any specific brand or logo - we would just get whatever was available, and there usually wasn't a selection.