Mak's Noodles

Simple, cheap, delicious, efficient.

That's all there is to it, everything is made fresh, prepared quickly.Well recognized by the city so always expect a high turnout. Need not worry, they have such a high turnover rate you'll get seated quickly no matter what the crowd size, just be open to a new neighbor every time. It's a small shop like any other place in the city so expect communal seating. 

Wonton Noodle Soup: Thin, chewy noodles in a simple broth, perfection. Wontons  are stuffed with seasoned pork, savory and fulfilling, dip with a little red vinegar on the side. Note that bowls here are small, the mindset is slurp and go. Ideal for such a fast paced city. If one does feel like they need more there's a bunch of sides to choose from.  

There are a few more options on the menu, notables being the Brisket and the bitter veggies, but I'm stuck on the wontons.  It's my first love of this city, and I still can't get over them.

• G/F, 77 Wellington Street
  Central, Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong: 7,000 & some change

I once consider myself a "sheltered" Southern Californian, sheltered in the sense that up until two years ago my idea of travel was a 32 hour drive down to Mexico every year to see my grandparents (Ixtlan del Rio, Nayarit & Villa Hidalgo, San Luis Potosi; respectively). Granted anyone else see's that trip as notable, it really loses it spark when you do it once or twice a year, every year since you where born. Lately the more and more I reflect upon my time there, the more my opinion has began to change. A sentiment I'll save for later.

What else was there, Vegas? That was only a stones throw down the highway. Phoenix? I spent my most of my 3 days indoors because it was so friggin hot, I hardly remembered outside. I pretty much was in my own little box.

But, it was two years ago where my friend and I simply said "screw it" and bought a pair of tickets to Chicago. Since, the urge to see out what else was out there led me across the country, until finally, a catalyst was lit that would send me across the Pacific for the first time!

After a year saving, a ton of hype and anticipation, my butt finally boarded on to what was one of the most brutal 18 hour treks of my life, but hey, at least there was plenty of leg space. Southwest/Delta fliers you feel me??? Although, not exactly enjoyable by any stretch of the word, it got me to point B. Soon enough though, I arrived. Finally.

One last hurrah in Los Angeles

With only a couple days to go, J. Kao and I head out for one last trip to LA to just chill and chow. For so long I was promised a Hong Kong style breakfast, yet much like a recent post, it wasn't until the end till I was finally taken out... but hey I can't complain, since I'll be having the real deal in few months. (WOOT) 

But damn was I shown what was up, as soon as we sat down we ended up getting the whole shebang (pretty much anyways). Being only two people between us, it's amazing at the fact that we had a single bowl left to go. But it was seriously not that hard to put in work on this spectacular feast, personally I love love love Chinese breakfast and this hit me right in the sweet spot. Thank you very much for giving me a preview.

(Photography only lasted up until the first bite, seriously, I forgot about everything else as soon as I dug in.) 

1.Pineapple Bun w/ Butter: No real melon included, it's just named after it's appearance. It's my personal favorite combination of slightly sweet bread and salty butter (magic). -

2. HK-style French Toast w/ peanut butter: It's as good as it sounds, straight up.

3. Fermented Egg Congee: There's something about this one that makes it so much better than others. Savory chicken broth perhaps?  

4. Chinese Churro w/ rice wrap and peanut sauce: Guilty pleasure, stretch pants not included.

5.Ham & Egg Sandwich: Bare bones in simplicity, but I find a certain charm about in how it reminds me about my younger days. I'm told this a traditional thing for the old men to snack on before they go out to spend their days playing Mahjong  

6. Horlick: Not as sweet as I was expecting to be but incredibly refreshing and a pleasant palate cleanser. 

7. Ovaltine: J. Kao's personal favorite drink growing up.

After a brief interlude through downtown, what could a trip here be without visiting our favorite watering-hole, Handsome Coffee Roasters? See that simple menu, love it! The fine print makes it sound pretentious,
but it keeps the Starbucks crowd out. 

After deciding to stay local we ended up with the mega cravings for noodles, and since the ever-so-popular Daikokuya, is always packed we gave a quick search on yelp only to discover an equally intriguing spot only a few doors down. 

Being the group that we are, this cordial dinner turned into another veritable feast! Bowls and tempura for days, some of the notable side orders where the deep fried egg (possibly duck) which carried a deep yellow yolk, soo good. Among all the other bowls, the highest of recommendations can go the Uni Udon! So magnificently rich and decadent, that it has actual (generous I might add) chunks of tasty sea urchin floating about on ever bite. As a friend would put it, it looked like a hundred sea urchins died to make that dish, I have no shame. 

What's amazing is the lack of notoriety this place even gets! Half the people in here look like stragglers who didn't want to wait an hour plus over at Daikokuya and decided to compromise on the "other noodle place". But unbeknownst to their know, their about to get the rug pulled from underneath them. No matter tho, let all the attention go the hype machine and I'll just continue strolling in with only a few minutes wait. Haha

With our conquest of gluttony a success, the only thing left is one last drive through downtown and enjoy the lit up skyline as we say good bye one more time.  

Delicious Food Corner

2327 S Garfield Ave

Monterey Park, CA 91754

Marugame Monzo

329 E 1st St

Los Angeles, CA 90012