Yun Nan Flavour Garden

CHINA (YUNNAN PROVINCE)

[PREVIOUSLY: Yun Nan Flavour Snack]

The new location of my beloved little noodle shop is more spacious and has a lot lengthier menu. Unfortunately, the staples are not as tasty and it seems to lack the wonderful character that was present at the previous location.

The day I visited it seemed almost everything was out. They even were out of hot tea.

The dish that was on this day was the dumplings in hot and sour sauce ($5.25, below), which lived up to its name. Some bites favored the spiciness, some favored the sourness, it was a joy to eat.

My favorite dish at the noodle shop was the rice noodle with spicy meat sauce ($5.25, below), but this version had no spice whatsoever. I added a few spoonfuls of the tabletop red pepper sauce to give it a kick, but this is much less interesting than the broth they used to do. I hope with time this can be figured out and brought back to its original glory.

Crossing the bridge rice noodles ($8.75, below two photos) is a very famous dish in Yunnan province and was not available at the last place. It takes quite a while to prepare and I was happy to see it here. Two plates containing black chicken, thin slices of ham, a quail egg, sprouts, and bean curd are placed on the table long before the two bowls of noodles and broth arrive. 

Everything arrives separately to preserve tradition of the dish, which has a very interesting story looking up. You mix it all yourself at the table and into the big bowl of broth. After such formality, I can only describe the taste of it as disappointing, as the broth is rather tasteless on its own. I would probably recommend a pass on this one.

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