Lunch #57: Canton Wonton House

We snuck out today with a reasonable sized group since we were headed for a tiny noodle shop called Canton Wonton House. We have found many great noodle shops in our tour so our hopes were high that we were about to find another.

Canton Wonton House, Seattle
Address: 608 S Weller St, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Hong Kong
Average rating: 3.3 chopsticks
Lunch date: 5/29/2008 @ 11:58:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 19 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 52 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice Orange Plastic
Do they use MSG?: A little bit.
Where is the owner/chef from?: Hong Kong
Number of tables: 11
Number of occupied tables: 7 (63%)
Number of business lunch tables: 1 (14%)
Number of "local" tables: 6 (85%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: #28 - Sui-Kau & BBQ Pork Noodle Soup - $6.55
Rating:

Adam's Review

I have to tell you... I've actually been pretty excited to come here. The lovely Loufel(sp?), who cuts my hair at the Rudy's Barbershop in Ballard, recommended this restaurant.

The dumplings were fresh and delicious. Sui-Kau have a little something extra over Wontons, and are always just a shade tastier. The BBQ Pork in the soup was actually pretty bland and there were precious few pieces. I shouldn't have expected the pork to be too great because this place didn't have its own meat in window.

If you're in the mood for some noodle soup in the ID, this place is a great choice.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: #10 - Sui-Kau & Beef Brisket Noodle Soup - $6.55
Rating:

Geary's Review

Canton Wonton House is similar in size to HHKC or Szechuan Noodle Bowl. They also all share the same interior design style of "less is more". Canton Wonton House is a perfect example of at least the "less" part. The menu options are limited to noodle soups and a short selection of congee. The noodle soup section sports various combinations of meat, won ton, and sui kau. I went with the Beef Brisket & Sui Kau Noodle Soup. The soups come in small and large options. I went with the large hoping that meant extra Sui Kau not just extra broth. We also threw in an order of Baby Bok Choy. The server was very friendly and helpful.

The soups came out quickly. Since everyone ordered large using the same logic, it was hard to tell if we in fact got more dumplings. It seemed like we did. The soup was packed with Sui Kau along with bok choy, noodles, and chunks of beef. The beef wasn't as tender as SNB, but it was just as good. The beef also imparted a rich beefy flavor to the broth. The Sui Kau were excellent and were chocked full of shrimp, mushrooms, and other Sui Kau goodness.

Friendly service + good soup = 4 chopsticks.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: #8 - Wonton & Sui-Kau Noodle Soup - $6.55
Rating:

Emmett's Review

If I were Nebraskan and just got off the plane from Omaha or something and stumbled into Canton Wonton House, I'd probably be telling my friends "OMG OMG you have to try this little wonton house in Seattle it's sooooo good, hee haw." But as we winnow our list of places, and I can, without pretense, say I've eaten wonton noodle soup at EVERY place in the ID, this place comes up a little short.

It's got the low-key curb appeal of a largely unknown place, the interior is sparse yet welcoming, and we were seated and served quickly. The waitress greeted us with a smile and waited patiently for us to make up our mind. We got some bok choy as a side dish, and I ordered the Wonton Sui Kau noodle soup.

The dish was served quickly, and was quite appetizing. The broth however, was a little bland, the noodles were nothing special, and the Sui-Kau and Wonton, though tasty, couldn't compare to the giant brainy-looking wontons at Mike's nearby. Ocean City II across the street had a slightly more flavorful broth as well. A little hot sauce zipped it up. The bok choy was a tasty side, and the meal came out to be very affordable.

Though tasty, I found the meal average compared to the other noodle places nearby.

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: #8 - Wonton & Sui-Kau Noodle Soup - $6.55
Rating:

Michael's Review

Is MSG good or bad? Is it just the ‘5th taste’? Or is it, as some articles on the internet it is the root of all dietary evil in the US. Obesity, diabetes, and the republican party are all a direct result of MSG in our food. Other articles, like that one in the NY TIMES, tell me that there is no clinical evidence that MSG is really all that bad. If it is evil and/or unhealthy can someone please provide links to a real, clinical, peer reviewed study proving that it is? And if its benign can we just get over it and move on?

