Today we were at an unexpected spot for Chinese food. Starlight Casino in New Westminster has upgraded their to-go noodle option. It was once but a counter annex to their in-house buffet. It offered the option to grab a box of noodles in the stereotypical 90’s sitcom white and red boxes to go. However, casino patrons wanted to eat it right away, so they have now expanded the dining room to accommodate plenty of tables and booth seats for comfort.
First off all, coming in through the casino front entrance we were impressed. We have been to other casino properties recently and they definitely did not do as good of a job in representing the holidays. Here there were Chinese new year dragons hung overhead in the foyer and plenty of red and gold lions propped up in display, and greeting you in doorways. It felt festive and welcoming, and they even have a photo op set up in their once gift shop.
Signs led us through the casino to one of their food options. The aforementioned counter greets you with a neon lit bowl of noodles and chopsticks.
This was a tasting, where we were given an opportunity to appreciate and take photos of full dishes from the entire menu, and sample portions in scaled down sizes. We unfortunately arrived late, so alot of the dishes and their soups on display congealed, so take the photos with a grain of salt. I will post them all for references, but only review that which I actually tried.
The casino is attempting to serve their clientele, which is predominately Chinese, Asian with what they want. A quick and fulsome meal in between bouts of game play. Familiar flavours done authentically helmed by a Chinese head chef and team hailing from Hong Kong. Each with the experience of cooking their local cuisine, and it did showed here.
There really isn’t a spot I can think of when looking for Chinese food in New Westminster, so Noodles to Go is definitely looking to fill that gap. The only downside to this is the need to search for busy casino parking, line up and show ID to enter the gaming floor, and a walk to access this counter and/or dining room. The plus side, stopping to play slots or table games and winning enough to pay for your meal.
The dining room did well to lend itself to theme with wallpaper of a cityscape of red tile and curved roofs, red paper lanterns strung up over head, bamboo poles to seperate the room, giant takeout box shaped lights, and a waving cat in neon.
We started with three of their full sized appetizers and finished them in full between two, as a testimony to their taste. Everything was expected and tasted as we thought it should, it delivered on its authenticity promise. Maybe not the best that you have ever had, but variations on what you know, flavours that hit the spot, and better than other casino Asian food options.
The gyozas were each perfectly pinched, stuffed with a good amount of pork speckled with a nice crunch from some vegetable. The dip a fragrant vinegar adding a good amount of acidity to have us coming back for more, one after another until the plate was empty.
Similarly the Crispy Spring Roll was filled in full, a mix of pork, julienne carrot, bamboo shoots, and shittake mushroom. It reminded me of the classic Vietnamese spring roll with fish sauce for dip, just wrapped in the Chinese style smooth wrappers instead of the jagged double fry ones.
The room really loved the Crispy Tofu in Garlic Sauce, and we agreed. I appreciated how small the blocks were, so each bite was given a great 1:1 ratio of crispy shell and soft centre. And there was plenty of sauce to sop up, all pooled at the bottom of the full block. I just would have liked a side dish of it to keep the tofu crispier for longer and to really soak with the sweet and salty sauce that gave this dish its flavour.
I also really appreciated the generous side of pickled daikon and carrot on the side to use as a palate refresher. I made sure to save what we didn’t finish here for our second course.
We got a good scope of the kitchen’s ability with a full single serving bowl of the following. Not only Chinese style noodles, but Vietnamese, Malaysian, and Singaporean as well.
We also got to try a couple of their cocktails from the casino’s bar drink menu. Truthfully it tasted off and after a couple of sips, we refused to finish. Pretty, but not worth repeating.
Like with the tofu, the room was exited by the laksa. Having visited Malaysia and growing up with the cuisine, I can confirm that the recipe is authentic. The broth has a good back of the throat tickle and the soup is creamy with coconut milk. Even all the familiar toppings were represented. Fried tofu puffs, shrimp, fish cake, pieces of dark meat chicken, and half a boiled egg. This verison is prepared with vermicelli, whereas out of personal preference I would have liked the thicker noodles with an egg noodle mix, like how they have it in South East Asia. I can see why this is the most ordered dish on their menu.
We also enjoyed the Kon Chow Beef noodles. Flat rice noodles with tender beef, sliced onion and bean sprouts, dyed a dark brown from the heavier use of soy sauce. This is such a simple to prepare dish, but easy to fail on if you don’t get that telltale char from a high heat wok fire. We could have used more of it, but for what it is and where we were, we enjoyed it.
The Lemongrass Beef Vermicelli is like a classic refreshing and saucy Vietnamese noodle bowl. More of that tender beef above but done tangy and citrusy. This was the main flavour agent over a bed of fresh noodles and raw vegetables. Here, my saved pickled vegetables from above found its home. A tasty take and no different than what I have ordered from, from other convenient Vietnamese cafes. I just would have liked the option to add on a fried egg or to make it rice out of pretence.
Despite their name, they do also offer rice dishes like with their curries and their fried rice options. The Yangzhou fried rice is one of the most popular fried rice recipes. Bbq pork, shrimp, carrot, peas, and egg with wok fried rice. Light and airy, a serving that is tasty as is, but best with a side of Chinese bbq meats, (in my opinion).
And our last tasting dish was a Singaporean style light curry vermicelli, like that which my mom makes. Another lighter and fresher noodle option, gently spiced with a savoury curry heat. Not my favourite, but another they do do authentically.
In short, Noodles to Go definitely does what they go out to achieve. Authentic Asian style noodles for their premdominately Asian clientele, and a quick and easy option for the locals of New Westminster. At $15-16 a full bowl, they make a decent option for date night at Starlight Casino.
Scroll to the bottom for pictures of the staged bowls.
Starlight Casino
350 Gifford St, New Westminster, BC V3M 7A3
(604) 777-2946
starlightcasino.ca
