noodles Archives - Page 2 of 10

Food: Rhinofish

December 11, 2017 Leave a Comment

I first heard about Rhinofish in a news article, highlighting their truffle oil Taiwanese chicken nuggets. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never tried Taiwanese nuggets with truffle oil so I was quite intrigued. I finally had the chance to try Rhinofish with Cola a few months after they opened!
Growing up, I was in Chinatown with family often so I remembered this place as a Chinese tea speciality store – Ten Ren Tea to be exact. I was a bit sad to see it go, but change is really evident in Chinatown these past years. Rhinofish also kept the original green tile from the tea shop so that’s good.
We went on a chilly November weekday evening, and it was pretty quiet. The place had new and modern decor, but it had that old building smell and the floors seemed like the original. I quite liked the vibe in here.
Open kitchen and the rest of the restaurant.
Taiwanese chicken nugget w/ truffle oil and parmesan, $8.50: When this arrived, it smelled heavenly. I love the smell of truffle oil and when the scent wafted to my nose, I couldn’t wait to try it! It also came sprinkled with a generous amount of parmesan cheese, which melted a bit from the heat of chicken nuggets.

I was a bit disappointed because I couldn’t really taste the truffle oil at all. After the initial scent of truffle oil when it arrived, the smell dissipated. It tasted like ordinary Taiwanese chicken nuggets, which were still delicious. They were juicy and fresh, just no truffle oil taste.
Taiwanese beef noodles, $14.50: The classic Taiwanese beef noodle soup. This was delicious and just perfect! The broth had a nice depth and richness to it. Meanwhile, the short ribs were richly marinated, incredibly tender and melt in your mouth.

It was the perfect bowl of Taiwanese beef noodles for me, although I read that some people found it too salty. However, I am a savoury food lover (savoury>sweet any day) so take it with a grain of salt, literally ;).
Huadiao rice wine chicken noodle soup, $14: Cola decided to try a different type of noodle soup that night. I tried a bit of the soup, and I found it to be sweeter but flatter than the beef noodle soup. The veggies were clean and fresh, just like my bowl of noodles.

Despite the fact that I came here mainly to try the truffle oil chicken nuggets, I really liked the Taiwanese beef noodle soup. This place is pretty hipster as you can tell with this cute plant IN the table LOL, (along with all the new restaurants popping up in Chinatown), but they do capture traditional Taiwanese beef noodle soup really well.

I can add this place to my list of Taiwanese restaurants for when I am craving beef noodle soup… and with winter coming, you know that I’ll be getting my noodle fix more often!

Yay!

Food: Mr. Chili Noodle House (Two visits)

November 27, 2017 Leave a Comment

When Mr. Chili popped up in the area last year, I was quite excited to try it because I looooove noodles. However, the initial reviews online weren’t that good so my excitement died down. For the past few months, they have been on Groupon so I decided it was time to try it.

I didn’t realize I bought two Groupons for this place on two separate occasions so I went twice… but once was probably enough as it was meh.

I feel like many people don’t know that this place exists. I’ve told my parents, boyfriends, and a few friends about it and they’re all like ??? despite frequenting this area. It’s one of those places that you just pass by without a second glance.

Both Groupons were essentially 50% off the bill. If you’d like to be specific, the first Groupon was $10 for $20 worth of food, while the second Groupon was $20 for $40 worth of food. Again, I don’t remember why I bought two Groupons… must have been really tired the first time and forgot that the Groupon existed…

One thing I’ll give Mr. Chili is their interior design and decor. In fact, I loved their design more than I loved the food.

It’s also very clean and spotless in here (maybe because no one ever comes? LOL ok I’ll stop being so harsh...)

Beef Noodle Soup, $9.50: This beef noodle soup was DEFINITELY not worth $9.50. The soup was very flat and flavourless. It tasted just like salt water. In addition, the brisket was quite tough and flavourless as well.

On the plus, I quite enjoyed the noodles. They had a denser texture to them and were cooked perfectly.