I wish I knew, because then I could come to terms with the issue of asking our server if they use MSG in their food. Every time I hear the question asked I cringe. Little alarm bells go off in my head to warn me that this might be one of those ‘dumbass ugly american’ kind of moments. For example – talking slowly and loudly will never get you through a language barrier. It just make you sound like an idiot. And asking about MSG will only net you the same answer you get every single time: “oh, we use just a little bit.” And really, if the stuff isn't bad for you, then what’s the point of asking?

So that’s why I kicked Adam in the shins under the table. I'm sorry Adam. I'll make it up to you later with some spring rolls and beer.

Oh yeah, and the noodles here were really good. You should have lunch here.

Luncher: Joey

Lunch: #8 - Wonton & Sui-Kau Noodle Soup - $6.55
Rating:

Joey's Review

When I want wonton soup I usually go to one of three places. Mike’s Noodle House, Canton Noodle House (on 12th Ave), or Canton Wonton House… in that order. Mike’s makes the best wontons period, but not only are they often really busy but they have limited seating, so my backup is Canton Noodle House on 12th near Hau Hau Market. Their wonton used to be my favorite actually, but now I think it tastes pretty close to Canton Wonton House… so confusing I know, since their names are so similar.

A bowl of wonton noodles at Canton Wonton House isn’t spectacular or anything, but if you’re craving a bowl of soup and noodles then it’ll get the job done. I was impressed however with how hot their soup was, so they definitely get brownie points there. I give them a standard 3 rating. Not bad, but not awesome either.

Luncher: Jared

Lunch: #27 - Wonton & BBQ Pork Noodle Soup - $6.55
Rating:

Canton Wonton House Photos

Canton Wonton House


Menu


CWH Menu


#8 - Wonton & Sui-Kau Noodle Soup


#28 - Sui-Kau & BBQ Pork Noodle Soup


#10 - Sui-Kau & Beef Brisket Noodle Soup


#27 - Wonton & BBQ Pork Noodle Soup

Lunch #54: Purple Dot Cafe

The MSG150 crew had our last street crossing for the official MSG150 route today. We still have three sides of this final restaurant packed block to do, but the end is near. To mark the occasion we sacrificed Rob. It was sad to lose Rob, I hope his family will understand, but it's comforting to know that the various ID gods will shine upon us during the final days of our journey. Today's target is the Purple Dot Cafe. The one eyed baby dinosaur logo that greeted us as we entered did very little to explain the odd name.

More press today: Caroline Li, a writer for the Northwest Asian Weekly and Mastermind & Founder of Earthwalkers Magazine, joined us to expose the faces behind the elusive MSG150.

Purple Dot Cafe, Seattle
Address: 515 Maynard Ave S, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Dim Sum, Chinese: Hong Kong
Average rating: 3.6 chopsticks
Lunch date: 5/15/2008 @ 12:03:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 0 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 77 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice Plastic
Do they use MSG?: "A little bit"
Where is the owner/chef from?: Hong Kong
Number of tables: 22
Number of occupied tables: 8 (36%)
Number of business lunch tables: 3 (37%)
Number of "local" tables: 3 (37%)
Healthcode Score: 25
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Family Style Dishes

• 2 x Pan Fried Sesame Shrimp Dumplings
• Fried Shrimp Ball
• Shrimp Stuffed Eggplant
• BBQ Pork Pastry
• Green Pepper w/ Shrimp
• Ginger Pork Bun
• Pork Pastry
• Steamed Shrimp & Pea Vine Dumpling
• Steamed Shrimp & Scallop Dumpling
• 2 x Shu Mai
• Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf
• Egg Custard
• Rice Noodle w/ Beef

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Family Style - $10.00
Rating:

Emmett's Review

Purple Dot has a strange logo, an odd color scheme on the wall, and has an enormous menu. I guess the logo portrays a dragon coming out of an egg, and has some weird eye patch on it. Another fact: It's one of the few restaurants open past 2 AM in the ID, so on Saturday night's you can get your drink on and then eat Chinese until you explode. I've seen lines out the door to get in at 2 AM. For lunch, however, this place doesn't quite fill up.

