Wonton Mein Saga

After the past few weeks of brunch with my mommy in downtown (Phat Yaletown, Italian Kitchen, Urban Tea Merchant, Benkei Ramen), I decided to stay close to home and try Wonton Mein Saga. Not satisfied ordering just a bowl of noodles, we decided (well, I decided) to over-order and get stuff with a mind of getting things to go.

Starting the meal off, we had their Fish Paste with Bean Curd . I thought it would be fish paste stuffed deep fried tofu, but instead, we got this...deep fried tofu with dried fish flakes. The tofu was deep-fried nicely, but the fish flakes were shocking. I expected paste but got dried fish. The flavour was good, just unexpected. I went back and checked the Chinese wording on the menu, and it said "fish with tofu", nothing about it being a paste or stuffed, darn.

My main purpose of this meal was Duck, and noodles. I have been craving duck for weeks now, and finally, here it is, complete with rice noodles and plum sauce. I'm a happy girl.

Though the broth was a little oily, it was mostly clear and flavourful. I love that it comes piping hot. Lots of noodles, but lots of duck too!

I actually prefer the boney pieces of duck, so this was a good mix of both. The leg pieces are full of bones but with healthy chunks of meat. Those I passed along to my mom, who doesn't like bones as much.

She ordered the Beef Tendon and Dumpling noodles, with traditional wonton noodles. I have never liked wonton noodles, ever since I was a child. Back when we lived in HK, one of my mom's go-to dishes was wonton noodles with oyster sauce. Simple, easy and cheap. One very bad day, she gave me the dish without cutting up the noodles first. I ended up trying to eat a whole noodle cake without taking a break (I didn't realize that I could bite it off and start again). Well, this resulted in an awful choking incident, so it's no wonder that I have stayed away from these noodles for years.

I have since forgiven her for this, but still cannot eat those noodles. It didn't stop me from trying one of the dumplings though. Shrimp-filled and meaty, it was delicious. I think she got loads of tendon and at least three dumplings.

The last thing to arrive was the Rice Noodle with Chinese Donut. This is one of those dishes that are easy to make but also easy to ruin. The Chinese Donut has to be fresh, and the rice noodles fresh. They do it right here, but it's very bare bones, no garnishes here. I would have like to see a bit of sesame seeds and green onions, and dare I say, some pork floss. Alas, it was just as you see above, donut and rice noodle. Nothing wrong with that.
I guess this sums up Wonton Mein Saga very well, don't expect fancy-pants and enjoy basic dishes done right.