When a restaurant names itself “No. 1 Beef Noodle House,” the expectations are certainly high. Located across Moscrop Secondary and in a small Burnaby strip mall, No. 1 Beef Noodle House seems like an ideal place for some Taiwanese comfort food on a cold, rainy Vancouver day. This restaurant is a familiar favourite for some of my fellow food bloggers who grew up in the area. As for myself who was raised in Richmond, I must say that I had not ventured much to this particular neighbourhood for food. However, I soon become acquainted with many of No. 1 Beef Noodle House’s comforting dishes at a media tasting organised by Chinesebites.com.
Disclosure: I was invited to attend a media tasting where all food and drinks were complimentary. Opinions are my own.
No. 1 Beef Noodle House Menu
The menu is fully available online in English and Chinese. The choices are extensive and include noodle, rice, hot pot combo, soup, dim sum, hot iron plates and more. Drink options are aplenty (bubble tea, smoothie, yogurt, coffee, mousse and more). For dessert, there are shaved ice, tofu pudding and thick toast.
What We Tried
Our tasting menu consisted of the following with prices compiled by Nosh and Nibble:
- Special Home Style Beef Noodle Soup ($8.75)
- Sichuan Spicy Lamb Hot Pot ($11.50)
- Crispy Salty Peppery Chicken ($7)
- Stir Fried Ginger Beef ($12)
- Braised Chicken with Hua-Diao Wine ($10.25)
- Traditional Deep Fried Pork Chop ($6)
- Hainanese Chicken ($6.25)
- Korean Kimchi Fried Rice with Beef ($9.75)
- Ground Pork Sauce & Marinated Egg on Rice ($8.50)
- Black Pepper Sauce Beef Steak ($12.50)
Favourite Dishes
My five favourite dishes from the media tasting were the Special Home Style Beef Noodle Soup, Sichuan Spicy Lamb Hot Pot, Crispy Salty Peppery Chicken, Stir Fried Ginger Beef and Braised Chicken with Hua-Diao Wine.
The beef noodle soup is their signature dish and had wonderfully tender, meaty chunks of beef. The soup was hearty and flavourful. This was great for a friend of mine who visited since he really enjoys beef, even being a fan of things similar to British Beef Biltong, but for me, this is enough beef for me!
Noodles were more or less al dente. An overall comforting dish.
The Sichuan Spicy Lamb Hot Pot had a really nice spicy kick to it with tender lamb pieces and a flavourful broth. I really felt like this hot pot warmed up my body on that rainy evening.
One of my favourite items to order at a Taiwanese cafe is the Crispy Salty Peppery Chicken. No. 1 Beef Noodle House’s version was very tasty. Good seasoning, tender meat, and crispy on the outside.
The Stir Fried Ginger Beef was surprisingly good! Coated in a sweet and spicy sauce with a crunchy batter on the outside, these morsels of beef were addictive. The amount of sweetness was just right.
The Braised Chicken with Hua-Diao Wine goes well with rice and had juicy and chewy pieces of chicken. The Hua-Diao wine mixed with the Hua-Diao chicken sauce has a slightly sweet taste.
Average Dishes
The dishes I thought were just average included Traditional Deep Fried Pork Chop, Hainanese Chicken, Ground Pork Sauce and Marinated Egg on Rice, and Korean Kimchi Fried Rice with Beef.
The Traditional Deep Fried Pork Chop were nicely juicy and crispy on the outside.
The Korean Kimchi Fried Rice with Beef had lots of great spicy and sweet flavour. It was executed well and you could feel the each grain of rice on your tongue.
Least Favourite Dishes
My least favourite dishes were the Ground Pork Sauce and Marinated Egg on Rice and the Black Pepper Sauce Beef Steak.
The Ground Pork Sauce and Marinated Egg on Rice was a tasty dish with pork in a slightly sweet sauce. Not too memorable in general.
The Black Pepper Sauce Beef Steak was my least favourite dish of the evening. It came on a sizzling hot plate. The sauce and steak texture were off-putting. In particular the steak had a strange, almost spongy texture.
Overall Impression of No. 1 Beef Noodle House
Of the 10 dishes we tried, I very much enjoyed 5 of them. I would only not recommend one dish – the Black Pepper Sauce Beef Steak. Lots of choices on the menu for cozy and comforting eats. Rating: 3.5/5
For other reviews on No. 1 Beef Noodle House, visit Chinesebites.com.
Website: http://jynoodle.com/
Nosh and Nibble
Tuesday 4th of October 2016
Haha oh man. That Black Pepper Sauce Beef Steak was too mushy indeed.