Latest news with #beefnoodles
CNA
5 days ago
- CNA
Commentary: Will AI help or wreck your next holiday?
TOKYO: On a recent trip to Taiwan, I turned to ChatGPT to ask for recommendations for the best beef noodles in my area – with the very specific request that the shop had to accept credit cards, as I was running low on my stash of local currency. The chatbot immediately recommended a place that was a short walk and featured some of the most delicious, melt-in-your mouth beef tendon I've ever had. I was pleased to be the only foreigner in the no-frills, no air-conditioning joint that was home to a fat, orange cat taking a nap under one of the metal stools. But after my meal, I panicked when the impatient woman behind the counter had to put aside the dumplings she was folding to try and communicate in English to me that it was cash only. Even a quick Google search of the hole in the wall would've saved me from this fate, and I felt foolish for blindly trusting the AI's outputs. Talking to other travellers, I realised I was lucky that the restaurant existed at all, hearing stories of AI tools sending confused tourists to places that were closed or not even real. Still, I found the tool incredibly helpful while navigating a foreign city, using it not just to find spots to eat but also to translate menus and signs, as well as communicate with locals via voice mode. It felt like the ultimate Asia travel hack. THE SAME TOURIST SPOTS Back home in Tokyo, where a weak yen has helped make Japan a top destination for global travellers, I decided to put various AI platforms to the test. I asked DeepSeek, ChatGPT and the agentic tool Manus to create itineraries for someone visiting the city or Japan for the first time. The results were jam-packed and impressive, but mostly featured all the same tourist spots that you'd find at the top of sites like Tripadvisor. Some of the recommendations were also a little out of date; ChatGPT advised staying in a traditional inn that has been closed for over a year. And even my request for more off-the-beaten-path locations spit out areas I specifically avoid at peak times, like Shimokitazawa, because of the crowds of tourists. The outputs made sense given that these tools are an amalgamation of data scraped from the internet. It does save travellers the step of having to scroll through hundreds of websites themselves and put together an itinerary on their own. But relying on this technology also risks a further homogenisation of travel. TOURISM WINNERS AND LOSERS BY ALGORITHM Already, the tech industry is being blamed in tourist hotspots for creating feedback loops that push visitors to the same destinations – with winners and losers chosen by a powerful algorithm. Given that AI systems are predominantly trained on English-language text, this can also mean that local gems easily slip through the cracks of training data. I can't imagine the late Anthony Bourdain eating pho on a stool anywhere in Vietnam that even had a website. AI isn't entirely to blame, even if it adds a much larger scale to the issue. Before the rise of these tools, social media was already reshaping travel in Asia – sometimes in bizarre ways. There's a railroad crossing in my neighbourhood that an influencer posted on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu and is now constantly inundated with people doing photoshoots. One of my favourite summer swimming spots in the outskirts of the city unexpectedly went viral on TikTok last year, and it was shocking to see how crowded the riverbanks had become with foreigners. A town near Mt. Fuji garnered international headlines last year after briefly erecting a barrier to block the view of the iconic landmark when it was overrun with tourists trying to all get the same shot – behind a convenience store, of all places. PUT THE PHONE DOWN Of course, this isn't limited to Asia. As AI applications proliferate, more people are turning to them to plan vacations from Barcelona to New Orleans. Instead of just advice on local customs, online travel forums have also become popular places to share clever ways to engineer prompts for generative AI tools to make more personalised itineraries. Still, there are inherent limitations to the data they're trained on. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to put the phone down and ask a local for their top spots. Ultimately, AI can break down language and cultural barriers for travellers in ways that seemed unimaginable a decade ago. That's a good thing, and the convenience is undeniable. But it's good to remember that some of the best parts of travel can never be optimised by a machine.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
New in town: Tse Kee's $5 beef ball noodles will fuel your Orchard shopping spree
The opening of Tse Kee Beef Noodle Soup at Lucky Plaza's Lucky Food Centre brings a new spot to fill up before your Orchard outing. Located next to a Valu$ store, Lucky Food Centre is home to less than 10 stalls. But don't look down on this small arsenal — this air-conditioned food court has been open since the 1990s! With Tse Kee Beef Noodle Soup joining the food centre, soupy beef noodles and filling rice bowls are now available for all shoppers. Their signature fare includes the Beef Oxtail Soup (S$10.80 for Small, S$13.50 for Large) and the Beef Tendon Soup (S$8.80 for Small, S$10.50 for Large). The stock, enriched by oxtail bones and different cuts of meat, is seasoned with soy sauce for a deep, umami-rich flavour. Tse Kee Beef Noodle Soup also offers the simplicity of Beef Ball Minced Noodles (S$5). Piping hot bone broth is poured over your choice of noodles before beef balls, minced beef and chives top the bowl. This bowl of comforting warmth will seep into your tired muscles after a day of exploring Orchard Road. The Beef Slice Rice Bowl (S$7.50) is served with a half-boiled egg, vegetables and beef slices. A Chinese-style twist on the classic Japanese beef rice bowl, or gyudon, if you will. Coated with the liquid egg centre, the beef slices' savouriness is balanced out by the creamy yolk. Paired with the fluffy white rice, this bowl provides mouthfuls of indulgence. For the same price, you can also get the Minced Beef Rice Bowl (S$7.50) piled with morsels of meat that slip into all the nooks and crannies of the rice. Stir-fried with soy sauce, oyster sauce and spices, the minced beef packs a punch of flavour. If you're looking for an affordable, no frills meal during your shopping spree at Orchard, why not check out Tse Kee Beef Noodle Soup's newly opened stall? Miss Saigon: 24/7 Vietnamese-owned eatery in Orchard Plaza with authentic dishes, ultra-loaded banh mi The post New in town: Tse Kee's $5 beef ball noodles will fuel your Orchard shopping spree appeared first on
