World's Best Wonton Noodle Soup

I was on a quest. On a quest for one of the world's most beloved comfort foods. Well, at least in my fucked up world... The infamous bowl of Wonton Noodle Soup. Everyone has had it one time or another in their measly life but you haven't really had it unless you had it in Hong Kong, the home of dim sum and wonton noodle soup (and many other dericious fucked up shit). You may think you have slurped noodles outta some great bowls stateside but those bowls are so far off the mark it's embarrassing, even to an Eskimo... Unless, you compared them to the porcelain bowl, well, then you're spot on. Ok, it ain't that bad but still. Just don't forget to put the seat down when you're done. So, I hopped on the next plane for my motherland, Hong Kong.

There are billions of wonton noodle shops in Hong Kong, I think the ratio is 2 shops to every 1 person... But what do I know, Asians are notoriously bad at math, so that number might be a little fuzzy. But one thing is for sure, we're good at eating... Oh, and birthing. Last count, I think we're up to like 9.8 billion. That's a lot of pumping and squirting.

Alright, let's get off that topic, all that talk about afterbirth is making me hungry... So, basically, there's 3 components to this national treasure. Simple enough right? Eeeeh, wrong. These are 3 of the hardest things on Earth to get right but when it's right, there will be a wonderful explosion in your mouth and in my pants.
1) The Noodle- As a rule of thumb, the noodles must be handmade with 2 different types of flour and duck eggs. The technique is key here, whether it's machine aided or the rarely used bamboo pressed.
2) The Broth- Should be made with dried shrimp roe, powdered dried flounder and pork bones and simmered continuously for weeks... Ok, mebbe just hours.
3) The Wonton- Should be mostly shrimp and little pork (if any) in a paper thin wrapper made from the same dough as the noodle.

Fuck, this is making me hungry and I just drooled on my shirt like a downie. Let's just get to it...

After I got off the plane, I made a bee line for one of the handful of noodle shops in the HK airport. Believe or not, airports around the globe have some world class nosheries, unlike our shitty fast food encrusted airports. Even the Popeyes in the HK airport kicked ass with all different types of food unavailable here... I don't know what kinda chicken they used but that shit was divine. Better than the one on Ponce. But that's another story.


For an airport joint, it wasn't half bad... The noodles were a lil over cooked, the broth tasted like a mix of instant soup base and chicken broth, but the wonton were pretty good with mostly shrimp inside. Hey, anything is better than 20 hrs of airplane slop, but the free beer made it a little better.

Standard mom & pop noodle shop...

Some little family run noodle shop in Kowloon between Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei.


Always a good sign when they're making the wonton fresh in the middle of the resto.


For HK$15, this was a steal on a very decent bowl of WNS. That's about $2 with tip here. How can you go wrong with this? Fat plump shrimp wontons, thin al dente egg noodles and a fragrant broth. It worked for me... But was this a contender for the world's best? Nah... I was just really fucking hungry from walking around and anything taste good when you're famished.

Bamboo pressed noodles...

There are only a handful of restos that still practice this tradition of making noodles. These guys are the last of the Masters of Noodle. They ride that pole like there's no tomorrow (see pic, I'm getting a blood flow). Kids these days only care about McDonalds and other processed fried shit. They don't care about this great tradition and the time it takes to master bamboo pressed noodles. If you have a chance to taste this tradition, do it before it disappears forever. It's an amazing difference from that prepackaged crap you buy in the markets.


And again, another great sign that you'll be eating fresh handmade wontons.


The noodles were spot on, springy and has that "crunch" to it when you bite into. Let me tell ya, it is heaven. The wontons didn't disappoint either. Thinly wrapped and a 50/50 mixture of shrimp and pork. But the broth didn't match the other two components. While it was good, it needed that extra kick in the ass of that 5th taste called umami.


Same thing as the WNS above but slices of pork liver instead of wontons. The pork liver was pretty tasty but a little on the tough side. Great pork liver should be sliced and blanched to order to retain its tenderness, even a bit on the rare side. Both were satisfying but I wouldn't put them up for top spot.

Haiphong Road Under the Bridge Open Market...

