MAGAZINES 
Zoe Ma Ma’s Succulent Chinese Street Food
Tempting treats include zong zi—a bamboo leaf wrapped around pearl rice, marinated pork belly, shiitake mushroom and lotus seed;
sao mai, steamed pork in a thin wonton wrapper and Ma Ma’s chicken soup, made with pickled greens, sprouts, ginger, rice noodles and lots of love.
By Cynthia Barnes
Photos by Phil Mumford
Never eat at a place called Mom’s. Or so said Nelson Algren in his novel A Walk on the Wild Side. But if Algren had turned off Pearl Street onto Tenth to slurp the Szechuan noodles at Zoe Ma Ma, he’d have been singing a different tune. Because the mom in this place is owner Edwin Zoe’s, and Ma Ma knows her noodles—and her potstickers, and everything else coming from the tiny kitchen.
The Zoes (Zoe rhymes with doe) are a restaurant family, and Edwin grew up serving Americanized entrées to diners in the Midwest. Like a lot of Boulder residents, he came for college and fell in love with the Flatirons. He has called Colorado home for more than 20 years, and runs a point-of-service software company, Aspex, that also has clients in 26 other states. But he craved his mother’s home cooking, the simple, fresh tastes found on every street corner in Taiwan. When his father died, Edwin brought Anna (known to almost everyone as “Ma Ma”) to Boulder, and bought the 900-square-foot restaurant to showcase her talents.
The tables are lacquered with Chinese newspapers, and at 2 o’clock every one of them is full. Three college girls exclaim, “Awesome, amazing!” and thank Ma Ma, who beams from behind the counter while browning a pan of dumplings. Sixty-something and slightly stooped, Ma Ma is wearing a woven straw sunhat and a brightly flowered shirt. It’s her birthday, and she’s spending it doing what she loves: cooking.
Over a glass of gingered green tea ($1.95, with one free refill), Edwin explains his mission. “These are the dishes we had at home,” he says. “In too many restaurants, everything is westernized. For me, this menu defines quintessential Chinese food … what it should be, what people should be exposed to. We need to have the confidence to cook our own food.”
Like Ma Ma, the menu is short, sweet and completely authentic. Dim sum, a handful of noodle and rice dishes, several salads and a few sides form the basis, supplemented by a new “slow menu” with Ma Ma’s favorites, like scallion pancake. Crisp and without even a whisper of greasiness, the chewy wedges are worth every minute of the extra wait.
Anna and Edwin Zoe in front of the restaurant.
dim sum, let’s have some
Dumplings often disappoint, but not Ma Ma’s. Jiaozi come out seared and steamed, crunchy with a bright filling of pork, shrimp and spicy vegetables. Gluten-free rice wrappers contain the vegan dumplings’ mushroom and tofu stuffing, green-flecked with garlic chives. Fat crimped purses of sao mai glisten with steamed pork. Individual pricing ($1.25) makes it easy to sample each flavor. Fluffy steamed buns (bao) stuffed with sweetly sticky marinated pork and bowls of shiitake-based hot-and-sour soup round out the tantalizing appetizers.
The rotating list of specials adds star power to the focused menu. Szechuan braised beef noodles ($11.79) may be the perfect comfort food, with unctuous morsels of brisket swimming in a rich, peppery broth. Fridays find people lining up for roast-duck wonton noodle soup ($12.79), packed with baby bok choi in a savory duck stock. “These are items I grew up with, and you can’t just get that anywhere,” Zoe says. “It expresses Chinese culture so much better than sweet-and-sour chicken.”
Deep bowls of noodles ($6.95-$7.99) are made according to Zoe’s own recipes, inspired by his dad’s home province of Shandong, on the eastern coast of mainland China. “I woke up one day determined to be a noodle master,” he laughs. Although they aren’t on the menu, he’s even mastered the elusive and difficult Dragon Beard noodles, which are hand-pulled into 4,096 strips. “At 4 a.m. there was flour everywhere and dough on the ceiling. But I did it. It’s in my DNA.” Chewy and toothsome, Zoe’s noodles stand out in za jiang mian, a favorite with regulars. Topped with spicy ground pork, cucumber, carrots and cilantro, they’re quickly addictive. So is “CPR,” a sublimely comforting stew of chicken and potatoes in a gorgeous gravy.
“A lot of customers swear it’s the best thing for fighting off a cold,” Zoe says. “They come in for a bowl if they’re feeling run-down.”
The recipes aren’t the only thing that’s healthy. While the heart and soul of Zoe Ma Ma are Chinese, the ingredients are pure Boulder. The restaurant eschews MSG and uses organic unbleached flour, natural meats and cage-free eggs. Zoe’s prices are higher than your standard food-court fare, but he makes no apologies. “These can be three or four times as expensive as other ingredients, but we’re offering a much higher-quality product.”
In addition to teas, the restaurant offers TsingTao beer and Dale’s Pale Ale for $3.50, a pinot noir for $7.50/glass or $28/bottle, and a dry Riesling ($6.50/$24).
Even though Zoe’s recipes are “family secrets,” he’s happy to share the secret ingredient he’s proudest of: love. “This is something I believe very strongly in,” he says. “Food should be made with love. That’s the way my mom cooks, and we can all taste it.” u
Cynthia Barnes (cynthiabarnes.com) moved from to Boulder from Bangkok, and she loves her street food.
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