Today, I revisited the Food Place food court, located at Pavilion Mall. The food court is located beside the Oriental Kopi Restaurant.
This time, I ordered Fresh rice noodles with pickled vegetables and pork intestines (dry) from the Xiao Chan Sha stall, which cost RM17.50 per bowl.
The dish features flat rice noodles, which are mixed with a spicy sauce that gives them a reddish-orange hue. The main topping is several thin slices of spicy beef. The beef slices are generously laid over the noodles and have a slightly glistening coating in a savoury sauce. The beef slices show a nice grain and some slight marbling.
The dish is served with a bowl of soup, garnished with chopped green onions. There is also a small side dish with various toppings, it contains peanuts, finely chopped garlic, broccoli and chilli.
Changsha cuisine is famous for its bold, spicy, and sour flavours. Rice noodles (mifen) are a staple street food and breakfast item in the region. The dish has evolved from a simple local breakfast to a widely recognised and celebrated part of Hunanese cuisine, with shops like "Xiao Chang Sha" bringing a taste of this regional speciality to other parts of the world, including Malaysia.
Overall, this dish represents the essence of Changsha street food: rustic, bold, and packed with layers of sour, spicy, and savoury flavours.
