Thursday, October 09, 2008

Taiwan Xiao Chr ("Small Eats") at Wang's



Wang's Beef Noodle House (formerly Taiwan Beef Noodle King)
Granville Street & West 68th Avenue
Vancouver, BC

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Seeing as we don't have anything to offer yet in way of posts, I thought I'd finally let this one see the light. These pictures were taken a while back and I don't know why the level of blurriness is so high.

Moving update: The kitchen is more or less set up. Well, the infrastructure is there. I was wrong in guessing that all our pantry and fridge/freezer items would be transferred a few days ago. With all the running around and buying needed (non-food) things for the house, the transfer took a backseat. Ah, also, the internet will supposedly be set up on Monday next week.



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Wang's is our old standby when it comes to Taiwanese beef noodles. Being one of the first restaurants we've tried for Taiwanese beef noodles, it has set our standard for how these beef noodles should taste like. (However, the same location has been through 3 different owners, I think.)

Generally, the beef noodles are very good and I love the coarser, thicker noodles to eat. The pickled greens they put on top are very, very good and makes the whole dish. The only problem wth Wang's is sometimes they are inconsistent. Some days it's top-notch, but there are days when the broth tastes watered down. Some days the spicy version is not spicy at all, and other days, uber-hot.

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In any case, we thought this would be a good time to showcase a variety of Taiwanese xiao chr ("small eats") dishes. Usually, this is a specific genre of restaurant; Taiwan xiao chr restaurants offer different foods from "regular" Taiwan restaurants (such as Vogue).

I ordered bubble tea!

I don't usually order bubble tea here, preferring to go further up north to Granville Street & 64th Avenue and get my fix at Bubble World. Anyway, this is my standard bubble tea order: jasmine green milk tea without (tapioca) pearls.

I held the mug handle for scale.

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One of my favourites here are the pork dumplings, the "huo tyeh". (See here for its shape.) We didn't order it this time, considering we already ordered a considerable amount of food.

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Yes, there were only two of us and we ordered this much! See for yourselves.


The classic: Marinated Tofu
(I believe the Chinese translates as "tofu dry".) Served cold or room temperature.


Stir-fried Vegetables
We usually don't order this, but we did, for some reason. The vegetables are whatever they have on hand.


Sliced White Pork with Garlic Sauce
Not bad. But my heart belongs to the pork with garlic sauce at Cabin 5555.


Spicy Cucumbers
I forget the English name for this. Spicy cucumbers, or chili cucumbers... something to that effect.


Deep-fried Steamed Buns
The name is correct. These are white sliver-y buns that are steamed first, then deep-fried. I was disappointed in the crumb of their buns, as the insides aren't really in slivers or "threads"/"fibers". Anyway, these are served with condensed milk.


The spread

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Plus, we each ordered a bowl of the beef noodles. They ask for your noodle preference. All of us in the family prefer these thick, toothsome type. There's that "pickled vegetable" there that's so good.



[ts]
Taiwan Beef Noodle Soup is a dish that's long been on our to-do list. It just seems difficult to obtain that elusive recipe. What we've seen so far seem to be missing "secret" ingredients. One day.

22 comments:

  1. Ack. I totally feel your pain on the moving aspect. I've moved a lot and it's a pain - especially since it sounds like your family hasn't moved in a while.

    The noodles look great! I'll have to see if I can get there next time I'm in Vancouver.

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  2. the "beef noodles (without beef)" item is cracking me up.

    It's late over here. really late.

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  3. hi, been a long time lurker here. just wants to share that this beef noodle is also one of our faves. my workplace is just a few blocks away from that resto. i agree that they are not that consistent but we still end up going there coz its that good. my daughter loves their fried chix and porkchop. their chili wonton is good too although it wasnt the same as the previous owner's but still good.

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  4. Mouth. Watering. Need. Noodles! Good luck with the rest of the move! I know what a pita it can be!

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  5. That looks and I'm sure tastes like a great way to get the taste of moving out of your mouths! So is white pork just fatty pork, or pork loin? It reminds me of the passage in the book "Heat" about the Babbo kitchen when the had "thinly sliced pork fat" on the menu nobody ordered it, but when they changed the name ot "prosciuotto bianco" it flew out of the kitchen.
    Thanks for sharing good eats of Vancouver...can't wait to get up and try some!

