SCMP: South china morning post

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真正嘅香港街頭美食：車仔麵點樣生存到21世紀. 香港街頭美食經典，車仔麵，喺城市街頭已經搵唔到好多謝，香港仲有專用餐廳，送上大碗快餐懷舊。車仔麵以前係香港街頭常見嘅景象。車仔麵呢個快餐菜式，又或者係「車仔麵」，喺1950年代達到盛名，而呢個名係由賣麵嘅小販推嘅小型流動車而得名。食客可以揀啲麵同其他食材嘅類型，然後將佢哋放入個容器，然後加熱湯，嚟自訂佢哋嘅碗，噉就可以食到一個平價又快捷嘅外賣餐。由於政府打壓街頭小食，你唔會再發現車仔麵係由車仔賣，但係佢哋仍然受到香港人嘅歡迎，而家佢哋喺小餐廳食。同老公一齊經營文記車仔麵嘅 Emily Wu 話，車仔麵係香港嘅極品。 「香港有萬花筒嘅美食，但大部分都係由其他地區或國家進口。除咗「車仔麵」之外，冇一道菜真係屬於香港。佢話，魚蛋等小食係來自潮州人，而雲吞麵係廣東省嘅出口。文記有四間分店，全部都喺深水埗福榮街，提供 62 款熟料配麵，包括滷雞翼、辣魷魚、香菇、糖醋麵。 「我細個嗰陣，手推車麵販會喺手推車上面賣佢哋嘅貨，通常都係喺後巷，」佢話。 「每個人都可以喺佢哋嘅住宅大廈下面或者附近搵到架手推車，而每個人都會投票佢哋嘅 [ 社區 ] 手推車檔係最好嘅。我嘅朋友會對佢哋嘅提名人大讚，而我就會吹噓我嘅。佢哋會帶我去品嚐佢哋最鍾意嘅，但我唔鍾意佢哋，反之亦然。」

Real Hong Kong street food: how cart noodles have survived into the 21st century. The Hong Kong street food classic, cart noodles, can no longer be found on the streets of the cityThankfully, there are still dedicated restaurants in Hong Kong, serving up big bowls of fast-food nostalgia. Cart noodle vendors used to be a common sight on the streets of Hong Kong. The fast-food dish of cart noodles, or "Che Zia Mian", reached its glory in the 1950s, and got its name from the small mobile carts pushed by vendors selling noodles with a wide selection of ingredients. Diners could customise their bowls by choosing the types of noodles and other ingredients, which were put into a container and topped up with hot broth, for an inexpensive, fast takeaway meal.

You won’t find cart noodles being sold from a cart any more due to the government crackdown on street food, but they remain popular with Hong Kong people, who now eat them in small restaurants. Emily Wu, who runs Man Kee Cart Noodle with her husband, says cart noodles are quintessentially Hong Kong. “Hong Kong has a kaleidoscope of cuisines, but most are imported from other regions or countries. None of the dishes really belong to Hong Kong, except for "Che Zai Mian,” she says. Snacks such as fish balls come from Chiu Chow people, and wonton noodles are an export from Guangdong province. “I can’t think of any other snacks indigenous to Hong Kong except "Che Zai Mian,” says Wu. Man Kee, which has four outlets, all on Fuk Wing Street in Sham Shui Po, offers 62 cooked ingredients to go with the noodles, including braised chicken wings, spicy squid, shiitake mushrooms, and sweet and sour gluten. “In my childhood, cart noodle vendors hawked their wares on carts, usually in the back alleys,” she says. “Everyone could find a cart under their residence building, or around the neighbourhood, and everyone would vote their [neighbourhood] cart stall as the best. My friends would rave about their nominees, while I would brag about mine. They would bring me to savour their favourites, but I didn’t like them, and vice versa.”

https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3077947/real-hong-kong-street-food-how-cart-noodles-have-survived-21st