Cart noodles started out as a dish trying to do the most with limited resources and became a celebration of the city’s dynamic lifestyle when better times arrived.

East Asia is a sub-continent that runs on noodle soups: Taiwanese beef noodles, Laotian/Northern Thai khao soi and their myriad counterparts are hearty and assembled quickly to keep up with the region’s swift pace of life. In cosmopolitan Hong Kong, cart noodles, or ce zai min, was born in the hands of can-do entrepreneurs with little means and has since served a population, who, leveraging the same resilience, led the city on an odyssey towards prosperity.

It all started in the 1950s, a particularly tumultuous time when a steady stream of immigrants arrived, fleeing the newly founded Communist regime in China. Lots of the newcomers struggled to make a living, and operating unlicensed mobile noodle stands at streetside was one of the few viable paths to let them stay afloat. They solicited wooden, kerosene-fuelled pushing carts, fitted them with a metallic basin for cooking as well as a few more compartments where economical ingredients were laid out separately. Patrons could pick whatever produce they preferred and moments later, a fully customised bowl would have been prepared and consumed.

Though sanitary conditions were not always ideal – hence its nickname laa zaa min (dirty noodles in Cantonese) – cart noodles quickly flourished, which prompted more individuals from the grassroots to pick up the trade. Its minimal price was attractive to the masses, since most of them were in labour-intensive jobs and received low wages. In the middle or end of a gruelling day, the dish was a quick, delicious fix that saved them the hassle of cooking in their apartments, often shared by multiple households and thus tightly packed.

Any success was hard-earned. The vendors had to contend with long working hours amidst heat and steam, unpredictable subtropical weather and the watchful eyes of the hawker control team. Cat-and-mouse races against inspectors were daily occurrences. Losing meant fines and their carts confiscated.

The second half of the 20th century saw rapid economic growth and social transformation. The vendors who had done well gradually moved into physical lots. Hawking was eradicated altogether during the 1990s, when Hong Kong sought to reinvent its image as a leading financial hub. Cart noodle shops replaced the wooden vehicles as a staple in every neighbourhood.

Cleaned up yet just as efficient and flexible as before, they continue to be a reliable pit stop for citizens negotiating hectic schedules. Project managers in business-heavy Causeway Bay might pop by a stall in between meetings and grab a substantial serving to take back to their offices. Night owls in search of post-party snacks could slurp down a bite-sized bowl in residential Sham Shui Po at 3am on the way home.

The extra real estate also translates into new possibilities to stretch the potential of the dish. Nowadays, diners make orders by filling out a form crammed with dozens of noodles, broths and topping choices, borrowing from different segments of the local cuisine. The expanded offerings, once again, underscore the cooks’ hustle that is key to the longevity of cart noodles. In the face of multiplying workload, the move caters to Hongkongers who relish options while dining out. Like a gastronomic ballot, the piece of ordering paper affords them the power to exercise a kind of democracy that they are denied in other domains.

While local regulars have their perfected their favourite combination growing up, novices might get lost in the intricate mix-and-match game. Here is a concise anatomy class of cart noodles:

Noodles: What gets selected determines the overall mouthfeel of the bowl. Thin Cantonese egg noodles are springy; flat rice noodles are smooth and delicate; rice vermicelli absorbs the broth faster; but it is the thick, chewy oil noodles that have the largest share of loyalists who consider their rich texture essential for a maximalist food like cart noodles.

Broths: Clear broth lays a good foundation for building flavour. Various condiments such as satay sauce, spicy sauce and beef brisket braising sauce can be added to reinforce the noodle soup’s character. The latter is another favourite among cart noodles die-hards. Akin to a form of culinary alchemy, it condenses the essences of the meat over hours of simmering and supercharges the umami of the bowl.

Toppings: This is where things get interesting. Every cart noodle shop can decide what to offer and how much time to dedicate to each topping. Many stalls have their own signature items, while the best venues treat every topping with such care that diners can make out the tastes of everything even in a crowded bowl.

Braised foods – beef brisket, tripe, chicken wing, squid, beef and pork entrails and beyond – are common as their flavours develop over the day. Equally popular are all types of meatballs, sausages, fishcakes and dumplings that take little time to cook. “Broth sponges” like daikon radish, tofu puff and pig skin are the best supporting characters in an ensemble cast, soaking up the aromatic liquid in the noodle soup and squirting it out in your mouth upon biting – a moment of gustatory bliss.

Chances are it will take a few tries for first-timers to figure out what works for them. But cart noodles is such a casual fare that rewards open minds and experimentation. If you are still in doubt, do not be shy and ask the staff members or other customers for recommendations. A chat with the locals might tell you a thing or two about the sociality behind the iconic Hong Kong street food.