On my previous lunch excursions, I've not been particularly impressed. However, Purple Dot delivered some good food. I'm wondering if our recent coverage in the news has let the cat out of the bag, and these places have anticipated our arrival. Not a big deal, if we get some delicious food out of the deal. This place pretty much mimics the other dim sum places in the ID, serving all the same dishes. Nothing particular stood out, but everything was fresh and tasty.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Family Style - $10.00
Rating:

Geary's Review

I have been to Purple Dot for Dim Sum before, but it has been over a year. Today was similar to my previous experiences although it was a bit more crowded than I remember. Today it was only about half capacity, but the carts seemed to be moving well and the food was still warm when served. We started out with a couple buns and dumplings while we tried to explain to Caroline why we were doing this. I suspect she figured out that we are nuts. The small Ginger Pork Buns were great. I usually avoid the buns because I'm not a big fan of the typical sweetened BBQ pork they usually contain. The shrimp ball and shrimp dumplings were typical. They could have been hotter though. The real standouts were the Steamed Shrimp & Pea Vine Dumplings and the Steamed Shrimp & Scallop Dumplings. The Shrimp & Pea Vine Dumplings were an amazing green color with pea vines baked into the dough as well as mixed into the shrimp stuffing. The Shrimp & Scallop Dumplings were the best I've had with flavorful scallops mixed throughout. We ended with a Beef Rice Noodle Roll. It was good, but not as flavorful as the Beef & Cilantro Roll at Jade Garden.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Family Style - $10.00
Rating:

Adam's Review

Dim Sum. OK. I think this is the last one. I'll be happy to not going to Dim Sum for a while. Dim Sum is like visiting your Aunt that lives in Kansas: she's fun to hang out with a couple times per year; not once-a-week.

This was standard Dim Sum. No shining stars here. The food was warm, not hot.

• The dumpling that was in a green-wrap was pretty interesting. It was tasty, and I hadn't seen one before.
• The rolled noodles were a late comer to our lunch. Geary saw another table get them and forced them upon us (a very Rob-esque move). Good call.
• Shu Mai, etc - all good and standard.

The decor of this place has been updated... its quite nice. This would probably be a good place to take a first-time-dim-sum-er to because its very clean looking.

Luncher: Joey

Lunch: Family Style - $10.00
Rating:

Joey's Review

I had no idea Purple Dot had dim sum. I wasn’t really expecting much to be honest. In fact I was tempted to get my own order and opt out of dim sum altogether, but I didn’t want to be a party pooper. When we got there it wasn't very busy, which for dim sum usually is a bad sign, because the food is more likely to be lukewarm since it’s sitting on the carts longer. I was pleasantly surprised by the courteous service we got from our waitress, which was in stark contrast from many of the harsh comments I read on yelp beforehand. Maybe they knew we were the "MSG150 guys" and they put on their best behavior.

The food came quickly and was hotter than I expected. It could have been hotter, but I wasn't complaining. My favorite dim sum were their scallop dumplings and the pea vine shrimp. They were decent sized, the seafood seemed fresh, and the temperature was satisfactory. Everything else was average, but overall it was a satisfying meal.

Luncher: Jared

Lunch: Family Style - $10.00
Rating:

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: Family Style - $10.00
Rating:

Michael's Review

I've always liked the Purple Dot. That cute little dragon busting out of his egg. The clean modern interior with happy bright colors. And tasty food. It's a fun place to go for lunch.

The food here is as tasty as any other dim sum in the neighborhood. I really enjoyed the scallops, the green dumplings, and those tasty rolled noodle things we got at the end.

