Noodles

[GeneChing]

Son of Wing Lok Noodle Factory founder hopes to revamp Hong Kong business and revive sunset industry
Decades-old brand supplies restaurants across city, but is converting from wholesale to retail and attracting young blood to keep dying tradition afloat
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 15 September, 2018, 11:30am
UPDATED : Saturday, 15 September, 2018, 12:46pm
Michelle Wong



Angus Chan, 30, used to hate the noodle factory his father founded 42 years ago, now located in an industrial area in Kowloon Bay. “I never got to see my father. The noodles took him away from me,” he says.

He recalls his father, Chan Keung, spending all his time at work building his small business from scratch. The senior Chan dedicated his life to perfecting the art of making Chinese noodles, a traditional dish adored by many but made by few.

“I used to see my father working 365 days a year without rest,” he says. “It’s hot here with water splashing everywhere, and you need to move heavy things around all the time. It’s very tiring.”



That was why, as a child growing up, he longed for something beyond his father’s dull factory walls, which would lead him into a jet-setting career in aviation logistics.

But two years ago, after his fathers’ knees degenerated and he lost the ability to walk, Chan found himself at a crossroads – his father’s condition meant he was unable to lead the business in a sunset industry. And a labour shortage now looms, with few young people interested in learning the art of noodle making.

Chinese noodles are supplied dried, and cooked in different soup bases. They are usually eaten with shrimp roe, and in the 1960s were a staple for poorer people who could not regularly afford meat. The noodles were also baked and steamed for a longer shelf life back then, when fridges were not common.

Chan decided to give up his aviation career to take the reins from his father.

“If I didn’t come back, the noodle factory would have to close down. I can’t afford to see the tradition die,” he says. “Our generation needs to expand the effort and glory built by the last generation.”

Since taking the helm, Chan has had one mission in mind: to modernise the products of Wing Lok Noodle Factory and introduce them to younger consumers.

First, he changed the packaging of his products from a shoddy plastic bag to a decent ziplock bag. Then he turned to internet marketing to champion his brand, setting up a platform for online purchases and home delivery.

I came to bring change ... If I listen to my father all the time, I will not be able to make a difference ANGUS CHAN, WING LOK NOODLE FACTORY

He also designed a more attractive logo for the factory. Chan’s new company symbol fuses elements of traditional Hong Kong signboard print with an image of the iconic Lion Rock, to pay tribute to the hard work of his father’s generation and a can-do attitude many in Hong Kong still preach – the so-called Lion Rock spirit.

It was not easy to convince his conservative father to embrace his new initiatives, Chan says, and the pair often clashed. But in the end, the senior Chan gave in.

“We old people have the old people’s way – saving money on everything,” the senior Chan, 65, says, recalling he could not accept the new packaging until a year after it was launched.

Angus Chan explains his idea to shift the business model from wholesale to retail: “In the past, we only sold our products directly to other restaurants by word of mouth. A lot of the noodles you eat [in the city] are actually made by us, but no one knows this.”

The company supplies more than 80 restaurants in the city, including chains and hotels.

Since an upgrade, the company’s website has brought new businesses to the factory, according to Chan, with young entrepreneurs knocking on its doors in search of raw materials or health-conscious customers seeking natural Chinese noodles instead of the MSG-rich instant noodles.


Angus Chan is revamping his family’s noodle business. Photo: Edward Wong

Another segment of clients comprises overseas Chinese craving a taste of home, he says. Such consumers are willing to pay more for noodles shipped to Australia, Canada and the United States.

One of the biggest challenges for the industry remains an ageing work force, with many suppliers retiring or having died of old age, and existing staff aged 50 to 70. There is a pressing need for Chan’s business to find young blood.

While searching for new manufacturing supplies, Chan says he has to bear in mind how to retain the original taste and quality of his family’s noodles, which is their selling point.

He says he was lucky to have hired some young people who left the aviation industry with him.

