I’ve reviewed a few of these Hong Kong instant rice noodles in the past, but never looked up the meaning of Ho Fan. I did some research and found this on wikipedia:
While shahe fen and he fen are transliterations based on Mandarin, there are numerous other transliterations based on Cantonese, which include ho fen, hofen, ho-fen, ho fun, ho-fun, hofoen (a Dutch transliteration in Suriname), hor fun, hor fen, sar hor fun, etc. In addition, shahe fen is often synonymously called kway teow (粿條), literally “ricecake strips”, transliteration based on Min Nan Chinese, POJ: kóe-tiâu) or guotiao(pinyin: guǒtiáo; the corresponding transliteration of Mandarin), as in the name of a dish called char kway teow. However, shahe fen and kway teow are strictly and technically not the same (the latter being essentially ricecakes sliced into strips) and the Min Nans in general still consciously make a distinction between shahe fen and kway teow in their speech. Original ricecakes or its strips are very stiff in texture (even after cooking), making them unpopular with modern consumers.
Sounds like what we’re looking at here. Let’s check out this Sau Tao Ho Fan!
Here’s the back of the package (click image to enlarge). Contains fish. To prepare, add noodle block to 600ml boiling water and cook 2 minutes, stirring gently. Add in sachet contents and stir. Enjoy!
The noodle block.
The powder soup base.
Has a prawn scent.
The seasoned oil sachet.
Oily!
Finished (click image to enlarge). Added fishball and coriander. The noodles are very wide and flat and made of rice. They are slippery but have a nice texture to them – good stuff. The broth was on the light bland side; could of used a little more something or a little less than the directed amount of water for my taste. 3.0 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 087303861521.
HoFan Wonton Noodle Soup 2.6 Oz
A Sau Tao noodle TV commercial.