It seems to me that much of the dim sum in the ID is similar - and good. So you have to pick your lunch spot on other criteria. In the future I'm going for this little fun dragon.

VIP Luncher: Caroline Li from Northwest Asian Weekly

Lunch: Family Style - $10.00
Rating:

Caroline Li's Review

Purple Dot is always a favorite of mine because you can always count on having your traditional dim sum items and try some new ones as well. The constant flow of dim sum carts keeps you engaged in your meal so you won't find yourself filling up on tea or playing with your chopsticks. Unlike some "next generation" dim sum spots, Purple Dot doesn't trying to do it all. You won't find portions of their dinner meal on the dim sum cart, just to keep the picky people happy. The restaurant serves enough variety of the real stuff that there's something for everyone.

Purple Dot Cafe Photos

Purple Dot Cafe


Purple Dot Cafe Logo


Shrimp on Green Pepper


Ginger Pork Buns


Pork Pastries


Shrimp Balls


Martian Green Shrimp & Pea Vine Greens Dumpling


Scallop & Shrimp Dumpling


Shu Mai


Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf


Egg Custards


Rice Noodle w/ Beef

Lunch #53: Honey Court Seafood Restaurant

Six of us showed up today for our next stop, Honey Court Seafood Restaurant. Honey Court is primarily Dim Sum for lunch and, lucky for us, six is the perfect number for Dim Sum since most items come in threes. For those keeping score at home, this is the 53rd MSG150 lunch and the 8th Dim Sum.

Honey Court Seafood Restaurant, Seattle
Address: 516 Maynard Ave S, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Dim Sum, Chinese: Hong Kong
Average rating: 3.7 chopsticks
Lunch date: 5/12/2008 @ 11:45:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 0 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 40 minutes
Chopstix quality: Cheap Plastic
Do they use MSG?: "Little Bit"
Where is the owner/chef from?: Hong Kong
Number of tables: 30
Number of occupied tables: 22 (73%)
Number of business lunch tables: 2 (9%)
Number of "local" tables: 20 (90%)
Healthcode Score: N/A
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Family Style Dishes

• Fried Shrimp & Green Onion Dumpling
• 1 Sweet & Sour Fish
• 2 x Shu Mai
• Shrimp on Green Pepper
• Tofu Wrapped Shrimp
• Scallop and Shrimp Dumpling
• Pan Fried Shrimp & Green Onion Patty
• Spareribs in Black Bean Sauce
• Rice Noodle with Beef
• Shrimp ball with Mushroom
• 2 x Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf
• Chinese Broccoli in Oyster Sauce
• Deep Fried Seaweed Shrimp Roll
• Rolled Rice Noodle with Soy Sauce

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Family Style - $10.00
Rating:

Adam's Review

One of the best nights of my life took me through Honey Court, so I'll always have a soft-spot for this Chinatown staple. This monument's reputation is: "Holy f*cking sh*t I'm drunk. Honey Court HO!" So, I wasn't sure what to expect 14 hours before "4th meal" rush.

The Dim Sum cart strolled up, and we loaded up on the Dim Sum standards, and the few variations that Honey Court had. The baseline of Dim Sum dishes seems to be roughly the same at all Dim Sum places... the only real variation is the temperature and the amount of grease contained in said dishes. Honey Court had warm Dim Sum with an extra hint of grease.

The dishes that we hadn't had at other places were good, but tasted right at home in a Pork/Shrimp-tastic Dim Sum rotation. But, in the sea of totally standard Dim Sum tastes the Sweet and Sour Fish was the only dish that really broke away from the school (oh snap! did you see me use that literary device? I likened Dim Sum to both a sea and a school of fish in a single sentence. Suck it Grisham!).

There are several better Dim Sum places in the International District... this is just standard ol' Dim Sum.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Family Style - $10.00
Rating:

Geary's Review

Honey Court was packed when we arrived. We were fortunate to get a table right away. We were the only non-Asian table in the place, a good sign. We were quickly besieged by forks and egg-rolls. Actually, the profiling wasn't as bad as other spots. The carts were plentiful and dishes were hot. We quickly filled up the table with the standards and a few originals.

