Joyee Cooks: Tomato Scrambled Egg with Oil Splashed Noodle

Here's an easy meal for y'all. You can double the ingredients for the tomato scrambled eggs, make it into a separate dish and serve it with rice. That's what I did the night before and the leftovers were used to make this oil-splashed noodle.

You also don't have to splash your noodles with hot oil if you are more health-conscious. I sometimes opt out of that and it still tastes good! The only difference is, it won’t match the name of the dish :)

Tomato Scrambled Egg with Oil Splashed Noodle (番茄雞蛋油潑麵):

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• Noodles - 2 packs

Tomato Scrambled Eggs:

• 2 tomatoes - cut into four *

• 2 eggs (lightly beaten)

• 1 tsp salt

• 4 slices of ginger

• 1 tbs tomato paste

• 1 tbs sugar

• 1/2 cup water

• Thickener: 2 tsp cornstarch + 3 tbs water

* I used about 2 cups of cherry tomatoes (halved)

Sauce #1:

• 2 Tbs minced garlic

• 2 Tbs chili powder

• 2 Tbs chopped scallions

• 2 tbs sesame seeds

• 6 Tbs oil (optional)

Sauce #2

• 4 Tbs soy sauce

• 4 Tbs vinegar (soul ingredient!)

• 1 tsp of salt

• 1 tsp of sugar

Procedure:

1. Under medium heat, heat wok or frying pan with 1 tbs of oil. Add egg mixtures and salt. When eggs thicken and edges turn slightly golden, scramble eggs with spatula. Remove scrambled eggs when eggs turn into soft curds or cook until set with no visible liquid (eggs should not be dry). Set aside. (May serve with rice at this point)

2. In the same pan, warm 2 tsp oil under medium-high heat. Add ginger, lightly fry until golden brown. Add sliced tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, sugar, and water. Reduce to medium-low heat. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add thickener and scrambled eggs, set aside.

3. Cook noodles as instructed. Run noodles under cold water then drain. Set aside.

4. In a bowl, mix all ingredients, except for oil, from Sauce #1.

5. Optional: Heat oil in pan and pour hot oil into Sauce #1.

6. Add Sauce #2 ingredients.

7. Divide the noodles and tomato scrambled eggs evenly in two bowls. Pour sauce mixture in bowls, top it off with sesame seeds and chopped scallions.

8. Serve.

Tip: The noodles will continue to cook so remove noodles from heat when it's 85% done. Rinsing noodles under cold water will slow down the cooking process because we want chewy noodles not soft noodles.

604: JooJak Restaurant (Vancouver)

I decided to make a stop here to try out their Chinese Hamburgers (Rou Jia Mo) as per recommendations from Xiao Hong Shu (XHS). Apparently, they have authentic Chinese Hamburgers, and one blogger suggested adding extra green pepper for $0.50. Someone also recommended their Biang Biang Mian and their saliva chicken.

Out of curiosity, I researched the Chinese characters of this dish. I've never seen this Chinese character before and it's interesting to discover that this word does not exist. That explains why I can't type this with my Mandarin Pinyin Keyboard!

According to BBC, the "biang" character is onomatopoeic, meant to mimic the sound of dough hitting a counter. It is also more complex to write than any character in the Chinese language, with a whopping 58 strokes (though, depending on whom you ask, this number may vary slightly). Given how much thought must go into writing it, I was surprised to discover that the character doesn't actually exist – at least, not according to official dictionaries.

Anyway, back to the food. The Chinese Hamburgers were as good as the ones I had from Old Xian and Xian Cuisine in Richmond, but I wouldn't say you'd have to travel all the way to Vancouver for this. For only $5.75, they have loaded the buns with meat filling. Since the lamb filling already comes with green pepper, I did not add extra green for this. Between the two, I think I prefer the pork belly just a bit more. The pork belly filling is fattier so it's a lot juicier and it just glides down your throat.

I also prefer it when the chef is heavier handed with the cumin spice on the lamb, but that's just me. I love that stuff. That being said, I think this is perfect for most Canadians here or those who can't handle the heat. Both burgers are perfectly marinated. The only drawback is that the bun is a bit harder than what I'm used to. It reminds me of a drier pita bread. I think I'd prefer a mantou bun texture instead, but perhaps this is how it should be? I need to go to ShanXi one day to try some of these Chinese hamburgers!

The worker there was also super sweet! Since I ordered two burgers and a bowl of noodles, she placed the burgers inside a take out paper bag. She assumed that I wouldn't be able to finish everything and she was right. It was way too much for one person, but I did intend to bring the leftovers home.

The highlight of this meal was actually the Biang Biang Mian. It was wide and thick, chewy and smooth, and of course, HAND PULLED! I especially loved their sauce as it's a vinegar base mixed with some chilli powder and then seared with hot oil. When chilli oil and or chilli flakes are added to vinegar, something magical happens. It's like a God given recipe. It's just so good. The citrus flavour from the vinegar opens up your appetite, which helped me finish the whole bowl of noodles plus a burger. (I think I could finish the other burger too but I managed to have some self-control...)

I also noticed that the bowl of noodles wasn't too greasy either and it doesn't have any msg. It tasted homemade. I told the worker (and quite possibly the owner) that I really enjoyed her noodles, and especially with the vinegar-based sauce. I also told her that I'm pleased that the noodles weren't very greasy either. She said that even though they do add quite a bit of oil to the noodles, they don't add sugar or MSG to their food. From her stories, I gathered that she's a health-conscious lady. So I doubt a lot of oil was added to it, or at least, it's significantly less oily than most YouPo (Literal meaning: oil splashed or seared) Noodles I've had in other restaurants.

