real estate adviser: You Deserve a Very Big Bowl of These Noodles

When I was a teen, my mother's Friday bus route dropped her off right in front of our local Chinese restaurant. Back then, King Express shared plaza space with a 711, a laundromat, and a movie rental spot—telltale signs of good Chinese food in Los Angeles if you ask me.

If I wasn't in trouble for whatever reason (I gave my mother a lot of those), she'd come home with a cold can of Coca Cola and a large oyster pail with the most perfectly crispy, greasy chow mein curled up inside. We'd eat and watch tv together for a couple of hours before my father and brothers got home. Eventually, habit became ritual and the combination became synonymous with pure indulgence, unwinding, calm in my mind.

I've had a whole lot of different noodles since and never met one I didn't like. Right now, these Szechuan dan dan noodles (extra spicy) are making weekly appearances in my kitchen. I've also been really into making sauces like hot chili oil, sweet chili sauce, and this salsa macha to pour on top. The spicier the better. Always.

I still like my noodles best a little greasy, with a cold can of soda, and on days when I'm in need of pure indulgence, unwinding, calm.

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