The Shrimp and Green Onion Dumplings were extra greasy but were piping hot. The Seaweed Roll was new to us and a winner. The Sweet and Sour Fish was void of red syrup and was delicious. The combination of tang and slight sweetness was perfect. The Sticky Rice, a Dim Sum staple, was a standout: lots of flavor, with tasty Chinese sausage, pork, and other goodness mixed in.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Family Style - $10.00
Rating:

Emmett's Review

Seriously, after 53 of these damn restaurants they all seem to look the same. Walking in, this could just easily be China Gate, Sea Garden, Jade Garden, Ocean City. Though I've been to Honey Court before, I don't think I've ever had Dim Sum. I have heard good things. We'll see.

The cart unloaded on us fast and furious. Everything was incredibly hot and fresh. Lots of interesting choices too. The fried fish was sweet and tasty. Pork, Shu Mai, scallop buns were all solid. One of the dishes had cilantro, which lended the dim sum a nice flavor. I was definitely impressed with the quality and freshness of everything. I think this place competes well to Jade Garden.

Luncher: Erin

Lunch: Family Style - $10.00
Rating:

Erin's Review

Honey Court is one of those long-time ID standards for dim sum. I have been here many times as it is a Kohlenberg family favorite spot. The place seems cleaner and tidier than the last time we were in. I met the group after a quick walk down the hill just as they were sitting down.

We were served by the cart ladies very quickly. Most items were shrimp-based. I tried the sticky rice, which had lots of Chinese sausage and pork. It was served in smaller, more manageable individual packets. There was a sweet & sour fish, cooked perfectly and in a tangy, vinegar-based sauce. This was much different than the other items, and quite delicious. I also tried a shrimp & green onion cake, a stuffed bell pepper, and shumai. These were all quite standard, with not a lot of flavor, but very fresh from the kitchen. I also had a fried seaweed roll. This was a deep fried item, seaweed wrapped around some stuffing (with shrimp of course) and then battered and fried. It was a bit different and very tasty.

Overall, the food was fresh, although I thought there were not a lot of different flavors present in the selections. It was nice to see some different offerings that weren’t chicken feet, and when I tried the non-standard items they were worth the risk. The place seems clean and fresh. This is definitely worth a return trip with the extended Kohlenberg clan.

Where’s the fortune cookie?

Luncher: Wayne

Lunch: Family Style - $10.00
Rating:

Wayne's Review

This was a middle-of-the-road dim sum experience. I’ve had better and I’ve had worse. It wouldn’t be my first choice for going out for dim sum, but I wouldn’t mind coming back here either. Fav’s today were Chinese broccoli, Shu Mai dumplings and sticky rice.

Luncher: Jared

Lunch: Family Style - $10.00
Rating:

Honey Court Seafood Restaurant Photos

Honey Court Seafood Restaurant


Fried Shrimp and Scallion Dumpling


Sweet & Sour Fish, Pan Fried Shrimp Pattie


Shu Mai, Shrimp on Green Pepper, Tofu wrapped Shrimp


Spareribs w/ Black Bean Sauce


Shrimp & Mushrooms, Rice Noodle w/ Beef, Scallop w/ Shrimp


Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf


Chinese Broccoli


Fried Seaweed Roll


Rice Noodle Rolls w/ Soy Sauce

Lunch #47: Ho Ho Seafood Restaurant

The MSG150 crew headed out a bit later than usual, around 12:40, to find the next spot. Just down the street from Bush Garden is the Ho Ho Seafood Restaurant. Like many of the spots on this last stretch, Ho Ho is a place where none of us had ever been. Also, unlike you might expect, Ho Ho is neither Christmas nor chocolate cupcake themed.

