Note: The full menu is on ChowBus: https://pos.chowbus.com/online-ordering/store/Silk-noodle-bar/23565
This is a relative newcomer that's been open for around 5 months or so in the old location of Noodle Village. Compared to all of the standard Cantonese siu mei spots/noodle spots, they specialize in a very different dish, Luosifen/螺螄粉. Coming from Liuzhou, Guangxi, the name directly translates to snail rice noodles, and as the name suggests, the broth is made from river snails along with pork, pickled bamboo shoots, and other ingredients. For this reason, the dish has a particular funk to it from the bamboo shoots, so the whole restaurant has an interesting aroma that might be off-putting to some, but my white/gweilo ass didn't mind, as I like funky/fermented things. Outside of the interesting dish, the service was pretty standard for spots around here, though I do wish they told people that there was a pickle bar to add to your bowl. I got a cold unsweetened soy milk for $2.95, which was presumably poured from one of the containers, and it was refreshing.
The menu consisted of original-style luosifen, a dry version, a dry-fried version, combos, appetizers, and fried rice. After I ordered, I noticed that many people were having the Golden Fried Egg Luosifen or sharing it with others and having combos, which seemed like great deals. I went with the S1/Original Luosifen/原味螺蛳粉, which costs $12.49 as a base price. The dish is described on the menu as a rice noodle soup with pickled bamboo shoots, wood ear mushroom, peanuts, water spinach, fried bean curd, and a soft-boiled egg. I added Roast Pork/Char Siu for an extra $3.50, so it was $15.99. The waitress asked for the spice level, and I said spicy, which they confirmed.
As expected for the dish, the broth primarily had funky, sour, and earthy flavors. The dish had a moderate amount of heat, and I eventually added some chili oil on the side, which was earthy and had a good kick. I primarily liked the mix of textures from crunchy to soft to chewy, and the plentiful noodles on the bottom had a nice chew. My favorite toppings were the fried bean curd and the egg. The roasted pork was alright, but I would prefer to add beef or more eggs next time.
This is a tasty little specialty spot on an otherwise pretty generic food block. I would recommend it if you're looking for something new and don't mind a bit of funk. read more