Guangxi Wonton Noodle Shop attracts diners with fresh noodles, dumplings, and handmade char siu, and you can eat and watch at the same time.
Mr. Phung Van Cuong, 55 years old, was born into a third-generation Guangxi Chinese family in Hanoi , so from a young age he was taught how to cook many traditional Chinese dishes, including wonton noodles, a popular dish in southern China.
About 10 years ago, Mr. Cuong opened the first Phung Gia wonton noodle shop at 31 Nguyen Ngoc Doan, Dong Da district. Now there is a second location at 40, alley 1, lane 16, Huynh Thuc Khang, Dong Da.
Nguyen Ngoc Doan facility is about 70 square meters wide, open two time frames, 6am - 1:30pm and 5pm - 9pm daily.
In front of the restaurant is the noodle processing area, with a glass cabinet for storing ingredients and a stove for boiling broth. The kitchen behind is where ingredients are processed and prepared, such as simmering broth, kneading dough, rolling noodles, and wrapping dumplings.
To maintain a stable number of customers for 10 years and open a second location, Mr. Cuong said he "always keeps the traditional flavor of the dishes and puts food hygiene first."
The wonton noodles at the restaurant are handmade, something rarely seen in shops selling this dish in Hanoi.
The key ingredient of wonton noodles is fresh noodles, made from eggs and flour, mixed by machine and "kneaded by hand to control the elasticity and texture of the dough," said Mr. Cuong.
After kneading, the dough is spread in a square wooden mold, divided into 4 equal parts. Each part of the dough is put into the machine to be rolled thin. This step will be repeated many times until the dough layer reaches the standard thinness.
The dough is rolled thin and even enough, then put into the noodle cutting machine. After cutting, the noodles need to be dried. The drying time depends on the weather. On sunny days, it takes about 15-20 minutes, on rainy or cloudy days, it takes longer and requires a fan.
Because no preservatives are used, fresh noodles must be used within the day. Egg yolks add richness, while egg whites add curl to the noodles after boiling. Diners can distinguish fresh noodles from shops that use dried noodles based on the richness and curl of fresh noodles, according to Mr. Cuong.
If you have ever been to Guangxi to eat wonton noodles, you will notice that there are slices of "chao xoong" meat in the bowl of noodles (photo). From the outside, "chao xoong" looks like Chinese sausage but the spices and preparation are different.
After stuffing the meat into the cleaned intestines, instead of drying it in the wind like Chinese sausage, the "chao xoong" will be boiled, waited to dry, then fried and left to cool, drained of oil. The seasoning for marinating the meat to make "chao xoong" is imported from China by the restaurant owner to keep the right flavor of the wonton noodles.
The key to the flavor of a bowl of wonton noodles is the sweet broth made from shrimp bones and shells. The cook must know how to remove all the fishy taste while still retaining the sweetness of the broth without adding any sweeteners. At the same time, when eating the last portion of the broth, the broth is still clear and not salty or fishy, Mr. Cuong said.
In the bowl of wonton noodles, Mr. Cuong's shop keeps all the ingredients such as chives, shiitake mushrooms, soaked pork skin, char siu, pork liver, duck egg and a piece of fried wonton.
When customers order, the staff drops each noodle into a pot of boiling water and cooks for about 2-3 minutes, then puts it in a bowl, adds the ingredients one by one, and then pours in the broth. The serving time for a bowl of noodles is less than 5 minutes.
The wonton noodles have a clear yellow color, the broth is not greasy, the green color of chives and the pink color of char siu, the aroma of shiitake mushrooms and the sweet taste of shrimp. The fresh noodles absorb the water, soft but not mushy. A bowl of wonton noodles at the restaurant costs 40,000 VND.
Diners come here of all ages, but families with small children and students are most common.
The family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Trang (photo), Dong Da district, has been a regular customer of the restaurant for about 3 years. Ms. Trang often chooses clean restaurants to ensure her health. "Sitting in the restaurant, I can observe the noodle making process in the kitchen, so I feel quite secure. The owner also has a separate pot to boil the bowls before serving," she said.
Mr. Nguyen Huy learned about the restaurant two years ago through an acquaintance. According to him, there are not many restaurants in Hanoi that are cooked by people of Chinese origin, so he was curious to try it.
The restaurant is crowded during breakfast (7-9am), lunch (11-1pm) and dinner (7-9pm). On average, Mr. Cuong sells about 300-400 bowls a day. On weekends, the number increases but not significantly.
Both establishments are located on small streets or in alleys, making them quite difficult to find for first-time diners. Because they are cooked according to Guangxi recipes and use some spices imported from China such as dark soy sauce and oyster sauce made from soybeans, Mr. Cuong's wonton noodles have a unique flavor that may not suit some diners' tastes.
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