Overall, I think their noodles are great and I would make a trip to come back for it again. Their noodles are better than Old Xian from Richmond, where overall food quality has gone down the drain.

Their saliva chicken was also recommended by the worker and I've also seen many people ordering this dish from XHS, so I think I would come back for their noodles and try out the chicken next time.

📍 Location: Here

💵 Price: $5 - $5.95 (hamburger)|| $7.5 - $10.95 🍜

🤤Taste: 4.2 / 5 (hamburger) || 4.7 / 5 🍜

🕯Atmosphere: 2.5 / 5

🪑Seating: 2.5 / 5

📈 Price Performance ratio: 4.9 / 5

Retention Rate: 100% for the 🍜

ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕤:

• Burger was loaded with fillings

• Burger was seasoned perfectly

• Burger: used pork belly for the pork filling - super freaking juicy and delicious

• Burger: lamb filling is mildly spicy. Perfect for those who can't take the heat.

• 🍜 their noodles are phenomenal - chewy, smooth, thick and wide!

• 🍜 not oily = not greasy!

• 🍜 First time having a heavy vinegar-based oil seared noodle. I loved it!

• No msg added

• Excellent customer service!!!

ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕤:

• TBH, I'm not sure how the hamburger bread should be like. The bun resembles a slightly harder pita bread. Is this how it should be. Think I prefer a mantou bread texture instead.

𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:

• Recommended by XHS for their authentic Chinese Burger (Rou Jia Mo) and their noodles. Oh, and their saliva chicken, which I need to come back to try!

• The quality of their Chinese burger is similar to the ones from Old Xi'an and Xi An Cuisine

• The worker was super sweet.

• 🍜 Would come back again for their noodles! It's better than Old Xian's Biang Biang Noodle, as their quality has declined this year.

604: JoDeen (Burnaby)

Yayyyy, I came here on a Friday late afternoon and beat the hyped-up frenzies. There are a few street parking across the street, but I can imagine it being difficult to find parking spots on the weekend. When I walked into the store, I was surprised to see how spacious this cafe was. I was also surprised by the number of workers behind the open kitchen making their wheel cakes. There were at least 4 of them in the store and I was the only customer.

I ordered 3 wheel cakes with custard, taro, and red bean filling, and they were made to order. I think I waited about ten minutes in total, which isn't bad, but judging by how concise and careful they are with each wheel cake (see video below - I purposely didn't speed up the video so you can see their pace), it made me wondered how they would be able to manage any mass orders. I'm pretty sure they will be swamped on the weekend and a few upset customers would walk away.

The staff there are all Taiwanese and they are so friendly, as they normally are! They are also very thoughtful - they stamp the requested flavor onto the back of the packages so you know which is which.

As soon as I got out of the store, I took a bite into it (gotta try it fresh haha) and the texture of the wheel cake completely threw me off. It reminded me of a fortune cookie with lots of filling. Each flavor has its subtle distinct flavor with a mild sweetness to it. It's not too sweet, which is perfect for my Asian homies, but for those of you who enjoy brownies, red velvet cupcakes with extra cream cheese icing, and cinnamon buns with ice cream and more ice cream, this isn't for you. It's also slightly gritty with bits of microscopic oatmeals from the pastry.

From admiring the tasteful design of the cafe layout to observing the workers putting the wheel cakes together gingerly, then placing the items into a well thought out package, to savoring their wheel cakes, I can tell that quality is highly emphasized. They've put a lot of thought into their branding. I just don't know how they can deliver their products in a timely manner.

Indeed, my friend who stopped by their store the next day complained that she had to wait 2 hours for her wheel cake. Yikes...

I know everyone is or will be comparing this with the wheel cakes from Peanuts in the Richmond Public Market, especially with the price point. It's $3.25 to $3.75 per wheel cake at JoDeen, and it's under a dollar at Peanuts. A lot of them complain that it's expensive at JoDeen's, but considering that they have a massive store with a desirable contemporary ambiance, higher grade ingredients used, and overall more expensive overhead cost than Peanuts, I think they're reasonably priced. (I also believe that Peanuts is underpriced but I would not tell them that.)

Now is it 3 times tastier than Peanuts? The custard filling is four times tastier than Peanuts but all other fillings are just marginally tastier than Peanuts. As for the exterior, I much prefer Peanuts' chewy and glutinous texture. I also like that Peanuts have more options but JoDeen is currently in the soft opening phase. So maybe they will have more options in the future?

P.S - Sorry I didn't order the savory ones. It's not my thing. Neither are pearls with custards... but again it's a matter of personal preference.

📍Location: Here

💵 Price: $3.25 - $3.75 per wheel cake

🤤Taste: 4 / 5

🕯Atmosphere: 4.8 / 5

🪑Seating: 3.5 / 5

📈 Price Performance ratio: 5 / 5

Retention Rate: May be if I'm in the area...

ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕤:

- Spacious cafe

- contemporary design

- friendly staff

- thoughtful packages

- all flavors have their own distinct flavor

- high quality ingredients used

- Can taste the oatmeal in the pastry shell

- very crispy exterior

- generous filling

ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕤:

- slow

- no chew to the pastry shell

- parking may be an issue on the weekend

𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:

- Reasonably priced considering that they have higher overhead costs than peanuts

- Prefers peanuts' chewy texture

- prefers the custard filling from JoDeen's