Tsim Chai Kee Noodle     沾仔記  

After my first trip to Mak's, I found myself with a hankering for wonton noodles. I wanted to try something new, so I gave this place a go. Here are my impressions, with the caveat that I am the least qualified person to assess the merits of wonton noodle soup.

You get three options: shrimp wontons, beef, or fish ball. All the options are exactly the same in terms of broth and noodles, they just differ in terms of what gets put on top. The beef, I think, is velveted, and so has this strange 'soft' texture that I don't really think goes well in soup. The shrimp wontons are enormous, and mine had 3 shrimp in each wonton. They're very meaty and flavorful, and that's what I'd recommend.

The broth is not clear and 'light'-- it's heavy, heavily flavored, and salty. I feel like Mak's broth was way more refreshing.

The noodles are certainly good-- maybe a little bit too al dente at the beginning, but you've gotta eat them fast, because they cook quickly in the hot broth.

The veggies on the side were dark green and rich. The oyster sauce on them was not overbearing. Yum.

The soup was totally filling, and well worth the price. I think there's better wonton noodles in the area, but you can't really go wrong here. B+

My office is located in heart of Central. It is hard to find ‘cheap and nice’ lunch on weekdays! Luckily, there are some famous noodle shops charging reasonable price, such as ‘沾仔記 Tsim Chai Kee Noodle. It has two branches in Central.
One is in ‘威靈頓街98號地下, the other newer one is in皇后大道中153號兆英商業大廈地庫. That is the one I visited. It is less crowded as I took early lunch at about 12:15. There was only few tables being occupied.
I ordered Wonton Noodles and a plate of veggies. It was served very quickly but I was not rushed to finish it like the other noodle shops.
The Wonton size is quite huge, even I like ‘bite’ size but they are made with fresh shrimps and not very fatty pork, so it is passed my requirements!
The noodle is tasty, quality one! The texture is very nice!
In conclusion, it is a nice place for light cheap lunch in Central.

I went to have dinner tonight. Was wondering to order 雲吞麵 $17 or 雲吞撈麵 $22, so I asked.

The staff said 雲吞撈麵 is "乜都多D" so I ordered. When the dish arrived, I found only the noodle is just a bit larger and still only got three 雲吞 as normal 雲吞麵. I felt cheated that paid $5 more but gained nothing more.

Actually I already knew they are not so 忠實 because i tried 雲吞麵 $17 (got 3 雲吞), and 雙併麵 $22 (got 2 雲吞).

My comment - only 單併麵 is value for money. Besides, they don't have water, no diet drinks, all choices are sweet drinks.

My sis brought me to this famous "wonton shop" which takes only a min walk from her office.
When I arrived ( around 12 ), there was only one table being occupied and that was quite surprising. So we took our time.
We both ordered a Wonton and Minced Fish Ball noodles, mine was with rice noodles.
With their efficient service, it took not more than 5 mins then my bowl of noodles has arrived. What's so surprising is the minced fish ball size is incredibly huge.
Sis made me her favourite mixed dressing which is actually a mixing soy sauce, chili oil and vinegar.
Wonton are made with fresh shrimps and pork(definitely not fatty pork).
the fish ball are bouchy and huge.
yet both wonton and fish ball were not salty enough so I had to put on lots of dressing which I am not used to do so.

ok, let's cut to the chase!

all sunday price is like weekday afternoon special, $14 per bowl of wonton noodle soup (instead of $17).

3 gigantic wontons per bowl, each weighs about ONE TON! You can find at least 3 huge shrimps packed tightly to form a ball (triple 69!). no filler no nothing else! very tasty.

unless your mouth is big enough to swallow your own fist, please take at least 3 bites on each wonton. otherwise i doubt if the staff knows the heimlich maneuver to revive you! (you didn't see the warning sign about "not suitable for small children/mouth"?)

the noodle is fantastic, top of the class in al dente. all hands down.

you are not advised to consume the soup, unless you like the gulf of mexico oil slick happening now, or you like a double shot of seasoning.

now rewind back to the good old days, when a typical bowl of wonton noodle soup would have 4-5 thumb-sized wonton, each filled loosely with chopped shrimp and wrapped in a skin with a trailing skirt. hence the name "cloud-shaped dumpling that can be swallowed in one piece" (wonton = cloud swallow). the soup would be clear chicken stock, moderately flavored and seasoned. also there would be one or two small twigs of steamed green veggie plus chopped green onions. it used to be the staple food of most hong kong people for all times and seasons, very much like the american hamburger.

alas, i can only declare that the wonton noodle soup in tsim chai kee ("little james shop") is a mutated species, possibly originated from the aliens or after some heavy dose of uranium irradiation! i guess there is fine dining, and then there is gross feeding!