Looks like an innocent dumpy flower stand but walk further inside and behind a make shift burlap/canvas sack for a door hides a super secret den of street food or under the bridge grub. You will not find a single tourist here because it's scary as shit. The Gwai-lo's have all seen the Golden Child and they know that the dragon lady is real and deadly.


Ahhh... I'm home! Look at this place, it is awesome. The regulars and locals come here for real authentic street grub. You can find it all here, whatever you want, you got it... Beef, pork, lamb, chicken, fish, seafood, noodles, rice, stews, soups, abalone, razor clams, pissing prawns, crabs, STDs, brains, balls, uterus, deer penis, antlers, birds nest, tongue, intestines, colon, toes, eyelids and Jell-O. C'mon, there's always room for Jell-O. There's a lot of screaming and yelling to get your business, so just take your time and look at what people are eating at their tables. Me... I was on a mission for one thing only. PS- the dragon lady is on the lower right corner, don't be deceived by her friendly smile. She can kill with one lashing of her scaly tail. You are warned.


Since, I had two bowls of WNS back to back already, I had enough pouch space for one more until lunch. Every stall had this dish on their menu, you can not not have this on your menu because the atmosphere here is so fierce. And everyone loves WNS, so, I used my nose and sniff this place out. It took a few minutes to get out but that's a good sign that everything was not precooked, assembled and reheated within a minute. It was nice and hot when it came out. First inspection, the wontons looked good, the noodle a little limp, the aroma of the broth smelled suspect but I wasn't surprised since its fast street grub. Wontons were nice and flavorful, the noodles were over cooked a bit and the broth was as expected... Just a medium to keep the other two elements hot and juicy. It wasn't bad and it did the trick but not a contender.

Alrighty, enough of the amateurs, time for the main event.

Mak's Noodle Ltd...

Mak's Noodle... Widely acclaimed as the best bowl of WNS in Hong Kong. I have eaten here multiple times throughout the last few years. Will it be the same excellent quality I have had in the past? This place is no frills and the all male staff seem like they have been working there since they were 5 years old. This place means serious fucking bidness.


Holy fuck rod, they raised the prices to HK$30!!! WTF, yo?! I know, right? It's like $3.80 now vs. $3.25 a year ago... But it's still the most expensive bowl of WNS in all of Hong Kong.


Mak's knows how to do it right. It's almost the perfect bowl of WNS. Except they are like half the size of everyone else and twice as much. Why, you ask? They say using the smaller bowl with less broth prevents the handmade noodles from absorbing too much liquid and getting soft and soggy. Well, someone tell that to the old man in the corner trying to hit on the young chippies because he looks like he ate one too many bowls.

First, the noodles... Springy, firm and has that all important "crunch" to it. Just perfect. The wontons... Fat, plump and juicy with basically all shrimp inside. One bite and you just know it. The broth... Clear, full of flavor and so clean you can taste all the different components put into making the broth. One word: Fuck you, its good. Totally worth the price increase.


They have a couple other locations but this one is at the top of Victoria's Peak. It's like having Godly noodles high up in heaven.

Tsim Chai Kee...

Literally, across the street from Mak's is their toughest competitor. It's prettier than Mak's but how's the quality... Is it a top spot contender?


The bowls are about twice the size of Mak's and a third less at HK$19. It's a total value, bang for your buck kinda deal. The wontons were spot on, a little larger than Mak's but the taste was just shy of Mak's. The noodles were a tad soggy but still had great flavor. The broth was good as well but also missing that last bit of umami. Don't get me wrong this is right behind Mak's and being runner up is not a bad thing. I'll take this bowl over any in the states whether it's in NYC or San Fran. So good, it could make me soil my underpants. Who does number 2 work for? You know who.

And there you have it... Mak's is still the King of Wonton Noodle Soup in the entire the World. You better fucking kneel before Mak... And start servicing his noodle and wontons.

Pump

Pump

Squirt

5 Stars.
Mak's Noodle Ltd.
77 Wellington Street
Central, Hong Kong

4.5 Stars.
Tsim Chai Kee
98 Wellington Street
Central, Hong Kong