it would be OK to say wuhan regional cooking sucks, though; its appeal escapes me entirely.
less tongue in cheek: without clarifying the criterion for greatness, i’d hesitate to identify one regional cuisine as being superior to another in any way. i’d be interested to have you clarify your criterion.
Since @beefnoguy was asking, we decided to squeeze in a return trip to Noodle Boy to try out this Hong Kong style Zha Jiang Mian, which is different from the usual Noodles with Soybean Paste versions from Taiwan and Northern China.
Zha Jiang Mian (Shredded Pork with Special Sauce) - HK Style:
@beefnoguy you’ll have to guide us through the authenticity of this, please. 
It had a very sweet and slightly tangy flavor, with a little bit of heat. We brought along a friend from Taipei and she asked the waitress who confirmed that this version had Ketchup(!) 
but with some “additional sauces.”
It definitely has a bit of that Hong Kong Egg & Tomato Over Rice, with a touch of “Sweet & Sour” vibe to it. The Marinated Pork Strips tasted fresh and meaty, and generally it was this sweet-tart-tangy flavor with Egg Noodles.
I’m not sure if we liked it or not. It wasn’t bad, but it was totally different from what we’d expect to eat with Egg Noodles (we’re so used to Wonton Noodles, or those Egg Noodles deep fried in an HK Chow Mein, both very savory).
They also gave us a bowl of the Wonton Soup with this order:
@beefnoguy are we supposed to drink this on the side? Is it to be enjoyed like a Wonton Lo Mein?
We couldn’t leave without trying their most famous dish of course:
Wonton Noodle Soup:
This was light, not overly salty, a nice savory broth with meaty, massive Shrimp bursts of flavor from their Housemade Shrimp Wontons. 
Delicious!
And I remembered to try @Sgee’s recommended method! 
A dollop of their Chili Sauce with a few drops of their Red Vinegar. This was so good! Thanks @Sgee. 
It lent a tart, spicy kick to the lightly briny, meaty, savory Housemade Wontons, and the Egg Noodles.
I can’t imagine measuring exactly 2 - 3 drops of Red Vinegar every time, but the flavors were great and our friend from Taipei was laughing at how serious I was in trying @Sgee’s method (being super careful). 
Overall, Noodle Boy still delivered some wonderful Wonton Noodle Soup with great Housemade Shrimp Wontons. The new Hong Kong-style Zha Jiang Mian was fun to try once. I think if we grew up this, we might have more of an affinity for it, but maybe it’ll improve over time if we try it some more.
Noodle Boy
8518 E Valley Blvd, Suite #B108
Rosemead, CA 91770
Tel: (626) 280-8963
@Chowseeker1999 glad you enjoyed it!!
Noodle Boy has got to be one of the best restaurant names going.
Well done, you are now the honorary LA FTC Hong Konger in your Canto noodle and roasties pursuits!! Thanks for reporting back too! Much appreciated.
What you described in the “ja jeung lo meen” profile is correct in terms of the three essential flavors: sweetness, savory, and some heat. There is really no set or exacting ratios, much like macaroni cheese and is subject to different interpretations as I had described earlier in this thread. The end result is subject to interpretation based on personal preferences, and whether you feel the balance came naturally or forced. Some like it more sour, some want a touch more heat. Some ketchup is fine but if the profile was more ketchup and just a little spicy/chili sauce then maybe it was more two dimensional. The look at feel are there though, and I always appreciate the addition of shitake and using julienne pork over minced ground pork. Then you decide whether you want to nitpick based on the stir frying technique (and whether the flavors are properly sealed in), the way the meat is cut and the texture of the chew etc and how it interacts with the noodles (and the texture of the noodles).
Or if you want to use a distant parallel example to compare how multi dimensional something could be, it can be sweet and sour pork. One could toss ketchup in cornstarch, deep fry the pork, and call it a day, but if you want it more complex and layered (and using examples of some super old school top places do it in Hong Kong): sugar, ketchup, hawthorne berries, hawthorn dry flakes and/or sticks, pickled ginger or pineapples (some places try to do some fusion and use strawberries instead of pineapples), a little sour plum (the equivalent of ume or Japanese apricot), and rice vinegar just for the base of the sauce alone, then the rest is the frying techniques employed to bring everything else together. In the end it’s the finer details and the sum of its parts.
Hi @beefnoguy,
Thank you. 
That clarifies things, and it’s good to know. It was definitely something pretty nicely executed (i.e., it didn’t taste like they just threw some pork and ketchup in and called it a day). 
I’ll have to let you give it a try to see how it compares to your favorites in Hong Kong.
Have you tried Sham Tseng in monterey park?
I remember them also having decent roasted meats but they also specialize in Chiu Chow braised goose and have roasted goose on special order.
Hi @JLee,
Thanks for the recommendation! Roasted Goose sounds wonderful.
Goose! GOOSE!
Great googleymoogley! I need this.
did ruby BBQ today with four friends. i would provide pics. but they’d be superfluous in a post by chowseeker.
the siu yuk (pork belly) was on every table, and was the first item completely devoured on our table.
the pork chop in spicy salt came with mainly sliced chilis, and nary a hint of green onion & garlic. still not bad, but i prefer the more thinly sliced and crispier version offered at jasmine house in alhambra.
i went with the other steamed minced pork dish without salted egg and was surprised to discover that it was made with pickled vegetable. it was interesting, but not something i’d order again. i remain partial to the rendition offered by embassy kitchen.
most of us found the roast duck to be… roast duck. good flavor, but not particularly meaty, skin was ok. let’s put it this way: we had leftovers that i plan on adding to a pot of juk with some preserved egg so as to get the best enjoyment out of it; with me and my dining companions, if we think it’s really good, we tend to polish it off and leave the equivalent of scorched earth on the table.
ironically, the biggest pork lover in today’s group of five ordered the chicken in orange sauce. it came with dried chilis in the sauce. while the portion size wasn’t that large to begin with, no one really complained when the person who ordered it ate most of it and put the remaining sauce on his rice.
Thanks for the report back @secretasianman. Glad you all enjoyed the Roast Pork Belly. Yah for HK style Roast Duck, Ruby BBQ had only slight (very slight) crispness in our 3 visits. But outside of them, sadly, every other place we tried was worse (flabbier, soft skin, typical duck flavor). So I guess it’s the best of what we got locally.
For the Steamed Pork dish, give their Salted Duck Egg version a try next time, or maybe try the one at Sea Harbour (although that one is fancier, but still delicious).
Minor correction: siu yuk (燒肉), doesn’t mean belly, it just means bbq pork, which may or may not include the belly. Siu lam/nam (燒腩) means pork belly. It guarantees that you get the belly portion, and also opens the possibility of them (any Cantonese bbq shop) charging you $1 more than an equivalent portion of siu yuk.
For this type of food, Sam’s bbq (not sam woo) across the street from ruby bbq is not bad, but since they don’t roast as much pork, they sometimes run out of the belly portion by lunch time.
Apologies in advance for this off-topic/locale post. Anyone heard of or tried this roastie in Toronto?
Ho ho bbq 3833 Midland Ave., Scarborough, Ontario (416-321-9818)
“…Si-fu hauled out 80 sizzling pounds of hot pig swinging from a hook. He twirled it around like a dance partner, eyeing its skin carefully for bubbles threatening to form. I looked hard. I couldn’t see what he was searching for, but I knew they had to be found: If they appear early in the roasting, they will puff, burst, and burn. He tapped the skin with carpenter’s nails, piercing it just enough to release pressure but not enough to let the juices escape. He threw arcs of salt as if casting rice at newlyweds and sent the pig back into the oven.”
Though Siu Yuk is referenced as Roast Pork, while Char Siu ( 叉燒(肉)) as BBQ Pork.
FYI: Just heard from a friend of ours in the SGV that Noodle Boy closed! 
With the chilly weather we were thinking of driving out for some Wonton Noodle Soup. Darn.
Damn that sucks RIP Noodle Boy!
It was a great spot.
NOOO! It was the most authentic HK style wonton noodles I’ve had in the states!
Ruby Bbq was freaking amazing. Crazy thin yet crisp skin, not too salty, slightly sweet rub on the belly meat.
10/10
Hi @Ns1,
So glad you liked Ruby BBQ! I need to go back soon.