Chicken laksa, $8.95: On the first visit, the boyfriend decided to go with the laksa. It was a way better choice than mine because the laksa actually had flavour to it and was creamy. There was also a good amount of spice. Meanwhile, the chicken was tender.

Now, it’s time for the second visit!

Seafood laksa noodle soup, $8.95: Since the boyfriend’s chicken laksa soup was pretty good during our first visit, he and my mom decided to try the seafood version instead.

When it arrived, they were both pretty disappointed with the amount of “seafood” inside. It came with a measly 3 fish balls cut in half so it looked like more, a small piece of shrimp, dried shrimp flakes, and a mussel (which was very small).

The soup was still flavourful but the value didn’t seem worth it. Better off to get the chicken laksa instead.

Spicy pork intestine noodle soup, $8.50: My dad enjoyed the spicy pork intestine, which I found surprising because he can be very picky sometimes!

Tomato seafood noodle soup, $8.95: I decided to try this since the beef noodle soup was disappointing (see above). This was disappointing as well. The soup was very bland, with only a hint of tomato flavour.

All in all, Mr. Chili was quite meh. Would I recommend coming here without a Groupon (aka paying full price)? Definitely not.

Service was also very, very, very slow. On the second visit, my mom’s seafood laksa came first and she was almost done her bowl before the rest of ours came. In addition, the 2 servers seemed very frazzled, confused, and rushed all the time… but there were only 3 tables??? We think that there was only one kitchen staff because our food came out super slow and one at a time.

Honestly not too sure how this place will survive with how quiet it is. I really wanted to like this place so I had a close noodle joint to go to but there are a lot of better noodle options in the Lower Mainland.

Nay….

Chef Hung Taiwanese Noodle

October 19, 2017 Leave a Comment

In August, I had a craving for Taiwanese noodles, even though it was very hot outside. So after doing some research, I remembered that SFU had just opened a new Taiwanese noodle place, Chef Hung!

I’ve been to the Chef Hung at Aberdeen Center in Richmond at least 6-7 years ago and remembered that it was really good but haven’t gone back since.

Seeing that the distance between Chef Hung’s and another Taiwanese beef noodle place was about the same we decided to go to SFU because we knew that it would not be as busy on a Friday night.

Since it was semester break the restaurant was pretty quiet. Prior to visiting, we called the restaurant to see if it was open as many other food places at SFU were closed during the break.

I’ve heard that during school time the restaurant is pretty lined up and busy though.

The restaurant was pretty comfortable and also very clean! That’s always the plus side of going to new restaurants 🙂

Champion beef brisket in clear noodle soup: I just wanted the standard Taiwanese beef noodle but the menu was a bit confusing as the descriptions didn’t seem to have it. So I decided to just take the chance and get this one and hope that it was the correct one.

Unfortunately, I was wrong! This was not this Taiwanese beef noodle soup that I was craving but I decided to try it anyways! I wasn’t a big fan of the meat because I don’t normally enjoy eating skin or tendon or anything like that, so luckily the boyfriend was able to have all of the meat.

As for the broth, it was really clear and it tasted pretty healthy. I was hoping to have the dark beef broth with preserved veggies that usually comes with Taiwanese noodles but this one was alright too. The only thing that matched my cravings were the chewy flat noodles which were delicious. There were dense and chewy.

Award-winning beef shank and tripe in tomato noodle soup: I guess beef shank was the meat that I was looking for but it’s quite confusing because restaurants describe their meats differently.

So we ended up trading the meat and I had the beef shank, which the boyfriend didn’t mind because he liked the meat in my bowl better anyways. The beef shank was PERFECTTTT, it was so tender and full of marinated flavour!

Just like my soup, his tomato soup was pretty clear and also healthy not to oily or salty.

Taiwanese chicken nuggets: The boyfriend was curious as to how the chicken nuggets fared here. It was a good choice because he really liked them! They weren’t too salty, not overcooked, and very fresh and crispy.

