Fat Mao is the latest addition to Chinatown. Recently, there has been a bunch of new restaurants opening up nearby like Torafuku and Ramen Butcher. Since I work close to this area, I get super excited when something new opens up.
Chef Angus An’s (chef and owner of Maenam) newest venture serves noodle dishes inspired by a range of Asian cuisines. Recipes at Fat Mao are inspired by Chef Angus’s travels in Asia and his favourite family meals from childhood. Flavourful curries, sauces, and rice and wheat noodles are made fresh from scratch, and dishes touch on Thai, Taiwanese, Japanese, and Singaporean cuisines.
The casual 25-seater is open for lunch and dinner Wednesday to Sunday from 11am. Fat Mao will stay open until noodles run out, or 10pm—whichever comes first. Dishes are affordably priced under $12.
I came here with my coworkers during lunch and we were excited to give it a try.
While you wait for your order, you can read some Slam Dunk comics. If you can’t read Chinese like me…you can just look at the pictures. hahaha.
Century Egg with House Tofu ($7.99) is a nice dish to share in addition with your own individual noodles. I love this dish as the egg and the tofu are perfect matches. We were amazed by how smooth the tofu was.
Braised Duck Noodles ($11.99) comes with a huge duck leg which was awesome. They use rice noodles rolls in this dish. I didn’t like the use of the noodles as they didn’t really match to soak up the broth. The sauce is more thin compared to some of the other dishes. The broth was bland and I didn’t like it very much.
The waitress also suggested to add a few scoops of the hot vinegar sauce. It didn’t really help with the flavours either.
Koh Soi – Chiang Mai Curry Chicken ($11.99) was our favourite dish from the group. The sauce was pretty good, the chicken leg was huge and we loved the added texture from the crunchy bits on top. We would definitely recommend this.
Taiwanese-style Beef Noodle ($11.99) was another good dish according to Anne. Its well-balanced and has a good amount of beef.
Dan Dan Noodles ($8.99) is made with the same noodles as the curry noodles. My other coworker enjoyed it.
In the end, a bowl full of noodles and a shared side dish was just the right amount. Most of the dishes were fusion and the lack of descriptions on the menu may surprise some when the food arrives. The price is good for lunch but you definitely should get the Koh Soi – Chiang Mai Curry Chicken dish.
If you eat all the way down into your noodle bowl, you will find a cute surprise. Meow.
We Rate Fat Mao: 
Address:
217 East Georgia Street, Vancouver
Website:
http://www.fatmaonoodles.com/