Ho Ho Seafood Restaurant, Seattle
Address: 651 S Weller St, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Hong Kong
Average rating: 3.6 chopsticks
Lunch date: 4/16/2008 @ 12:47:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 1 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 10 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 47 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice Plastic
Do they use MSG?: Yes
Where is the owner/chef from?: Hong Kong
Number of tables: 18
Number of occupied tables: 7 (38%)
Number of business lunch tables: 4 (57%)
Number of "local" tables: 2 (28%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Family Style Dishes

• 4 x Hot & Sour Soup
• 8 x Egg Rolls
• Grandmom's Tofu
• Beef with Double Mushroom
• Pepper Salted Prawns in Shell
• General Tso's Chicken
• Shrimp Fried Rice

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Pearl Lunch (family style) - $6.95
Fortune: Someone will lose your fortune on the way back to the office.
Rating:

Geary's Review

Wow! The first thing you notice when entering Ho Ho is the modern interior. So many places in the ID are either outdated or over themed (or both). Ho Ho has attractive modern furniture and decor. Its large windows and stylish light fixtures provide ample lighting. It's how you would expect a modern restaurant in Hong Kong might look.

The lunch menu has the typical American Chinese lunch offerings but in addition to the standard per person lunches, they had a couple of family style lunches with 2, 3 or 4 entrees depending on the number of lunchers. Al went with the General Tso's Sticky Goo lunch special, while the rest of us went with the Pearl Lunch for four. With the Pearl Lunch, we got Pepper Salted Prawns in Shell, Grandmom's Tofu, Beef with Double Mushroom, General Tso's Chicken, Shrimp Fried Rice, Egg Rolls, and soup.

The H&SS was good with just the right amount of tang and spice and not overly thick. The Egg Rolls were a surprise. I usually avoid these overly greasy "delicacies", but the Ho Ho Egg Rolls are a petite, cocktail-frank-sized variation on the usually kielbasa-sized rolls. They were hot, crisp and delicious. The Prawns were large, finger-sized prawns deep fried with shell, heads and all and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and jalapenos. They were delicious. No need to peel, just eat from the tail and stop at the head. The shell is fried crisp enough that it is not chewy at all and adds a pleasant crunch. The Shrimp Fried Rice was light and fluffy and not at all greasy. The beef and tofu were good, but nothing outstanding. I tasted General Tso's Abomination and was again amazed that anyone would choose to put this concoction into their body given other reasonably edible options.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Pearl Lunch (family style) - $6.95
Fortune: You will lose your fortune on the way back to the office.
Rating:

Adam's Review

Seriously? This place is called Ho Ho? There has to be some meaning behind the word... because I know Hostess isn't going to let them sell delicious goo-filled baked goods. Luckily they sell Chinese food in a building with plenty of windows and natural light in a recently-remodeled eating-room.

After a quick rundown of the menu, we noticed a reasonably priced family-style lunch. We'd get the basics, plus 3 entrees for a normal lunch price... sounds good to me. All of the food was good, and there was plenty of it. The General Tso's was unique -- it was much redder than I'm used to seeing. Other than that, nothing stood out. All of the food was on the tastier side of 3-chopsticks, but nothing pushed it over to a 4.

It looks like they have some other decently priced lunch options... some of their soups looked like they would be pretty good. This is definitely a solid standard Chinese lunch place. Good prices. Good food. Well lit.

"Ho Ho" means "Good Good."

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Pearl Lunch (family style) - $6.95
Fortune: Someone will lose your fortune on the way back to the office.
Rating:

Emmett's Review

Ho Ho - another nondescript storefront in this ocean of Chinese Food - surprised in many ways. The first thing you notice is it's very clean, and very well lit - with big floor-to-ceiling windows. The decor is modern and classy looking. The menu is detailed, and has a large selection. They're playing whiny Chinese pop songs.

We got the Pearl Lunch Special, and shared four dishes amongst the four of us. I got to try a little bit of everything. The egg rolls were tasty, fresh fried, and hot. The tofu had a nice pepper flavor. The shrimp came whole, complete with heads and legs, deep-fried. We had to eat through the skins, but they were scrumptious. The mushrooms and beef were average, and the General Tso's was surprisingly tasty.

