You visit Beef Noodle House for their beef noodles, or the stew beef with noodles in brown sauce
($14.95) to be exact. With a choice to order them neutral, a little spicy, or
very spicy, the little spicy version adds a mild chili taste that is perfect. And
after almost a decade, I’m happy to say the dish is just as stellar. The thick
wheat noodles slightly al dante so they resist getting soggy, the broth rich
and savoury, and the beef served as large tender chunks. If you want a deal,
visit during lunch on Tuesday, and pay with cash to get 15% off.
It’s the same Tuesday discount you’re score on the pan-fried
dumplings ($5.50), which are a great add-on with the noodles. At Beef Noodle
House, they are so crispy you’d think they’re deep fried, if it weren’t for the
uneven toasting that indicates they’re pan-fried. I did find the filling too bland, but made use of the table-side sauces.
The restaurant offers a special weekday lunch menu with a selection of items ranging from $8.95 to $11.95 (a different lunch menu is available Tuesday). The stir-fried green beans with pork
and water flour and vermicelli ($9.95; not available Tuesday) consists of a
mixture of two types of noodles, tossed with chunks of lap cheung (Chinese
preserved sausage), ground pork, and eggs. While it’s sauceless, the dish was
still flavourful and reminded me of the stir-fried glutenous rice dish (sang
chow loa miy fan) that’s found during dim sum. For the price, it’s a
surprisingly large portion, but the green beans were too dry, adding colour,
but not much flavour to the noodles.
The Shanghai style fried noodles ($10.95 on Tuesday; $9.95
the rest of the week) were better, using the same pasta as the beef noodles. There’s
a nice wok hay essence but the dish is a tad scant on vegetables,
including a decent amount of pork but only a handful of bean sprouts instead of
the crunchier cabbage that’s usually paired in the recipe.
If you’re sharing noodles, a rice dish is a great second
option to add on. The deep-fried chicken in Hunan style ($11.95 on Tuesday;
$10.95 the rest of the week) was fantastic, the nuggets fried until crispy and
tossed in an addicting sweet and savoury sauce. It’s garlicky and well balanced
in sweetness so you can’t help but keep reaching for another piece. The dish is
ideal for sharing as there’s tons of chicken to go around and it’s all protein with
not a bell pepper or onion in sight.
A freshly prepared hot lunch doesn’t need to cost a lot when you visit Beef Noodle House. Bring a $20 bill and you’ll even have change to spare.
In a nutshell...
- Must order: stew beef with noodles in brown sauce and deep-fried chicken in Hunan style
- Just skip: pan-fried dumplings
Address: 4271 Sheppard Avenue East
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
Is That It? I Want More!
Other Gastro World posts similar to this:
