Do you guys remember those Macca’s ads that went “how very un-McDonald’s?”
The tagline was for a campaign called Create Your Taste where you had the chance to customise everything about your burger. The bun, the patty, what sauces, how many slices of cheese, the absolute lack of vegetables in the burger; everything about it was completely up to you hence the name: Create Your Taste.
So, what if I told you that concept is back but with noodles and a soup so divine that it prompted me to return to the blog?
It’s back.
Yang Guo Fu Ma La Tang in Burwood is only ever quiet when it’s closed. Once it’s open it’s as lively as Ryan Reynolds’ wife and as popular as well…Ryan Reynolds’ wife.
The concept is a very simple one, you pick up a bowl, tongs and then grab whatever tickles your fancy.
Teeming with green choices such as bok choy, cabbage, spinach; you can ensure your fiber intake is as delicious as humanly possible. I usually throw a few courtesy leaves in there so that I can feel like I have the semblance of a balanced diet.
If you prefer your vegetables in mushroom form, please proceed to the next section.
Oh and noodles too!Now here’s where the party gets started, every type of noodle you can imagine (as well as some noodles that only someone with an insane imagination could come up with) as well as an assortment of mushrooms are all in the mix. Oh did you say you wanted some bean curd? They’ve got that in droves as well.
But wait…there’s more:
Beef balls. Fish balls. Seafood & cheese balls. Basketballs.
…I only made one of those up.
It’s like the owners robbed the frozen section of a Chinese grocery store and put everything on display. I tend to throw in a few beef balls into the mix and then a couple of things I’ve never seen before just to keep things interesting. There’s also thinly sliced beef, lamb and pork if you’re not into mystery meat.
Once you’re done, your wares are weighed up and you’re charged based on that (it’s $24 per kilogram). My bowl usually comes out at about $10-$11 based on how much mystery meat I’ve thrown in.
Your carefully chosen ingredients are then boiled up in the most hearty, delicious and nourishing broth known to man.
When your number is called, the staff asks if you’d like “the lot” when it comes to condiments. The condiments consist of garlic, pepper oil, sugar, chilli sauce and sesame paste.
Here’s a public service announcement, the chilli sauce is absolutely LETHAL. I asked for a small amount on my very first trip and I looked like every teenage girl after their first viewing of The Notebook. Tears were everywhere, my nose was dripping like a faucet and my heart was doing cartwheels in my chest.
Outside of the lethal chilli sauce, the whole concoction just works. It’s poetry in motion and the soup is the base of all of that. It turns disparate ingredients into a symphony of flavour. There’s a sense of joy that comes from having a bowl of ma la tang as you feel a sense of ownership.
You were on that journey of slapping things into a bowl and then suddenly you’re presented with all of the ingredients working together to take you to Flavourtown.
***
Here’s the TL;DR for everyone thinking I was going to sneak in a “send noods” joke.
- After you become a veteran of the ma la tang process, you’ll know exactly which noodle to opt for when you’re thinking about weights, which protein to get, which vegetables to avoid. It all becomes a weird Chinese version of the Price is Right.
- Send me these noods every day of the week (and there it is).
***
Yang Guo Fu Ma La Tang, Burwood
Murray Place Arcade, 127-123 Burwood Road
Opening Hours:
Open 7 Days: 11am – 9:30pm