woo hoo!
"Jim Thurman of LA Weekly writes that “with the rice noodles and fresh chicken, it’s reminiscent of an extremely subtle version of Vietnamese pho ga. Which shouldn’t surprise anyone, as Yunnan shares a border with Vietnam”
2 Likes
I don’t buy a link between guo qiao mi xian and pho ga. Pho evolved from pot au feu and the pho ga variation was developed in 1939 in response to beef rationing. Guo qiao mi xian is like hot pot in that the soup and noodles are served plain and you make your own version by adding what you like. And how many regions of China or Southeast Asian don’t have one or more versions of chicken noodle soup?
When I researched Yunnan cuisine a few years ago, it seemed like they used a lot of herbs, vegetables, and wild mushrooms indigenous to the area and not available elsewhere. I’m skeptical that the versions you can get in the US have much in common with the original. This article about restaurants that specialize in it suggests not:
I managed to miss this at the time. I only discovered it while doing a search for Yunnan. robert, the reference to pho ga was a touchstone for flavor comparison rather than suggesting a direct link or lineage between the two (despite the wording mentioning Yunnan neighboring Vietnam). Hot pot (or shabu shabu 
) is a better comparison.
Some here have pointed out that the San Gabriel Valley versions of Crossing The Bridge noodles don’t compare favorably with those in Yunnan for exactly the reason you mention, lack of indigenous ingredients. The article was simply about where one can find it in the SGV, however it’s done.and whatever the quality is (compared to having it in Yunnan Province).