Malay Mail
06-06-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Return of the beef brisket king: Pudu's iconic beef noodles are back at Yoong Kee Noodle
KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — Guess who's back? Pudu's Yung Kee, which built a following among KL's gourmands for serving arguably the city's best HK-style beef noodles, has returned after closing abruptly in the second half of last year. Though the hiatus lasted only eight months, it was enough time for a different beef noodle joint to open in its original location at Jalan Kancil. Online reception to that newcomer was mixed, suggesting a clear sense of disappointment among diners who came expecting Yung Kee, only to be met with something very different. In the second week of May, the business was reborn as Yoong Kee, now located along Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah in the shadow of LaLaport BBCC. The slight change in spelling is a common practice, with the Chinese name remaining the same. A spread consisting of honeycomb tripe, inside skirt, US sirloin, tendon and short rib (clockwise from left). — Picture by Ethan Lau Founder Albert Lai explained that he had gone to Ipoh for several months to consult for a large restaurant group expanding into KL, and has now returned to the city to reopen Yoong Kee. He adds that this is the only beef noodle restaurant he's currently attached to, with no other locations. When Lai started just over a decade ago as a stall in the now-closed Restaurant Kwai Hup, not every part of the cow was available daily. After moving into his own restaurant, that changed and the full range eventually became available every day. Thankfully, that practice has continued here. These days, all the usual favourites are on hand: short rib (RM20), tendon (RM15), honeycomb tripe (RM25), along with the more robust, luxurious cuts that have become Lai's calling card, US sirloin (RM45) and inside skirt (RM45), the English name for the sumptuous pang sar lam. Honeycomb tripe has a delightfully spongy texture. — Picture by Ethan Lau Naturally, those who visited the old Yung Kee will remember the phenomenally beefy broth. This, above all, was what set it apart, along with the mastery of the many different cuts used. That same broth is back. It is simply exceptional, intense and savoury with real depth, yet restrained and balanced. Enough said. But of the many factors that separate Yoong Kee from the rest of the beef noodle scene, the next most obvious is the unique texture achieved with each part. The short rib is the leanest and firmest cut, which usually means it can get dry and stringy. Here, however, it is soft and separates into juicy shreds while still holding its shape. The omasum, a muscle from the stomach, with a very unique texture. — Picture by Ethan Lau The tendons have been braised into slippery, tender submission, though each strand offers one last feeble snap of resistance before yielding to the mouth. Meanwhile, the honeycomb tripe is delightful, with its spongy, creamy texture. The best part of ordering by cut is tasting how each one changes the broth it's served with, with effects ranging from subtle to striking. The short rib is lean but deeply beefy, and that intensity is echoed in its broth. Tendon and honeycomb tripe bring a gentle sweetness, softening its edge. But it's with the richer cuts like sirloin and inside skirt that the broth takes on a fuller, more indulgent flavour that truly stands out. The paper-thin slices of fatty sirloin are almost transparent like charcuterie, soft and ultra-silky in the mouth, with a lush sweetness that seeps into the broth. The spectacular 'pang sar lam' which is the best part in my book. — Picture by Ethan Lau The inside skirt, or pang sar lam, is braised to a similarly soft texture like the short rib, but the layer of connective tissue and knuckle of unrendered fat on top gives it a mouth feel that is nothing short of heavenly, creamy and supple beyond belief. The broth in that bowl is the best of both worlds, sweet and rich from the fat, with just enough beefiness from the lean. Conversely, if you're after something lean, clean yet still flavourful, the tongue (RM40) and outside skirt (RM30) are where it's at. Thinly sliced, the tongue is springy in the mouth and offers the cleanest broth experience, while the outside skirt is essentially the inside skirt without any fat, perfect for those who want a beefy flavour without the richness. Don't skip the only item on the menu that comes without soup: omasum (RM25), rubbery strips of stomach muscle that crunch satisfyingly in the mouth, tossed in seasoned soy sauce and dressed with delicately julienned spring onion and ginger. Look for the black sign next to the Healthland massage parlour. — Picture by Ethan Lau Restoran Mee 庸记港式面铺 (Yoong Kee Noodle) 43, Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah Pudu, Kuala Lumpur Open daily, 8am to 5.30pm Tel: 012-983 8454 Facebook: Yung Kee Beef Noodle * This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal. * Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems. * Follow Ethan Lau on Instagram @eatenlau for more musings on food and mildly self-deprecating attempts at humour.