Overall I think that this place is a bit overpriced but you do get what you pay for! All the ingredients are of good quality but it was disappointing to see that they didn’t have the standard Taiwanese beef noodle soup that most Taiwanese restaurants have. However, it’s definitely a decent option to have if you are stuck on campus.

Yay!

Chongqing Noodle House

April 2, 2017 1 Comment

After a very busy week, the boyfriend and I finally were able to spend some quality time together one evening. We found ourselves in Richmond, with the original intent to go to G-Men Ramen but as usual, we couldn’t find parking. So, we went on the trusty Yelp and found Chongqing Noodle House not too far away! But this was the one time Yelp disappointed us lol…..

Chongqing Noodle House is located in a large plaza, with plenty of parking. Right next door, there was a restaurant with the similar colours and branding as Chongqing which we thought was amusing.

We like to eat dinner early because a) I don’t understand how people aren’t hungry after a long day at work, and b) we hate waiting in lines. The restaurant wasn’t full when we arrived, but it filled up throughout out meal.

The inside is pretty clean and not crowded, which is something I always appreciate. Dining out should be comfortable, not crowded and continuously being interrupted by other customers trying to squeeze their way past you!

Spicy beef noodle soup: My go-to! I ordered this half spicy due to my stomach problems. Even though I love my spice, I gotta make sacrifices for health. The initial first bites were delicious, and then it sorta went downhill from there. The soup was very salty and did not have much depth to it. It tasted like MSG water with a ton of spice.

Then, the spice numbed my tongue in an odd way… not like a fire-y and hot way, but more of a numbing feeling like after the dentist. The boyfriend felt the same way with his bowl, and after Googling it, we found out it was due to the Sichuan peppercorns. Never again.

Don’t remember what the boyfriend ordered, but he did not enjoy his noodles either. He also found the soup to be very flat and salty only. I guess you can already tell from the broth and how clear it is, although yes, I know that sometimes clear broth could be tasty.

Remember the numbing tongue feeling I got? Well, it was double the unpleasantness for him because he ordered full spice! But we were both troopers and finished our bowls. At the end of it, our mouths were just very parched from all the salt, and also tingly from the Sichuan peppercorns.

Just like leaving the dentist office after they numb you, but to a lesser extent.

Nay!

Tasty Pho

February 26, 2017 Leave a Comment

When I was in my third year at university, my friends and I would frequently come to Taste of Asia for a cheap and delicious bowl of pho, although laden with so much MSG that copious amounts of water would not suffice. We came here so frequently that the servers recognized us, and we would often engage in conversations with them!

Unfortunately, they changed owners within the past year or so. Taste of Asia became rebranded as Tasty Pho, and they underwent renovations as well. It is no longer a hole in the wall style place but still seems to be family-run. There’s a brand new coat of paint, some big TV screens, new tables and new chairs.

The boyfriend and I came here twice in the last 4 months. Both times, it was because Wah Lun next door was really busy and we didn’t want to wait for a table. The service here is quick and it is never that busy, although the food is decent.

#28, Pho Tai, Nam, Sach, $7.95: This bowl of pho came with rare beef, flank, and tripe. There was a decent amount of meat and tripe. The broth was delicious and fragrant, although a bit more on the salty side. I loved that there was a lot of chopped green onions as well. Overall, very delicious and comforting.

Grilled pork and spring rolls w/ vermicelli, $9.50: The pork was very flavourful with a good amount of lemongrass flavour to it. They do a great job of grilling meats and it’s always very flavourful w a slightly grilled and sweet taste.

The spring rolls were fresh and crunchy as well. The side of veggies were also really fresh, just like my pho.
Overall, Tasty Pho does live up to its’ name and is pretty tasty! Out of the two other Vietnamese places we eat at in this neighbourhood (Coconut Tree and Thai’s Saigon Bistro), Tasty Pho has risen to the top of our list.

Yay!