Yat Tung Chow Noodle Factory

Sometime around the 1980’s to the present, whenever my family needed Chinese noodles or won ton pi (wrappers) we headed over to Yat Tung Chow Noodle Factory. I remember my father telling me that its owner was a school teacher from Canton, China and worked or learned his craft at another local noodle shop, Gum Chew Lau. When Gum Chew Lau closed its doors, Yat Tung Chow established himself as a noodle producers supplying products to different ethnic groups. He involved his family into the business making it one of the top, if not the best, local Chinese noodle producers. *
This shop is located on North King Street in Chinatown. It’s not a tourist attraction by any stretch of one’s imagination. Its entrance is recessed from the street so if you’re walking by, you might miss it. In recent times, we’ve not seen billows of flour coming from its ventilation system and the Hong Kong-​made machinery is not «high-​tech» at all.
They make 11 varieties of Chinese noodles and wrappers. Some of the noodles contain eggs, some without, some thin, thick, round it flat. The 11 varieties of wrappers include mun doo, won ton, Siu mai, potstickers and Gau gee. They are shaped round or square with varying gauges of thinness or thickness depending on its desired use.
Our favorite fresh noodles are the Golden Thread Egg noodles and E-​mein (e-​fu or yi mein) and Hong Kong-​style won ton pi aka wrappers. Everything is sold by the pound and prices vary for each item. We don’t have egg allergies so these products don’t have any untoward effects on us. The flavors «come alive» with the sauce (s), broths or preparation styles as with pasta. The shapes, gauge and ingredients are not as intricate as Italian pastas but each ethnic group works with what they know.
*Thanks to fellow Unilocaler, Fran C., who informed me that the Yat Tung Chow family no longer owns this business. The new owners retained his name out of respect and recognition to the Chinese community.

Thank you Unilocal for leading me here. As a noodle junkie, nothing makes me happier than fresh noodles. I’ve only tried the udon noodles so far, and they’re freaking awesome. They seem to take a little bit longer to cook (odd), but I love that they stay chewy even when you boil the crap out of them. They don’t get mushy like the supermarket stuff. $ 1.65 per pound, with 5 balls to a pound. I could probably eat 2 balls per meal myself. I also bought the dumpling skins (about 45 rounds per pound, also for $ 1.65 each), but have yet to try them.
The service here sucks, but I kind of expect that from Chinese establishments. First time I went, the lady wasn’t too friendly and just seemed pissed off. Second time, there was nobody to help us for a couple minutes, even though we were pretty obvious when we entered the establishment. She also charged me $ 5 for 3 lbs of udon ($ 1.65×3 = $ 4.95). It’s just the principle… Nonetheless, these minor quirks won’t stop me from coming. I’ll suck it up just to be able to stuff my face everyday with udon.

Thank you Yat Tung for my CHEAP, DELICIOUS, PERFECT mandoo pi wrappers that make the most amazing homemade dumplings! I got about 50 mandoo pi wrappers for approx $ 1.50!
This is the definition of «hole in the wall», but if you’re in Chinatown anyway, it’s definitely worth checking out. They also sell all types of noodles, wrappers, etc. etc. Just let them know what you’re trying to make and they’ll know exactly what you need!
Don’t get suckered into the sealed, packaged, more expensive, and sometimes dry mandoo pi wrappers that you’ll find in local grocery stores. I definitely can tell a huge difference when I use Yat Tung wrappers vs. pre-​packaged grocery store ones. Yat Tung is worth the trip to Chinatown!