Steven and his love of noodle soups

One of the reasons I appreciate Steven is his delight in the simple pleasures of life, be it a simple bowl of seafood noodle soup in Taipei or 5 bowls of spam/egg noodles, or his most favorite noodle soup HK cart noodle soups (車仔麵). His ever sentimental view on things never fails to amaze me.  Is he for real?

今天 21:35 旺角勝利道的「味芳」車仔麵店，多年前看著他開業，那時我經常光顧，久了，也和老闆相熟了.....有一段日子沒去光顧，如今他們也已搬遷到勝利道中段較大的店，今天再臨，老闆聽到我聲音，親自前來招呼，我們閒聊了一會兒，很開心......我看著這碗車仔麵，心裡很欣慰。欣慰者、不只是食物之美味，更是一個人、一個默默耕耘、敬業樂業的小故事！祝生意興隆，食客滿滿！

**********************************************************

weibo 11/11

11/11/2011  09:09 Suddenly want to eat "cart noodles" (車仔麵)* ... yao noodles, two slices of pig skin, fishballs, Chinese radishes, chicken wing tips, in curry soup. And a glass of cold soya milk drink... but hengdian does not have it... T_T

Steven's reply to fans saying that Steven is feeling homesick. 
馬浚偉: Yes, suddenly miss home......


That's what I like about Steven, who is unafraid to say what's in his heart. Other men may think they are too macho to admit their homesickness, or that they are a homebody.

eta: Haha, Steven's longing for HK local food set off response from numerous Vcelebrities on weibo.

cart noodles - wikipedia

more ~~~ weibo in Chinese below

weibo 2011 July 4 luncheon meat egg noodles

7/4 15:24 The day before went to a beach side diner for lunch.  The lady owner warmly and smilingly asked: What do you want to eat? I asked: What's there to eat? She said: Noodles ya! Teammate asked what kind of noodles, she said: instant noodles! Then what kind of side dishes? She said: Luncheon meat and eggs etc. Another teammate asked: Any others besides those? She said: Yes, there are eggs, luncheon meat etc!  We instantly cracked with laughter!  The outcome is that the playful lady owner made us five bowls of playful luncheon egg noodles.  Thank you!

TN:Steven has such a positive attitude.  Other people would have found the situation of having no-choice order in a diner annoying, never mind finding humor in it.  When young, I loved eating luncheon meat and spam, but now aware of their nutritional (or lack of nutritional and fat ) value, I seldom eat them anymore. 

---original entry--

Mixed Seafood Noodle Soup

什錦海鮮麵

2009-07-25 17:03

Just came back from Taiwan.
Stayed there for 3 days 2 nights – not on business, just visiting family and relatives. I’ve been to Taiwan many times so I've a fondness for her. I am also very familiar with Taipei since I actually lived here before.

If looking for a place to eat in Taiwan, friends will sure to think of the night market first. Yes, it’s irrefutable that Taiwan’s night markets are bustling; they have all kinds of food: fried clams, pig’s blood cakes, buns, fried chicken etc; all kinds of varieties.  Honestly, friends who suffer from a 'choice' disorder should avoid the night markets in Taiwan.

In Taipei itself, the most popular night market is 士林夜市 followed by 通化街夜市. I recall when I lived in Taiwan for half year, almost every night I would eat in these two night markets. When time permit, friends would drive me to 陽明山 for chicken soup and to soak in the hot springs. Or else, we would go to 貓空山to drink tea or to eat  苦瓜鳳梨雞.  If the weather was cold it gave off a different kind of atmosphere.  Maybe the extraordinary becomes ordinary, but lately during my recent trips to Taiwan, I have lost much desire to visit the night markets. Conversely, I preferred to wander the maze of big and small streets for unknown eateries.

This time, on 忠孝東路四段, the street behind that huge 復興 supermarket building, I found an unremarkable little diner. This diner looked dingy from outside! The lights were dim, the cooking utensils looked old and worn-out.  The menu was casually written with markers on the walls. Also the diner was without customers. As I was debating whether to enter or look for another diner for food, out came a woman of fiftyish beckoning to me: “Come, what do you want to eat?”

She had a warm smile, and a very “mama” kind of tone – that was the first impression this woman gave me. “Well, may I please have a bowl of assorted seafood noodle soup and a pig’s liver soup?” I said. When that woman heard, she laughed and said: “Both are soup, too much. How about either a pig’s liver noodle or a seafood noodle?  It’s better lah!”

One bowl is a soup, another bowl is noodle, should be different.  Just as I was pondering on it, the woman told me: “Our soup base is the same, but per your order, will put in different ingredients, and do not use pig’s liver or seafood to make the soup.”

Good, very honest.  I like! And so I ordered the Assorted Seafood Noodle. Only cost 75NT which is equivalent to HK$18. But the ingredients were not simple!  There were shrimps, cuttlefish, fishballs,  clams, crab meat and Japanese style fish slices and veggie etc.  Also, the soup base was very clear, not salty or greasy.  The noodle strands were made of white rice; it was very delicious and was plentiful; at its price, absolutely worth it!

Before I left, I thanked the woman.  Smiling broadly, she asked me if it was good? I said it was very good.  She said in a pleased tone: “Then come again when you can.”  I also smiled and said: “Sure!”

When dining, beside the good taste of the food, one also ‘eats’ its atmosphere and feel.  In this unremarkable shop, both were good.


source: steven ma yahoo blog 
Translator: tamaya 

--- original entry---