If you’ve been in Hong Kong for a while and haven’t just lived the expat lifestyle where you only visit Western food places, you would’ve noticed that noodles forms an important part of the local’s diet – and one particular type of noodle store is somewhat of a staple for the locals – namely Cart Noodles.
Cart Noodles originated from ages back when hawkers sold food on the street in their little carts – some of these vendors sold noodles and you can pick and choose what toppings you want on it. Due to the dangers of hot stoves being pushed around the street, street food has almost been completely removed from Hong Kong as permits are no longer available.
Instead, the hawkers that can afford the rent in Hong Kong have now moved their stores into actual shops – and one of my favourite one is Noodle Supreme in Sheung Wan.
The storefront itself is pretty plane apart from the fact that it is plastered with various photos of the owner with other celebrities who have visited.
Once you’re inside, you just pick your seat yourself – or share a table if it’s packed, and then there’s a plastic container with white slips of paper and pens for you to basically circle what you want – unfortunately there’s no English menu – but here’s my selection:
To be frank – I normally choose 5 items which Ms Buddha thinks I’m insane for doing – but Cart Noodles are normally cheap food, so it makes it easier to choose without worrying too much about pricing.
Within moments of ordering, the bowl of deliciousness will come!
Those who have read my previous blogs will remember that I love having offal, (Read: Yatai (Food Stalls), Fukuoka – Review). And being able to select the parts that you particularly like is a plus! For me, it is the large intestine and also blood jelly, which is almost always a must for me when I come here. The large fried sheets are actually fried fish skin, which is terrific when you have it with chilli soup that basically absorbs all the flavour!
Ms Buddha loves this place as well and she normally goes for something a little less unhealthy instead – but she does love the bean puffs and mushrooms (one of her must picks!)
The food here is cheap, delicious and since that we’ve been here so often, gives the feeling of being our “place” to go when we’re after comfort Hong Kong food. The only issue with Noodle Supreme is that you really need to make sure you check the opening times – because they don’t open late and they also take Sunday’s off (bad for us because by the time we finish work, they’ve almost always closed). Oddly, they also have a habit of just taking days off without notice – so we’ve come on several occasions where they just weren’t opened – but on those days that they are, you’re in for a treat.
Buddha Explores 