“I came to bring change,” he says. “If I listen to my father all the time, I will not be able to make a difference.

“My father is a quiet man. I consider his silence as compliments.”

My father was a nuclear engineer for GE so I can't really identify with the notion of a 'family' business personally. However, Tiger Claw is a family business; I'm just not part of that bloodline.

[GeneChing]

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO CHINESE NOODLE STYLES
By SOLEIL HO
Published On 09/19/2018


YPHOTOLAND/SHUTTERSTOCK

Noodles, with the exception of zoodles (please go away), are the arguably the perfect food. This brilliant food genus, which includes everything from rigatoni to udon, banh pho to spaetzle, seems to have endless permutations to slurp, swirl, and stir-fry. Few countries know the joy of noodles better than China, where the foodstuff spread, evolved, and became an integral part of its culinary history for over 4,000 years.

China isn’t a monolith and neither are its noodles. In southern China, rice rules the roost. There, rice flour-based recipes generate bouncy and gummy products that soak up sauce like a sponge. (Through centuries of migration, colonization, and trade, the techniques and dishes developed in that part of China seeped into Southeast Asia, giving birth to regional faves like pho, khao soi, and pad see ew.) Head ****her inland in China and wheat reigns supreme. It manifests as a vibrantly diverse array of regional breads, pancakes, and, most importantly, wheat and starch noodles.

To sort it all out for you, here’s a breakdown of some of the most iconic types of Chinese noodles -- many of which are served at beloved restaurants around the country -- and our favorite ways to eat them.




MR.PATCHARAPHON/SHUTTERSTOCK

Mai fun
Also known as “rice vermicelli,” these round and thin noodles are on the drier and chewier side, with their heartier shape making them perfect for stir-fries and salads. In the United States, you’ll often find mai fun in a dish called Singapore noodles, wherein they’re stir-fried with egg, shrimp, vegetables, and curry powder. You’ll also find these in a lot of Vietnamese cuisine, especially in fresh bun salads and a delicious soup called bun bo Hue.


FASIHAH YUSOF/SHUTTERSTOCK

Shanghainese nian gao
Some might argue that these aren’t noodles. To them, I’d say: Who hurt you? Detractors aside, these rice cakes are made from dense rolls of pounded glutinous rice that are steamed, then sliced on a bias into thin pieces. If you’re familiar with Japanese mochi, you can probably imagine how nian gao works. Served as a sweet dish in other parts of the country, the Shanghainese variation is distinctively savory. In stir-fried chao nian gao, the soft and chewy texture makes the perfect foil to crunchy vegetables. At the grocery store, you’ll probably find the Korean variation, called tteok -- those are fine for both Korean and Chinese recipes.


MATEONE/SHUTTERSTOCK
Ho fun
These noodles, made wide and tapered to maximize their compatibility with sauces and gravies, are slippery and slurpable. Thus, they’re widely popular in many Asian cuisines, popping up in Thailand as pad kee mao and in Vietnam as pho. Cantonese restaurants often feature it in chow fun, a stir-fried dish with soy sauce, beef, and bean sprouts. To effectively stir-fry these sticky noodles and keep them from massing into a gummy clump requires a well-oiled wok and quite a bit of deftness -- so maybe leave it to the experts.


PAUL_BRIGHTON/SHUTTERSTOCK

Cheung fun
If you spend your weekends creepin’ on your local dim sum parlor, you know these well. Cheung fun are pillow-soft and jelly-like noodles that are made into sheets and often wrapped around a savory filling of shrimp, meat, or fried dough. Eating the dim sum version is, incidentally, a lot like the feeling of having a perfectly warm towel laid on your face. In Hong Kong, the noodles are served at street stalls in little rolls and topped with hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and sesame seeds. Their classic, jiggly texture comes from a mixture of rice flour and tapioca or glutinous rice flour, and the name translates literally to “intestine noodle” because of its aesthetic similarity to pig intestine. You can steam these at home or buy premade fresh noodles at some Asian grocers.

