Thanks to Auntie Tan Li, I know the answer to the above question; no. These noodles are made by hand upon order by Auntie Tan Li's friend's husband. The restaurant is Mandarin Garden in Concord, California. The noodles are a secret recipe, no one but the husband knows. He wanted to pass the recipe on to his son, who is disinterested, and so the recipe will go with him to his grave. A tragedy for food lovers. These are the noodles I wish I could eat every time I'm sad or upset. With just the right amount of bite, and yards of length one cannot help but feel satisfied. And the sauce is rich, savory, thoroughly satiating, and unique. This sauce is Chinese-Korean fusion thanks to the Korean origins of the noodle-maker's wife, making the Mandarin Garden a truly uniqe experience not to be missed.
The noodles are served separate from the sauce, and the two must be combined at the table, as the pictures show.
For those wishing to partake let me fill you in on some insider information. A lot of Chinese superstition surrounds noodles. Every birthday, noodles are eaten as a symbol of long life. The noodles therefore cannot be cut, it is bad luck. Similarly I made the mistake of standing my chop sticks up in the noodles. This also is a no-no and means bad luck. Noodles must be treated with the uptmost respect according to Chinese tradition. And if you taste these noodles you'll understand why.
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