Mak’s Noodle Ltd

One week ago, on my first Saturday in Hong Kong (my posts aren’t exactly in chronological order), and with nothing to do, I decided that I needed to go to the city area a bit and look for food. Considering that the purpose of my visit is for food, I had to have something that was unique to Hong Kong, and not just some chain or franchise. A random search on the net had me reading some reviews of this place called Mak’s Noodle Ltd.

So off I went, after consulting Google Maps. I took the bus to Central, then had to look for Wellington Street without a map. Eventually I found it, after walking one whole circle, when I could’ve got there a full 15 minutes earlier.

Mak’s Noodle Ltd has been reviewed quite a bit on the net, and has its own wikipedia page. It’s famous for its noodles served in small bowls (the same bowls that you eat rice out of). Apparently, the small bowls keep the noodles from going soggy. It’s name in chinese literally. means ‘Mak’s stingy noodles’. Most of the reviews describe this as the best (or very good) noodles that they have ever tasted.

The place also appeared in the Times magazine for being one of the top 3 best ‘hole-in-the-wall’ restaurants in Hong Kong.

Most importantly, Anthony Bourdain came here the first time he was in Hong Kong. I actually only found this out today, in a different branch of Mak’s Noodle in Causeway Bay (instead on Central). They displayed this in front of their shop. The address given for the one that Anthony Bourdain went to is the one in Central (which was the one that I went to), but his description in the article about the place talked about ‘jah-jiang noodles’ and noodles being served in plates. Which made me confused. They certainly didn’t have any noodles in plates, nor black bean noodles. Either they had a different menu a couple of years ago, or he didn’t actually come to this restaurant, or he got himself confused with some other restaurant. He did talk about won ton’s though, which is what they do have.

So I went in and said I couldn’t read their chinese menu and asked for recommendations and they presented me with an english menu. Ultimately, this is what I ordered. Beef Brisket Noodles, and a bowl of Wantan.

Were they the best noodles I’ve ever tasted? Probably not. Would I go back? Actually, yes. In retrospect, I probably should have had the noodles with the wantan, and the beef brisket by itself. The way I did it, the sauce of the brisket messed around with the flavour of the noodles and the soup. The wantan was pretty good actually. Juicy and succulent.

But the amount was quite little though. =(. Two bowls of that was just about right for me. Thing is, each bowl costs as much as a bigger bowl in another restaurant. My meal came up to HKD 55.

Or was it 58? Can’t remember.