For the price, this place delivered a lot of tasty food, with good selection. I look forward to exploring the rest of the menu. I'd come back.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: General Tso's Chicken Lunch Special - $4.75
Fortune: Someone will lose your fortune on the way back to the office.
Rating:

Al's Review

This General Tso could win Iraq on a budget.

Luncher: Jon

Lunch: Pearl Lunch (family style) - $6.95
Fortune: Someone will lose your fortune on the way back to the office.
Rating:

Ho Ho Seafood Restaurant Photos

Ho Ho Seafood Restaurant


Ho Ho's Entrance


Ho Ho's Lunch Menu


H&SS


Egg Rolls (-2)


Grandmom's Tofu


Beef with Double Mushroom


Pepper Salted Prawns in Shell


General Tso's Lunch Special


General Tso's Assault on American Tastes


Shrimp Fried Rice

Lunch #22: Mike's Noodle House

After Monday's failed attempt at Mike's Noodle House, the MSG150 team set out early to make sure we could get in this time. It was still a close call. There were eight of us and we had to split into two tables. The first group was seated right away, but the rest of us had to wait for a table to open up. It is obviously popular and the staff was very efficient with their small space.

After lunch, as we headed back to work, we passed by Unicorn Crepes and were happy to see that they had a crowd of people enjoying their delicious crepes. MSG150 is rooting for the Unicorn.

Mike's Noodle House, Seattle
Address: 418 Maynard Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Hong Kong, Chinese: Congee
Average rating: 3.8 chopsticks
Lunch date: 1/23/2008 @ 11:40:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 7 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 16 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 50 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice Plastic
Do they use MSG?: No, and there is a message on the cover of the menu that states this fact.
Where is the owner/chef from?: Hong Kong
Number of tables: 12
Number of occupied tables: 12 (100%)
Number of business lunch tables: 2 (16%)
Number of "local" tables: 10 (83%)
Healthcode Score: 5
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Sui-Kau & Brisket Noodle Soup - $5.35
Rating:

Geary's Review

Mike's is a small space but still seems to move people through quickly. Neither of the two servers were very friendly, but what they lack in warmth, they made up for in efficiency. The two of them handled twelve tables and dealt with the steady flow of people waiting. Also of note, one of them had palm trees (or flowers maybe) painted on her fingernails.

I have been to Mike's before, a couple of years ago, and ordered the Black Chicken Congee. I was with Frank, a Chinese speaker, and he had me convinced that Black Chicken is crow. As it turns out, black chicken is a small chicken with black skin, black bones, black meat, and apparently five toes. The down-side of the black chicken, especially in congee, is that since it is small and prepared in the typical Asian fashion of being hacked into small chunks, bones and all, and is therefore fairly labor intensive to eat. It was, however, tasty. I have always wanted to come back and try Mike's again.

The neon signs in the window call out "Congee" and "Noodles". I had the congee last time, so I ordered the Sui-Kau & Brisket Noodle Soup. We also ordered Baby Bok Choy and Chinese Dough Nuts as starters. The Bok Choy was fairly standard, steamed and drzzled with oyster sauce. The Chinese Dough Nuts were new to us. They are long deep fried tubes of very slightly sweetened dough chopped into bite sized pieces. They are not very interesting by themselves, but it appeared that most people were dipping them in or adding them to their congee like you might do with crackers in clam chowder. My noodle soup was good. The sui-kau, dumplings with shrimp, pork, mushroom, and other veggies, were the gem. The beef was good too, but the broth and noodles were not nearly as good as the Gourmet Noodle Bowl or Szechuan Noodle Bowl.

