Food memories have always been a big part of me, whether it’s thinking back to a great meal or restaurant. One particular memory that stuck with me is eating dim sum at Chinese restaurants. I never did it too often, but it had a lasting impression. Picking and pointing out your choices that came your way was a rush. Having the satisfaction of eating almost instantly was just an added plus. Most of all, whatever came to the table was just plain good.

And I’ll admit, I love pork siomai, but never saw myself as someone who knew much about good quality dim sum. It didn’t seem too late to start a search, testing and trying different restaurants serving dim sum, to find a favorite spot. So, Rose and I took a trip to the Hong Kong Flower Lounge in Milbrae for dim sum. It’s a place that I picked out because whenever I’m in the area, the restaurant always catches my attention. I mean, the building stands tall on the corner of El Camino and Milbrae Avenue, and is not hard to miss. I wanted to see how their dim sum was.

Having dim sum after such a long absence definitely did bring back good memories. We left satisfied and eager to return back. Of course, I do want to learn more about dim sum, better yet, good quality dim sum. This is just a start. Maybe we’ll find better along the way.

Hong Kong Flower Lounge
51 Millbrae Ave.
Millbrae, CA 94030
(650) 692-6666

QQ Noodle
3625 Thornton Ave.
Fremont, CA 94536
(510) 713-0228
www.qqnoodle.com

QQ Noodle specializes in hand-pulled Chinese noodles known as lamian. It is the texture of the noodles that stands out. The noodles are smooth with a firm chewiness quality to them. In a world where convenience trumps craft, it is refreshing to know that there is still pride in this noodle house.

I was first aware of hand-pulled noodles by watching Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. They were shooting in China at the time and showed Zimmern’s failed attempts in making lamian. You could see the smirks on chefs’ faces. Watching the chefs make the noodles was a truly impressive act. I’m so used to seeing pasta or noodles made in factories, but never by hand. In my mind I said to myself, I have no plans to travel to China to experience something like that. I wish I was able too. Little did I know, a small Fremont restaurant was serving hand-pulled noodles. No need to travel across the ocean, I only had to travel down five blocks.

Continue Reading » A Hand-Pulled Craft