Cart noodle () is a noodle dish which became popular in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

and

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in the 1950s through independent street vendors operating on roadsides and in public housing estates in low-income districts, using carts.Cart noodles
/ref> Many street vendors have vanished but the name and style of noodle endures as a

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History

With many immigrants arriving from

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during the 1950s, hawkers would sell food out of a cart roaming the streets. Some vendors specialising in cooked noodles would sell them with an assortment of toppings and styles. Historically, the cart frames were assembled out of wood with metallic basins. It allowed the heat inside to cook the ingredients. In the old days, it was possible to receive large quantities for a cheap price. The noodles were considered "cheap and nasty". Cost was generally low to appeal to the average citizens. It was known for its poor hygiene. As such, they were also commonly referred to as "filthy noodle" (嗱喳麵). Since hygiene standards rose, many street vendors (licensed or otherwise) have vanished.

Legacy

The name and style of the noodle endures, and remain widely available in low- to mid-end

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. The price may vary depending on the combination of ingredients, or type of establishments. On the contrary, because the noodle is now defined by its

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style, it can sometimes be found in higher-end establishments. It may offer costlier types of ingredients at a higher price.

Typical combinations

Cart noodles is typically based upon the diner choosing various ingredients they would like, including the type of noodles, various soup broths, and toppings. Examples of types of noodles and toppings, which may vary considerably from stall to stall:

Toppings

* Pig skin (豬皮) * Curdled pig's blood (豬紅) * Pig intestine (豬大腸) * Pig oviduct (生腸) * Red Chinese sausage (紅腸) * Pork sausage * Chicken wing (雞翼) *

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(餐肉) * Omasum (牛百葉) *

Beef ball Beef ball () is a commonly cooked food in Cantonese and overseas Chinese communities which was originated by Teochew people. As the name suggests, the ball is made of beef that has been finely pulverized, other ground meat such as pork may be th ...

(牛丸) * Beef

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* Pork ball (豬肉丸) * Fried fishball (炸魚蛋) *

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ball (墨魚丸) * Fishcake *

Crab stick Crab sticks, krab sticks, imitation crab (meat), or seafood sticks (originally known as ''kanikama'' in Japan) are a type of seafood made of starch and finely pulverized white fish (''surimi'') that has been shaped and cured to resemble the leg ...

(蟹柳) *

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* Fried

tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super f ...

Wonton A wonton () is a type of Chinese dumpling commonly found across regional styles of Chinese cuisine. It is also spelled wantan or wuntun in transliteration from Cantonese () and wenden from Shanghainese (). There are many different styles o ...

(雲吞) * Siu mai (燒賣) * Green vegetables (蔬菜) * Chinese radish (蘿蔔) * Spinach * Rehydrated shiitake mushroom (冬菇) * Winter mushrooms

Noodles

Soup

The soup is usually flavoured with

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. Some vendors allow customers to choose other flavours.

References

{{Street food Fast food Hong Kong noodle dishes