On this night I was in between drinking occasions and was in need of some food. Therefore we decided to walk into Fat Mao for a quick meal. It has been a while since my guest and I visited for their Thai-inspired noodles, and I forgot how satisfying they were.
Hungry, I started with appetizers. The Roti with Curry looked especially comforting and came to the table quick. This was Southeast Asian style flatbread with curry sauce, served on the side for dipping into. The menu noted that this can be made vegetarian, but as is the curry contains shellfish. This was exactly as I had hoped. Equal parts crispy and chewy, slightly flakey sheets of ashy dough. All the folds allowed for plenty of the more liquid-y curry to be taken in and absorbed between layers. The curry itself was slightly sweet and mostly on the savoury side, it was good with a heaty hot spice.
I also couldn’t pass up on the Century Egg with House Tofu, it is not often that you see century egg on a menu, let alone one prepared like this. The was made ahead of time and came in a disposable aluminum take out tin. The tofu served as a base and ate like a cross between custard and steamed egg. It was given plenty of flavour topped with fried shallots, bonito fish flakes, green onion, cilantro, and black garlic sauce. The century egg aligned well with all the other punchy ingredients, but surprisingly, the bonito flakes were actually the dominate flavour.
As for our mains we went with their feature: the Crab Curry with rice vermicelli. It was advertised on its own laminated menu insert page. This is an iconic Southern Thai dish made with tender rice vermicelli noodles, house-made aromatic fish curry sauce, crunchy vegetables, real crab meat, fish balls, hard-boiled egg, long beans, cabbage, basil, pickled mustard greens, cilantro, and red chilli. There was so much going on, and plenty of tastes and textures to sort though as a result. I found no two bites the same, but overall the bowl was spicy and hot with a dull burn, finished with a coconut milky after taste.
I went with their Spicy Boat Noodles as my usual go-to for the use of pork blood in the broth, and the rarity of that. This was a hot and sour beef broth made with more umami with the richness of pork blood. Topped with sliced beef shin, meatballs, Thai basil, and fried pork crackling. Garnished with beansprouts, green onion, cilantro, and pak chi. It is recommended with thin rice vermicelli noodles, but I was in the mood for and got their thick and wide, starchy noodles instead. I thought they were a great base and terrific at soaking up the flavour of the broth. They were even better as leftovers, when even more noodles was soaked on soup. I liked the crisp of the pork cracking and how fatty the slices of beef were. Overall, this had a unique herbal flavour and left a bold presence in my mouth. Delicious.
In short, I was completely and utterly satisfied, and this entire meal was a fine reminder that I need to visit them again and more often, because I do love their food.
Fat Mao Noodles (Thai Soup Noodles)-Chinatown
217 E Georgia St, Vancouver, BC V6A 0E5
(604) 569-8192
fatmaonoodles.com
