What to Eat in Pittsburgh

One day, when refreshing the screen on Yelp as I do, a new Chinese restaurant in Squirrel Hill popped up. I immediately made plans for Mr. Foodie, the kiddos, and I to go with our good friends from @bottomlesspitt.

Sadly, one of the kiddos had a fever and wasn’t feeling so great. After some Tylenol, he seemed as good as new but we felt bad dragging him to a restaurant. So our plans changed to takeout.

Four adults plus two hungry kids meant we could order a lot. Mr. Foodie and I were focusing on the kiddos, so alas, we didn’t take any pics. We ordered the house dry noodle with minced pork, the pork rib noodle soup, and the Shanghai stir fried noodle among other dishes. Everything was outstanding. @bottomlesspitt snapped this pretty photo of the Shanghai stir fried noodle with tofu:

I made plans to go back as soon as I could to order more. I needed a friend with a good appetite who likes to over-order – no better person than friend-of-the-blog Jackie. This time, we had three adults and four kiddos between our families. We ordered a broad sampling of the menu, and the food was again amazing.

I knew I would want to write about the food at Magic Noodle, but I had a feeling there was a compelling story behind this place. It takes guts to open a restaurant, perhaps even moreso in a market like Squirrel Hill that’s crowded with excellent Asian restaurants. Magic Noodle’s menu was also unique from our other favorites (Everyday Noodle, Taiwanese Bistro Cafe 33, Chengdu) – clearly there was a focus on noodle dishes and a few dishes (e.g., the curry fried rice, the rose dumplings) that I hadn’t seen other places. Plus, there’s the intriguing option (which we didn’t try but I also haven’t seen elsewhere) of creating your own noodle dish from their ingredients, something I associate with American fast casual restaurants and had never seen at a sit-down Chinese restaurant. This portion of the menu is called “Match, Mix, Magic.” You can create a unique dish using any combination of noodles, spice level, meat, and add-ins like vegetables and tofu.

I called later that evening, just after closing. A woman named Michelle Chen picked up the phone, and said she would be happy to talk to me. We set a time to meet the next day.

When I came back, I recognized Michelle as one our servers from the night before. She and Jay Chen, her husband, are the owners. Jay is the chef, and Michelle seems to do it all – cooking, coming up with menu ideas, serving customers.

She explained how this all came to be. Jay owned a noodle shop in Shanghai, a region known for its slightly sweet food. Michelle grew up with Szechuan food, which is known for being spicy. They immigrated to the US several years ago with aspirations of re-creating Jay’s noodle shop, but with flavors that reflect both of their backgrounds. Just three months ago, they opened Magic Noodle.

They are excited to be creative, and to come up with dishes that are unique to their restaurant. They also value making as much as possible from scratch and by hand. They want to make the food accessible to everyone, so the spice level is relatively low for what you might expect for the Szechuan dishes but still very flavorful. This makes the place especially great for kids. If you want an authentic spice level, you just have to ask, which I highly recommend doing.

Michelle walked me through the menu, and explained how each dish was an expression of she and Jay’s vision.

Rose dumplings. Michelle makes these herself, forming the roses by hand. Pork between layers of dough. The dough to pork ratio is just perfect, and they were as delicious as they were beautiful. We had them steamed, but you can also order them fried.

Pork buns. Adorable and savory.

Crispy pork. Deep fried, but not too greasy. Fairly light, crunchy, and fantastic. A Szechuan dish that is great as a snack.

The perfect bowl of wonton soup. The wontons are handmade by Michelle, and were so delicate. The broth was delicious.

Curry fried rice. I’m not sure I have had anything like this elsewhere I love fried rice, and the addition of the curry flavor is genius if you ask me. Michelle explained that Jay loves to make fried rice with lots of things added in, and also loves curry, so he created this dish.

And again, the Shanghai stir fried noodles. Nice and chewy, slightly sweet from soy and oyster sauce. Michelle says this is a very typical Shanghai flavor combination. She also says it is Jay’s favorite dish – “his mommy’s flavor,” she says with a laugh.

On the menu, this appears as “beef stew,” which Michelle says is a bit of an issue of translation. These are slow-braised, barbequed meats that are extremely tender. Amazing.

 

Taro milk. Michelle says she uses steamed taro, which she mashes without any sugar to let the naturally sweet taro flavor shine through. Then she adds sweetened condensed milk.

And of course, dessert. A mixture of taro balls that Michelle forms by hand, red beans, homemade grass jelly, coconut jellies, and fresh and condensed milk. A surprisingly light, refreshing dessert that pairs well with heavier noodle dishes.

I am so disappointed that between both visits I didn’t get any pictures of the dry noodle with minced pork, which may have been my favorite dish (although it is admittedly hard to pick a favorite). Michelle explained that this dish is her family recipe, and what she always asks her mom to make for her. “It’s a complicated procedure to cook it,” she explains. They have to mince the pork, and add tofu, onions, and carrots together, which is labor-intensive. But it’s worth it.

We also neglected to photograph the spicy pork rib noodle soup. It involves pork braised first in black bean sauce, Michelle explained, and then placed in a soup with hot chili oil. This dish was plenty spicy as ordered. The pork was so tender.

One last aspect of the menu we haven’t explored yet is the “Mix Match Magic” checklist. I asked her why she thinks other Chinese restaurants don’t typically have this option. She explains how hard this is for the chef – but to Michelle and Jay, it’s worth it so that her customers don’t feel limited by the options in the dishes available on the menu.

Above all else, Magic Noodle is a family endeavor. As Michelle and I chatted, another young woman, who introduced herself as Gina, came over to add more context. Gina is Jay’s cousin. She was born and raised in Pittsburgh (Wexford to be specific) and just graduated from Pitt. She explained that when Michelle and Jay first came to the US, followed by Jay’s mom, the whole family helped them get settled. And when they opened the restaurant, the whole family pitched in, especially Gina. Gina’s pride in the restaurant was palpable. She explained how much she loves to help Michelle with all aspects of the restaurant, from cooking to serving to providing encouragement and support. Gina is headed to get her Master’s in Public Health in a few weeks at Columbia – both she and Michelle glow when they talk about that accomplishment, but it is also clear how much they will miss working together day-to-day.

Gina also explained how Magic Noodle offers food that is both accessible and authentic. She notes that Magic Noodle doesn’t serve Chinese-American food, which is taking a risk – but it’s worth it to allow more room for the authentic dishes, which range from very accessible like the ones we described above, to noodle soups with intestines. Gina says she has always liked to go to Chinese restaurants and just when they think she’s about to order the sesame chicken, she surprises them with her love of intestines. “Yeah, that’s right” she says, laughing at how she impresses restaurant staff with her more traditional palate.

Gina left me with this thought about what makes Magic Noodle so special to her: “What really impressed me is that these two are creating, and thinking of more unique ways to do things. They’re just using their imagination and bringing the two cultures together.”  Gina and Michelle looked at each other, and both got a little choked up. It’s clear that Magic Noodle is much more than a business to them.