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!
The restaurant is more on the small side, but the seating still felt pretty comfortable. The decor is a bit all over the place with mismatched chairs (note the more royal red seat covers vs. the others) and mismatched tables (note the white table cloth tables, wooden table, and glass pane table) but that’s when you know it’s a legit Chinese restaurant!
Beef noodles w/ vegetables in soup with cutting noodles, $7.50: For $7.50, this was really worth it and so delicious! The broth was clear and not too heavy, but still full of flavour. There was a generous amount of beef slices and vegetables as well.
Dan dan noodles w/ dragging noodle, $7.50: What Lanzhou noodle soup to me, is dan dan noodles to the boyfriend. He loves dan dan noodles due to the peanuts and spiciness. I only tried a small bite since I was sick and didn’t want to aggravate my stomach with the chili oil, and it was really good!
Fat Mao Noodles is located inside Chinatown. It is easy to spot from the rest of the stores on the bloack due to it’s glass walls.
The restaurant is fairly small, but seating is still comfortable because customers do not have to squish beside each other. I was greeted instantly by the workers in the open concept kitchen. My friend and I came around 12 pm, and there was only one other table (pic taken before we left).
The menu is also worth including because it is so cute! We really enjoyed the cat themed decor in here, and I’m sure cat lovers would appreciate it as well.
Each table also has a side of sauces to go with the noodles. As you’ll soon read, these sauces played a really important part to my bowl of noodles!
Braised duck noodles, $11.99: With this dish, you could choose between either Shangnai chewy noodles or wide rice noodles. I love my doughy and chewy noodles so I went with the Shanghai noodles.
The noodles were perfect as well. They had a perfect bounce and were chewy. Since they weren’t completely flat, some of soup went in between the folds and made it more flavourful.
Boat noodles, $10.99: This was the special that day. It was a spicy pork broth with pork shoulder, beef balls, fried garlic bits and crunchy deep fried noodles. We also speculated on why it was called boat noodles.
Durian ice cream, $5.99: Although my friend was quite full, she really wanted to try the durian ice cream. She is a huge durian lover and wondered how durian ice cream tasted.
They have a number of locations in Vancouver. This review is for the location in downtown on Seymour Street, a few steps from BCIT Downtown and Granville Skytrain Station. I think this location is somewhat new because when I used to work in this area, it used to be a Taiwanese restaurant.
Lanzhou beef noodle, $9.95: I have been craving Lanzhou noodles ever since I went to 
Peaceful Beef Rolls, $7.95: There was actually another piece in here, but we forgot to take a photo until after my cousin ate it.
Xiao long bao, $7.95: This was the one dish that I didn’t enjoy that day. The noodle soup and beef rolls were amazing, but this was quite lacking. It tasted like those frozen ones from TNT, which I mean is okay if you’re steaming it at home.. but not at a restaurant for almost $8!