Dr. LT's Food Adventure: Janty Noodle

989 S Glendora Ave
West Covina, CA 91790
(626) 480-1808

General:

The place is a part of "Asia Food Court" inside the Plaza.

Janty noodle serves dry noodles, Chinese Indonesian style, in similar but in a bit different style than the tradition of Mi Nam Vang of Trieu Chau, Mien Nghia, Noodle Cafe, Kim Tar, Kim Ky, Mi La Cay, My Vi Mi Gia, Phat Ky Mi Gia, etc.

They try other different variations of toppings for the noodles to diversify the market share. Let me give you the flavor profiles without the ratings as you will be the judge. The base noodle and the garnish toppings of choy sum and green onion are still the same, some with added bean sprout, and only the protein toppings are different:

Note that, unless noted, the default serving for the noodles are dry (kho) style. Also, as it is a food court joint, all food served on styrofoam wares.

Details:

The basics:

Boiled Chicken Noodle (Mie Ayam Rebus): the equivalent of Mi Ga in Vietnamese. Home made thin yellow noodle stirred with fried-garlic-infused oil. Then, it is topped with sliced boiled chicken thigh, boiled choy sum green mustard. Boiled chicken is tender with a light salty taste. Add a touch of white pepper and vinegar (or their pickle juice) to the noodle and you are golden. Dip the chicken in their extra hot or crazy extra house sauce (off the chart hot) for an extra kick. Side soup is chicken stock with salt, pepper, and green onion. The original and "purest" form of Janty's noodle offerings. A very subtle yet elegant way to serve dry noodle. Delicious. THE BEST MI GA in the Greater LA area, period! 4.5 stars. Tip: depending on your palate, I order mine less salty.

Mushroom Chicken Noodle (Mie Ayam Jamur): seems to be the best seller here but I personally like the boiled chicken better. Same noodle base with above. Topping is button mushroom and chunks of chicken braised in soy sauce. Soy sauce profile is Indonesian influenced with a more pronounced sweetness. 4 stars.

Medanese Chicken Noodle (Mie Ayam Medan): supposedly a tribute to the City of Medan in Indonesia whose Chinese population is of Cantonese (Guangdong) and Fukkienese (Fujian) descendents. Sliced Char Sew BBQ pork (Cantonese) and lightly-soy-sauced minced pork (Fukkienese) plus quail eggs. Soy sauce profile is Indonesian influenced with a more pronounced sweetness. If you frequent Vietnamese noodle houses, this is the equivolent of their House Noodle (Mi Dac Biet, Kho). A lot of sweet notes here. Recommended for noobs. 4+ stars.

Special Mushroom Chicken Noodle (Mie Ayam Jamur Special): same as Mushroom Chicken Noodle, but add Char Sew BBQ Pork topping and home-made beef balls in the side soup. Think of it as a a mix of Mushroom and Medanese Chicken Noodle. Recommended for noobs. 4 stars.

I looked left and right. All self-respecting patrons ordered their noodles with these 2 items the way a Viet would order their noodle with Ca Quay (Yu Tiao fried dough). Noobs must try at least one of these as well:

Fried Meatball (Baso Goreng): should have been called fried dough. Baking soda-puffed fried dough fortified with tiny chicken lardon and msg. Crispy on the outside, almost mushy on the inside. Dipping sauce is garlic, vinegar, sugar, and chili. a par substitute, if not better, for Ca Quay. Interesting, but I had better at Merry's House of Chicken. 3 stars.

Supreme Fried Wonton (Pansit Goreng) : skin is surely egg fortified and is thicker than the average Chinese digs' fried wonton skin. It has an egginess quality to it with more richness. Filling seems to be a mix of chicken, pork, a hint of shrimp, and tapioca flour for binding. Sauce is a variation of sweet and sour with a darker color. Delicious. 4+ stars

The followings are for those who are more adventurous:

Shanghainese Chicken Noodle (Mie Ayam Shanghai): supposedly a tribute to the city but I think a Shanghainese would disagree. Thinly sliced chicken fillet and preserved vegetable (ham choy). Taste is dominated by the saltiness and sourness of the preserved vegetable. Untasted.

Fried Noodles (Chow Mien): using the home-made noodle, they also cook chow mien for you. The basic is a standard fare of choy sum and some mixed protein. The kick here is that they use the ubiquitous-for-Indonesians sweet soy sauce. So the taste profile is skewed on the strong sweet side. Unique. 4 stars

Fried Bihun (Chow Mee Fun/Bihon): same as chow mein but using thin rice noodle. Noodle is not home made. Untasted.

On Choy Noodle Soup (Mie Kangkung): for me this is the most puzzling noodle offering here. Home made noodle and on choy in a thick almost-slimy soy-sauce-fortified brown soup. Taste profile is strong sweetness and a supporting saltiness with a hint sourness from Indonesian lime. Protein selections include minced pork, button mushroom, quail egg, and dried squid(?). A very, hmmm ... unique, flavor profile. Quite hardcore and hard to understand. Untasted. Recommended for the most adventurous foodies only.

There are other permutations of their noodles and topping that go completely beyond me. Might be worth it to ask them if you are interested.

However, another notably interesting dish is Batagor.

Fried Tofu and Fish Paste (Batagor): for hardcore fried food lovers. Indonesian version of Singaporean-favorite Yong Tofu? Tofu and varieties of fish paste dumplings deep fried, then topped with peanut sauce and the ubiquitous sweet sauce (the Indonesian version of culinary monkey wrench: the fix-it-all taste), finished with a twist of Indonesian lime specifically grown by the owners. As good as it goes for fried stuffs. 4 stars.