Mary T.
Yelp
One big positive about staying at home is that I have been going through my list of bookmarked eateries in my neighbourhood and ordering takeout. It has been great discovering new eateries.
A couple of Saturdays ago, I decided to grab a late takeout lunch from Big Beef Bowl Hand-Pulled Noodle. I ordered through Skip the Dishes.
I got Shanghai pork-filled pan-fried baos as a starter. I also ordered a small classic beef bowl, with flat, thick noodles. You can choose from a number of noodle widths. I went all out.
I recall placing my order in front of Comebuy, in my car, before heading inside to pick up my bubble tea. My order was filled in twelve minutes. Impressive!
It didn't take all that long to drive over here from downtown Markham. I parked in front of the restaurant and noticed that it's next door to Ramen Misoya. It's both cool and deadly, as I love that place.
I walked in and a nice man had my order in his hand. He handed it to me. He had a huge smile on his face, perhaps because it was so quiet at nearly 4 pm. Crickets. I thanked him and headed back to my car. I had the most fragrant-smelling takeout that was a pleasant change from sniffing hand sanitizer.
I got home and chowed down. Everything was impeccably packed. I carefully poured the broth into my bowl of noodles, mixed things around, and started to eat.
There was a lot of cilantro. Ten years ago, I would have picked it out, spending ten minutes to do it. I oddly don't mind it these days. I'll eat it, but it's not a must in my diet.
The beef was sliced thinly, as were the white turnips. I grew up having beef brisket with turnips with noodles in soup. I detested turnips. They were large chunks of awfulness. It was also a revelation that I like turnips sliced thinly with a bit of crispness. So good!
The beef was flavourful and delicious. You don't get a lot of beef if you're a protein lover. If I had ordered the beef noodles only, I would have added extra beef. The beef was tender and melted in my mouth. It was effortless chewing it.
The broth was good. Not too oily. Not overly salty. It's how I like it. You get a lot of it.
The flat, thick hand-pulled noodles were a treat. They were chewy and fun to eat. It was a first for me. It's certainly not my last!
I reversed things and had the Shanghai pork-filled pan-fried baos (a.k.a. sang ji) afterwards. I felt like I was back in Shanghai again. I am a bit rusty eating them. I took a bite out of the first one and the soup squirted out and onto the table roughly a foot away. Oops! Yeah, I needed to get back into slurping. I'm glad that I was eating at home. I could have hurt someone if I were dining at the restaurant.
I loved the soup base. The pork was flavourful. The wrapper wasn't overly doughy. It was a bit soggy, though, but wasn't a showstopper.
I was impressed with my meal. I'd return to try more items on the menu. I'll need to remember to ask hold the cilantro, but am okay eating it if I forget. I have a new-found liking for thinly sliced turnips. Who knew?!
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