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  6. My pick would be the beef noodle soup. Thanks for making me hungry.

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  7. So I've put Vancouver on my 2009 vacation list. I only get one vacation a year, and I want it to be Vancouver. Unfortunately, I'm picking names out of a hat. You have to vie with Chicago, Napa, Banff, Toronto, and Austin, Texas.
    Why I just told you all of this, idk...but I DO know what I'm not a Vietnamese food-eater, but I'd try some of those beef noodles. You guys seem to like them. I think I would, too.

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  8. Oh, I've never tried their small snack like things before! You didn't try their fried pork chop? That's my favourite!

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  9. It does look authentic...from the noodles and marinated tofu....just like what we have had when we were in Taiwan.

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  10. wah....just 2 of you eating,so much food!!Flushing NY have plenty of authenic taiwanese food but too bad I don't take beef..so I dunno what I have miss:))

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  11. Of course you have to order many dishes. Otherwise you will lose strength. And wither away! :)

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  12. Looks like a great feast - um, I think I'll join in next time. I mean you can't have all the fun by yourselves, right?

    -DTW
    www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com

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  13. The pictures are mouth watering! And there's no Twaiwan restaurant near by.... Aaaahhhh I'm lucky I'm not pregnant ;D

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  14. i'm with nuria - the pictures do look mouth watering. the stock in the soup looks like murky water (that's a compliment to its thickness!).

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  15. Sweet Bird said...
    Yes, exactly! We have little moving experience. =)

    Jude:
    Hey, don't knock it! ;P I've actually ordered it before because I didn't want the big pieces of beef but wanted the "beef noodle soup." Teehee.

    dad:
    Thanks for de-lurking! =) Haha, yes, exactly... not consistent... but "good enough."

    bb:
    Actually, we don't know EXACTLY which cut of pork it is (for "white pork). It's either pork belly or poek shoulder butt, we think.


    Nikki:
    It's nice here! =D There are a lot of outdoorsy things to do during the summer.

    Those above are Taiwan Beef Noodles, but ther are quite a lot of pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) here as well.

    Su-Lin:
    Yes, we've ordered their "fried pork" or "fried chicken" on rice dishes as well. =)

    Tom Aarons:
    See, you know how it is! ;)

    (Actually, that seems to be happening right now with the move! Everybody feels hungry... like one forgets to hve eaten or something. Hehe.)

    Darius T. Williams:
    We have big appetites... sometimes when we eat out we can't help ourselves and really do order A LOT! =D

    Núria:
    Oh, too bad. Perhaps we'll try to figure out how to make some Taiwan "small eats" dishes and post about them!

    We Are Never Full:
    Oh, haha... Yes, I needed the "that's a compliment" explanation re "murky".

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  16. This is one of our favourite places for noodles, if we can get a table, that is.

    I also love their fried pork chop rice box.

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  17. KC:
    It's usually not too long a wait. Or maybe it's because we eat at "odd" hours, so we get a table without any delays. =)

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  18. Not a big fan of Taiwanese food, but that fried bread is awesome with the condensed milk.

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  19. nate-n-annie:
    I love fried bun with condensed milk. Too bad the bun we had that specific time wasn't great at all.

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  20. Hi there,

    I'm a bit late, having come across your website via a comment at Choosy Beggars, but is that elusive ingredient you're talking about the preserved vegetable? Because if so, it's definitely available here in Vancouver; I had some yesterday. I'm not sure if it was bought or if my mom made it, but if you're interested I can ask (and likely get you the recipe, if she did make it).

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  21. J-Bird:
    We tried buying "pickled mustard greens" from T&T, but they were different! More salty than pickled, and they were dark green instead of the color of those Taiwanese ones. Any help would be appreciated! =)

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  22. hey there... after teaching English in Taiwan for a year my friends and i got HOOKED on the beef noodle soup.
    We found this recipe, tried it and it was actually very good. Quite close to the authentic stuff we used to have in Nantze.
    Check it out:
    http://mickyrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/10/taiwans-famous-beef-noodle-soup.html

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