continued next post

[GeneChing]

YAO MEIN | PIYUSH GADKARI

Yao mein
When these thin egg-and-wheat noodles are fresh, they’re fantastic, with a distinct springiness and heft that make them the perfect foil to wontons. Some old-school wonton noodle shops in Hong Kong make a variation on these noodles, called “jook-sing noodles,” by having a cook knead the dough by hopping on a giant bamboo stalk. It’s hard to explain, but it’s cool to watch. Many Asian grocers offers these noodles fresh or frozen, though you can use the dried noodles in a pinch. Just make sure that whatever you buy actually contains egg -- some manufacturers fudge it a bit and include dye to give the noodles that yolky yellow shade. These can be served in hot soup with wontons or stir-fried in sauce. The par-boiled version of these are what people typically use for chow mein: They can be thrown right into the wok from their package.


MARTIN RETTENBERGER/SHUTTERSTOCK
Lo mein

When I was a kid, these were the noodles that would shut me up. I’d focus all of my energy on slurping every strand, enjoying every drop of the sauce that clung to them. These chewy noodles typically have the same ingredients as yao mein; in the diaspora, their main distinguishing point is that they’re heftier. Lo mein is in it for the long haul and plays well with rich sauces, heavy meats, and long stints at the buffet table, a fact that has placed it securely within the Chinese takeout Greatest Hits Collection.


MAMSIZZ/SHUTTERSTOCK

Yi mein
Yi mein are, like instant ramen, cooked and then deep-fried into a cake by their manufacturers. They’re expensive because of their high-quality ingredients and laborious cooking process, so they’re often brought out for celebrations. You’ll often find these in a hefty, stir-fried pile at Chinese banquet halls. When braised in sauce, these noodles take on a wonderfully spongy texture, though it can be easy to overcook them until they get soggy. If you’re making them at home, be sure to undercook them by a few minutes when you initially boil them before braising: 3-4 minutes will be just fine.




JEAN WANG/FLICKR

Dao xiao mian
If you search for these noodles, aka “knife-cut noodles,” on YouTube, prepare yourself to be amazed. The making of these noodles is a technical marvel, with cooks using razor-like implements to rapidly shave noodles off of a piece of dough, shooting them straight into a pot of boiling water to cook. Each batch requires expert timing: The cook has to cut the noodles quick enough that the first ones don’t overcook. These imperfectly shaped strands are chewy, with a slurpability that makes them great with soups or braised meat. You’d also do well to pair these with Uyghur dishes like a hearty lamb-and-vegetable stir-fry.



GARY STEVENS/FLICKR

La mian
The world loves these noodles, though many of us know them primarily through their pre-cooked and deep-fried variation: instant ramen. To make these noodles the traditional way, a dough made from high-gluten flour is twisted and stretched by hand, with some cooks making a show of banging the strands on their work tables to shake off the excess flour. Through their movements, la mian makers exercise control over the thickness of their noodles. Oftentimes, restaurants will offer a choice between la mian and dao xiao mian for your soups. In Central Asia, these noodles are known as “laghman.” One of the most well-known iterations is lanzhou la mian, a beef soup garnished with fresh aromatics.


HELLORF ZCOOL/SHUTTERSTOCK

Liangpi
Newcomers might read the Anglicization of liangpi, “cold skin noodles,” on a menu and imagine receiving a plateful of julienned boiled pig skin, but these are actually made from wheat starch. The name was undoubtedly inspired by the noodles’ wiggly texture. Through a somewhat arduous process, the starch is isolated from a flour-based dough, steamed, then cut. It’s a lot of work, but the noodles’ unique and elastic texture is so worth it, especially when served the traditional Shaanxi way with black vinegar, chili oil, garlic, and sliced cucumber.

This is helpful for the uninitiated.