When I travel, I like exploring the little eateries that are hidden from plain sight. Those that are tucked away in back lanes with only local language signages are the kind I search for because their target audience is the workers in the area. Which means food is usually cheap, and authentic. Fortunately, my small group of acquaintances who were on a hunt for dinner last night, agreed to follow my suggestion.
The carb-loading that took place (see above photo) happened at such a type of joint. It was a random pick from a row of small similar-looking eateries, and managed by a young man who took our orders while his mum did the cooking in the kitchen situated above a steep flight of stairs. The dishes tasted homecooked - exactly as I'd hoped, and more importantly, were tasty.
What eventually found their way to our table were a bowl of hot & sour soup, one serving of pork and cabbage dumplings (yes, that plate heaving with them counted as a single portion!) and stirfried noodles. I had done the ordering by pointing to the photos on the walls flanking us.
The soup was the starchy sort and had lots of firm tofu which I like. Its high slurp-worthy factor was due to strong seasoning and plenty of coriander. As they came stuffed with a juicy filling, the dumplings were very well received by all of us too. My favourite dish though was the noodles. It didn't look all that great when it arrived but I enjoyed the al dente-ness of the noodles and the tangy-sweet gravy it was stirfried in.
I'm sure MSG made an appearance in the food but it didn't bother me too much on the whole as I felt only a bit thirsty later.