So I have a question and am a bit unsure if this is the right place to ask. So, if it isn’t, I will take this down :)

When I was a kid, my family went to a mom and pop Chinese restaurant. It was the best Chinese I have ever had in my life. Nothing I’ve ever had to this day compares, especially for the chow mein and the hot and sour soup. Unfortunately, the owners retired, and the restaurant was closed down.

Since this was the only place I had eaten hot and sour soup though, imagine my surprise when I tried hot and sour soup as an adult and it looked and tasted mostly nothing like what I had at this restaurant!

Here is the description of the hot and sour soup I had in my childhood: Clear but still viscous broth. Tangy and tart, but still salty and refreshing. Tofu, little baby shrimps, a type of leafy green that I don’t know (but it was lightly tart and bitter), egg, green onion, and maybe mushroom but I don’t think it was a huge aspect (or maybe chopped up into thin pieces).

Nothing I have had tastes exactly like it. The broth is too dark, and it often tastes too heavy. And there was no bamboo in the one I ate as a kid. The soup from my childhood was very clear and light, really emphasizing the sour. I recently used a hot and sour soup packet, that wasn’t exactly the same but tasted a bit more similarly to what I remember from my childhood.

So, my question is, is this a different type of hot and sour soup? Maybe from a different region? Or is this just a family recipe that I may never be able to replicate 😂

It’ll drive me mad not knowing, as this may have been the best soup I have ever had in my life. So, if someone knows, that would be amazing. Thank you in advance!