Inside the white tiled storefront, a customer snapped open a clamshell container to reveal a pile of thick noodles drenched in brown sauce, served with extra onions, shrimp and a hard-boiled egg.

Called shrimp yak, yat gaw mein, yakamein, yakame and sometimes “dirty yak,” this is a Baltimore specialty, perhaps less well known than crab cakes and chicken boxes but no less beloved. Many customers prefer it with ketchup.

The yak here at Pimlico Chinese Carry Out recently got a boost when Los Angeles-based food influencer Antwan Jones set forth to see whether Baltimore’s East Side or West Side could lay claim to the better dish. In a video filmed in the city, he compared the yak at Pimlico to one sold at Jimmy’s on the opposite end of town. Pimlico won by a long shot.

Pimlico Chinese Carry Out, located at 5416 Park Heights Ave., is one of numerous takeout spots in the neighborhood just outside the famed race course that shares its name. The surrounding Park Heights area is home to a vibrant if low-key carryout scene, with casual Caribbean restaurants serving Jamaican specialties like brown stew chicken and callaloo patty. There’s KT’s Kitchen, home to “world famous” bean pie.

Few who attend this weekend’s horse race may notice, though. For generations, the Preakness has had little to do with the neighborhood that surrounds it, and vice versa. The race “hasn’t always been a place where we felt welcome,” Mayor Brandon Scott, who grew up nearby, said last year. “It was held in Northwest Baltimore, but it was very clear that it wasn’t for Northwest Baltimore." The disconnect between the two has long been a source of criticism amid efforts to pour tax dollars into Pimlico’s redevelopment.

Scott is no fan of yak itself, though. “People I grew up with live by it. I’ve never had it never will,” he wrote. ”Shrimp fried rice for me every time.”

Others travel for their craving. Pimlico Chinese Carry Out owner Jo Sao said it’s not unusual for customers to drive from outside the city to order her food. She and her husband, who are originally from Hong Kong, have been running the shop for 42 years. Other shops might cut corners, Sao said, but they are proud to use only the best shrimp and soy sauce they can find. But they were hesitant to be interviewed; the carryout already does a brisk business, and can’t handle many more.

Jones, the content creator, was delighted to see the video take off — it’s received more than 1,000 comments, including from former Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake — and shine a light on Baltimore’s yak traditions. Yak has been an obsession of Jones’ since his teenage years growing up in Baltimore County. He was underwhelmed by the L.A. food scene after moving there in 2018. Everything looks really good, he said, but it’s all missing something.

Jones, an insurance adjuster by day, created the Youtube channel “Eats With Twan” during the pandemic. The videos were a hit, and even resulted in a turn on Bravo’s “Top Chef: Amateurs.” Some of the recipes he posted were from his hometown. One was shrimp yakamein: his version uses udon noodles and dark brown soy sauce. (Regular soy sauce won’t cut it, he said.)

The comments included numerous replies from grateful Baltimoreans and former city residents who praised Jones as the first to present a recipe for the local specialty. “I haven’t had a good dirty yak in for … ever,“ wrote someone who moved away from the city two years ago. Variations of yak are popular across the U.S., but Jones said each one is a little different; the New Orleans version, for instance, is more like a soup.

During a recent visit to Pimlico Chinese Carry Out, customers filled the small interior shortly after Sao opened the doors.

While Jess, who asked that her last name be withheld for privacy reasons, usually orders yak from a carryout spot close to her home in Baltimore County, she’d gone out of her way to come to Pimlico after watching Jones’ video. “It is as good as people say,” she said. The portion was huge and so were the shrimp; for less than $15, she had enough food to last for several meals. “I will be going back, of course.”

Just after Preakness, the decaying race facilities are set to be demolished. City officials say the structure that takes its place will be more inviting to Park Heights residents and useful to them throughout the year. But Pimlico Chinese Carry Out will live on, serving tradition and comfort in every dish.

Baltimore Banner reporter Emily Opilo contributed to this article.