Minyoli: Taiwanese Noodles in Andersonville

Recently opened, MarlaCollins'Husband and I had a mid-week meal here the other day. I think we both came away impressed, minus one fried snack dish.

We each ordered a cocktail:

Judy AhYi's Secret
kavalan, oolong milk tea, taiwan black sugar tapioca pearls

I believe our server described this as a Taiwanese white russian. I found it tasty and fun.

Shallot Infused 10 yr Shaoxing
taiwanese basil, topo chico, lime

A savory cocktail. A bit funky, but enjoyable.

We ordered one of the two specials:
Wood Ear Mushroom Salad
Garnished with fragrant cilantro

the wood ear mushroom salad has always been a go-to for me at Szechuan spots like Peppercorns, Lao Sze Chuan and Chengdu Impression. This version didn't hit quite like those spots do, as this doesn't have the same umami punch. Still vinegary, but not a lot of soy.

We got a trio of fried snacks:

sweet corn

These were surprising. On first bite, we both remarked how we were tasting...what is this, cinnamon? I think it's cinnamon. We really liked these

Taiwanese fried chicken

and then, holy shit, this is doused in cinnamon! perhaps it was due to the small size of the chicken bites, but the cinnamon completley blew our tastebuds out. I always feel slightly guilty for leaving food on the plate, but we were making puckered faces after each nugget.

fishcake

same cinnamon seasoning, but this was much more subtle and back to being enjoyable.

And then we shared 2 bowls of noodles:

Niuroumian, beef noodle soup
Red-braised, soy seasoning
half beef & half tendon


Ganban Noodle Spicy Tallow
sichuan pepper, fried shallot, braised beef shank

Both of these were excellent. The Niuroumian was nice and hearty and would gladly stop in on a cold night for a bowl of that whereas the Ganban had a nice kick with a garlic slick coating the noodles.

The total for the 2 cocktails, special, 3 fried snacks and 2 bowls came out to $100. I'm happy to have them in the neighborhood and will make it back for the noodles.

Minyoli
5420 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640
https://www.minyolichicago.com/

The spice on the fried snacks—or, at least on the chicken—is sour plum powder.

chezbrad wrote:The spice on the fried snacks—or, at least on the chicken—is sour plum powder.

good to know, thanks chezbrad.

chezbrad wrote:The spice on the fried snacks—or, at least on the chicken—is sour plum powder.

I can see that but I'm curious if you know that for sure or are guessing because that's common? Either way, it didn't work for me as a chicken flavoring, at least in the quantity it was applied. I commented when eating (when I thought it was cinnamon) and still believe that if the seasoning was balanced like a Chinese five spice, the chicken would have been great. The nuggets were cooked perfectly.

incite wrote:will make it back for the noodles

100% agreed. I really enjoyed both. I liked the Niuroumian a bit more but the Ganban was also good and reminded me that I need to bring sesame noodles back into my cooking rotation.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:

chezbrad wrote:The spice on the fried snacks—or, at least on the chicken—is sour plum powder.

I can see that but I'm curious if you know that for sure or are guessing because that's common? Either way, it didn't work for me as a chicken flavoring, at least in the quantity it was applied. I commented when eating (when I thought it was cinnamon) and still believe that if the seasoning was balanced like a Chinese five spice, the chicken would have been great. The nuggets were cooked perfectly

It’s been multiple months since I was last there, but I recall the chef explaining the use of sour plum powder as his tribute to the night markets of Taipei.

Should note that we had another fried snack at the time—mushrooms, I think—and I recall it having a not-quite-the-same seasoning blend on it, so you may not be wrong here…

Two of us met up here and ordered more than we could handle. The upside is that we did get to try a lot of items.


Minyoli - 5420 N Clark St, Chicago


Cocktails
Front: Da Hong Pao Sichuan Peppercorn | gin, tonic, cucumber
Back: Taiwan Old Fashioned | kavalan, mandarin peel, five spice
Both drinks were solid. And don't be alarmed. That's not a bug in the front cocktail. It's a Sichuan peppercorn!

Ordered/shared 3 cold starters from the Luwei (braised & chilled) section of the menu . . .


Daikon
This was on the extreme end of daikon's bitterness range. I didn't love it.


Firm Tofu
Nice. No more than the sum of its parts.


Sliced Beef Shank
My favorite of the three cold starters. Tender and unctuous.

Next, 3 items from the Fried Snacks section of the menu . . .


Fishcake
What's not to love?


King Trumpet Mushroom
Subtle but really satisfying flavor and texture.


Taiwanese Fried Chicken
Kinda' fun. Flavorwise, these seemed nearly identical to the garlic-fried ribs I used to get at Sun Wah.

After that, a mid course . . .


Century Egg & Tofu Salad | shaved bonito flake
Again, no more than the sum of its parts. I wish the flavors of everything here had been more intense. It was okay.

And finally, some noodles. Tried two from the Ganban Noodles section of the menu. We were told that this style is more sauce than broth . . .


Chilled Sesame Sauce | garlic, toasted sesame, Taiwan aged black vinegar, cucumber, carrot, fried enoki
Loved these. Great flavor that struck a nice balance between savory and sweet . . . and perfect toothy texture, as all the noodles we ordered would have.


Spicy Tallow | sichuan pepper, fried shallot, braised beef shank
Rich and delicious. This was one of our favorites.

And one Niuroumian-style (beef noodle soup). . .


Red Braised | soy seasoning, beef shank, beef tendon
A-okay. If it wasn't already obvious, I'll readily admit that I'm not familiar with Taiwanese cuisine but I was hoping for/expecting more beefy intensity from the broth. It was fine but it didn't wow me.

Lastly, a scoop of house-made ice cream . . .


Pineapple - Coconut (vegan)
A tasty, refreshing finish.

Service was great* and the space is clean and comfortable. Prices were reasonable, too.

All in all, an enjoyable experience. I liked it but I didn't love it. Can't see rushing back but if someone asked me to go with them, I wouldn't refuse (but I might suggest a few alternatives before agreeing).

*There was another one of those Larry David moments where, with the restaurant completely empty, and me arriving at 5pm with a 5pm reservation, I was asked to wait on a bench rather than just be seated at a table. Even though this practice is irrational and highly annoying, I was nice about it and did not protest. 2 minutes later, my friend who'd been parking, walked in and we were seated. What difference that made, I'll never effing know.

=R=

I went last night and my thoughts echo some of the above. I liked the meal but I'm not sure I'm rushing back.

I quite liked the fried fish cakes and fried chicken bites, because of rather than in spite of the plum powder. Interestingly enough, I tasted it on the saltier end and my dining companion thought it was slightly sweeter and tasted cinnamon. In any case, I thought it was quite good.

The cold daikon starter was mild in comparison, with pronounced bitter notes. We also got the blanched seasonal greens which was a Taiwanese spinach. The plate it was served on was the same size as the other starters. For blanched greens, I thought this portion was pretty tiny for $5. My companion and I were guessing at how many of these servings they could get out of $5 worth of ingredients and we landed on something like 15-20. Overall, I thought the cost was fine for what we got overall, but this particular one felt like it was slight.

For noodles, we got the spicy tallow and a special that was of the soupier variety with prawns and a tea egg. I thought the sauce for the spicy tallow was quite flavorful. In comparison, the broth for the special was pretty mild. We were told the noodles themselves would be thicker in the soup dish, but they seemed exactly the same. I thought the texture on the noodles was quite good.

We left stuffed, but in total I think only a portion of the food really popped. I was glad to have tried it and could see myself returning if I'm in that neck of the woods.