We almost didn’t eat here, and that would have been a shame.
Joyce of @monkeyeatsworld and I were looking for noodles for dinner. Seeing her always reminds me of delicious noodles, as she has brought me to a handful of great spots, this one included.
In the heart of downtown, we Google searched the closest noodle house to us and this is what came up. Truth be told, when I saw a line of 6 standing outside on the sidewalk, my hunger and impatient-ness had me wanting to walk away. But luckily Joyce noted how fast the tables were being turned over and we opted to be quickly sat at the window bar when it was our turn to be seated.
And truthfully these were the best seats. With the ability to people watch as you faced the street, and when you turned around you got a view of the entire kitchen. And that is where all the deliciousness happens. Especially with pulling and hand cut noodles on the menu. The latter of which is my favourite kind, given its unique shape and thick-cut chew.
At such places I give Joyce the wheel as she is the expert. The following is what she ordered for us to share and I have no complaints.
With each noodle order you can choose the type of noodles you want. So with our Lanzhou beef soup noodles we went with the blade cutting noodles, that we watched them prepare from behind the window of our bar seat.
I expected small strokes for jagged bites, but thankfully it came with lengthy strands in the same thickness and chewy we wanted and were expecting. Its texture highlighted the tender beef and the fragrant broth. Deliciously comforting.
Xiao long bao is a classic and theirs was a nice rendition. It was well seasoned so you didn’t actually need any soy to flavour. Each dumpling was well filled with warming soup, but could have used more meaty filling for a more even dough to pork ratio.
Another classic Taiwanese staple is the Beef roll with green onion pancake, and this was another dish that hit the mark. Crispy dough with fragrant greens embedded within. Tender saucy meat with the familiar tang of hoisin sauce.
Even writing this now, I am reminded of how tasty and deeply satisfying everything we had was. Can and do fully recommend.
Happy Noodle House
630 Davie St, Vancouver, BC V6B 2G5
604-488-0399
happy-noodle-house.business.site
