On The Noodle Trail

For a few years now I've been on a hunt for the perfect Chinese Noodle, inspired by a dish of knife cut cumin noodles that captivated my friend Shari while dining in Vancouver. I search the blogs and read the reviews and when possible we dash out to try a new find to see if it measures up.

Tonight we popped in to Kam Hong Garden, one of LA Weekly's 10 best places for Chinese Noodles. The tiny fluorescent space specializes in the famous noodles of Shanxi province -- hand pulled, knife shaved and hand kneaded. We tried all three -- or attempted to, along with a few other menu offerings.

These crisp bottomed bao -- I'm still not sure what they were called on the menu (we pointed to another table) had fluffy steamed bread wrapped around a savory pork filling. The pan fried base added a welcome toasty flavor to a familiar favorite.

 Gingery steamed "buns" we tasty and juicy but about the same as in most SGV (San Gabriel Valley -- the epicenter of LA's Chinese food) area restaurants.

These sesame noodles -- though the sauce was a bit heavy -- were springy and chewy and admirable examples of the Q (the Chinese version of al dente) sought for in Norther Chinese noodle specialties. I got so excited when our noodles started coming I missed a photo of the best dish of the night. Combination knife cut noodles -- an unremarkable name for a delicious, chewy, toothsome dish. The best dish in the restaurant and the one I'd go back for. The quest goes on.