I'll come back again for sure, but will stick with the congee. There are much better spots for Beef Noodle Soup.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Black Chicken Congee - $4.95
Rating:

Adam's Review

• Adam: What is Congree?
• Geary: Its like rice pourage with meat
• Adam: Definitely never had that. We'll see

we tried to sneak out of the office so we'd only have a small group going to Mike's small dining room. When we arrived at Mike's we had managed to only accumulate 8 people. Flipping through the menu, I determined I definitely wanted to try congee... and I wanted something "classically congee." I figured "Black Chicken" would be some cajun-esque blackened chicken. Holy crap... the chicken in my congee was black as Steven Hawking's blackhole. Ok, so if you don't know what black chicken is, it is actually a type of chicken called a Silkie. The Silkie's skin and bones are actually black.

The meal was totally new to me. It was good, but nothing special. I'll go back to try this place again.

Good food. Pretty good prices. Very popular.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Wonton & Sui-Kau Noodle Soup - $4.95
Rating:

Emmett's Review

This tiny restaurant was crowded, usually a very good sign. The staff was quick, friendly, and polite, and the interior was very clean and well decorated. I ordered the Sui-Kau and Wonton Noodle Soup.

They certainly didn't skimp on the wontons and sui-kau. THe soup was literally loaded with them. I counted 5-6 in a pretty small bowl of soup. And they were huge! They tasted home made and were delicious. The wontons were stuffed with shrimp and shiitake? mushrooms, while the sui-kau had pork and shrimp in them. The broth was flavorful and tasty. The noodles themselves were average - typical skinny ramen noodles. I prefer the thicker noodles of Szechuan Noodle Bowl and Gourmet Noodle Bowl.

All in all this place was tasty and pleasant. I'll definitely be back.

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: Rock Cod Noodle with Vegetable - $6.15
Rating:

Michael's Review

Everything was tasty and fresh. Cooked just right. This place is worthy of many return trips. Seems to be a popular lunch spot. Expect a crowded house and little elbow room.

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: Rock Cod Congee - $4.75
Rating:

Rob's Review

I'd been to Mike's Noodle House once before a year or two ago and had chosen poorly -- I got some sparse non-soup noodle dish instead of the congee. The MSG150 mob arrived earlier this time, in two groups of four. The first group sat down about the same time as my group showed up, and we had to wait no more than ten minutes for one of the four seat tables to "open up" -- if there are larger groups waiting (and there usually are) groups or two or one sitting at a four-seater get asked (politely but efficiently) to move to two seat tables when those open up. Gotta keep that soup flowing. Anyway, I flipped through the extensive menu until I reach the congee page. Decisions, decisions: rock cod, taro and water cress, or sweet corn and white fungus? I flipped a mental coin and it came up rock cod. This was my first time having congee, actually, and I must say it was glorious. It was thick and piping hot, with enough subtle flavor to forgo adding anything other than pieces of Chinese donut (highly recommended - the tubular bits of thin, fried dough with the congee were awesome), and the generous amount of cod was tender and flaky. On a freezing cold winter day, this was absolutely perfect. Can't wait to go back.

Luncher: Torrey

Lunch: Beef Brisket Noodle Soup - $4.95
Rating:

Torrey's Review

I ordered the beef brisket so that I could have a direct comparison to the Gourmet Noodle Bowl. The beef was seasoned nicely, but was not better than Gourmet. Secondly, the noodles were not homemade and not as tasty Gourmet. The lunch atmosphere was definitely happening in this small dining room and I would definitely go back.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: Minced Beef Congee - $4.35
Rating:

Al's Review

I love beefy cream of wheat rice!

Luncher: Wayne

Lunch: Special Fish Ball Noodle Soup - $4.35
Rating:

Mike's Noodle House Photos

Mike's Noodle House


Noodle Masters


Fancy Menu Cover (notice no MSG logo)


Black Chicken Congee


Minced Beef Congee


Rock Cod Congee


Dough nuts & Bok Choy


Rock Cod Noodle with Vegetable


Sui-Kau & Brisket Noodle Soup


Special Fish Ball Noodle Soup


Wonton & Sui-Kau Noodle Soup


Brisket Noodle Soup


Wonton Pozin'


Noodle Slurpin'