I thought that the little poll I put up for the best Vietnamese restaurant in Richmond was fun (see poll at the bottom of the post here). In that post, I was root for the Green Lemongrass but as it stands now, Thai Son is leading Green Lemongrass by just a mere vote. These two restaurants is on a dead-heat and simply led by a vast margin over the other Vietnamese restaurants.
So I thought it would be fun to see what is everyone’s favouritest TAIWANESE BEEF NOODLES. I have put up a poll at the end of this post. I hope would you take a minute to select ALL (not just one) of your favourite Taiwanese Beef Noodle places.
I know there are other good Taiwanesese beef noodles restaurants in Vancouver but for simplicity sake, I will limit the poll to the ones below. There are a total of 15 that we had been to and blogged about. You can click on the pictures below if you want and it will bring you to the relevant post.
So vote away. Enjoy! [The poll is located at the bottom of the post after the jump]
Lao Shan Dong [chowtimes review] (40%, 63 Votes)
Chef Hung [chowtimes review] (21%, 33 Votes)
No 1 Beef Noodle [chowtimes review] (18%, 29 Votes)
Tony’s Beef Noodle [chowtimes review] (16%, 25 Votes)
Taiwanese Beef Noodle King [chowtimes review] (10%, 16 Votes)
Accord Food House [chowtimes review] (10%, 15 Votes)
Beefy Neef Noodle [chowtimes review] (8%, 13 Votes)
Sunway [chowtimes review] (8%, 12 Votes)
The One [chowtimes review] (6%, 10 Votes)
Dinesty [chowtimes review] (6%, 10 Votes)
Tri-ty Cafe [chowtimes review] (4%, 6 Votes)
YY Village [chowtimes review] (3%, 5 Votes)
Corner 23 [chowtimes review] (3%, 4 Votes)
Cabin 5555 [chowtimes review] (3%, 4 Votes)
Liu’s Taiwanese [chowtimes review] (1%, 2 Votes)
Total Voters: 157
Have you tried the one at Flo Tea? I love it there!
Hi Julie: We had been to Flo Tea but had never tried their beef noodles. Ben
Flo Tea Room has a good “Szechuan Beef Noodle Soup,” — but — and this is a BIG BUT — it only appears on their late night menu (9pm and later). I don’t know why this is. They have two other beef noodle soups on their regular menu, which are not bad, but it is the Szechuan Beef Noodle that I like the best. It never appears before 9pm though.
I’ve recently tried their Baked Rice with Cod and Spinach and I was very pleased that it was good, probably my favourite of all the baked rice with cod and spinach dishes that I’ve tried around town. Their Pork with Squash Hot Pot is also quite good: very light but satisfying, perfect for a rainy day.
Hi JS: Was that right that the Szechuan Beef Noodle Soup is only available in the late night menu? We had that dish when we went to Flo and coincidentally it was late night too. Ben
Yup. . .I was hoping that they might have it available on their afternoon menu (230-530) but it never is. It’s just on that other menu, the one that appears after 9pm. Don’t know why this is and we’ve been scratching our heads about this for quite some time.
It’s not like Taiwanese beef noodle soup per se: they serve it with rice noodles and it has a particular — hmm, wine-y? — aroma, flavour, and finish that sets it apart from the Taiwanese beef noodle soups.
I actually like the beef noodles at Pearl House Restaurant in Burnaby. The soup has a great kick to it and you can sub the regular noodles for thick noodles.
I think Lao Shan Dong has lost its touch. The last time we went the soup was bland and even the spicy beef noodle was bland and not spicy. I remember when they were great, but the last time I went it was a hugh fail.
Hi Ling: I do agree with you about Lao Shan Dong is so different from when it was. I work near it and walk past it all the time. Gone is the lines and often it is not as full as it used to be. I was thinking that the Cattle Cafe next door had sucked away a lot of their customers. The lines at Cattle Cafe during lunch time is unbelievable. For beef noodle these days, I head to Accord (about 3-4 minutes walk westward on Kingsway). If you had never tried Accord before, give that a try. I really like it. Ben
Or some of those LSD customers went over to The One [like me, wink]
I was at LSD two weeks ago. Had the 1/2 beef 1/2 tendon noodles. It was about as good as I remembered. But it was also a very wet and cold day, so the soup & noodles *really* hit the spot !
Wow, the Mother of All Taiwan Beef Noodles Comparisons ! Good work, Ben.
I’m still pretty partial to LSD (um, Lao Shan Dong, not the other “LSD”) and their sister resto The One. Taiwanese Beef Noodle King on Oak is a very very close second.
BUT I recently discovered a superb bowl of beef noodles, at the Green Bamboo in the Crystal Mall in Burnaby. Karl has a write-up about them:
http://thefridaylunch.wordpress.com/2010/11/02/green-bamboo-re-visited
I’ll need to do more “field data collection” on this one, hehehehe……..
Hi LotusRapper: Isn’t Green Bamboo a Vietnamese restaurant? I had been there before but can’t remember specifically seeing Taiwanese style beef noodles. I am quite impressed that they had so many types of noodles. Ben
Yeah I don’t that neither. Maybe at one time they were solely Vietnamese and later changed owners ? All I heard in there was Taiwanese Mandarin, so it was pretty clear they were not being run by Vietnamese.
And they have dumplings ! Now GB could be my one-stop shop ! Now if only they make salty crispy fried chicken nuggets (with fried basil) 😀
GB run by husband Vietnanese Chinese and wife Chinese. They have regular pho & vietnamese food but they do have a good bowl of Chinese beef noodle when the husband makes it fresh that day. That’s the problem of having such a large menu where the food becomes inconsistent 🙂
Thanks for that insider info, Sky.
Another good one is Favor eat world at Crystal food court, good depth in the soup and perfect meat & tendon.
1. LSD I agree it use to be better, but I find the beef very very dry (jerky like)and the tendon cut too big.
2. Chef hung has really nice noodles especially the thin ones, soup is good but some might find it pricy since they have to pay the rent of arberdeen.
3. Accord, use to go a lot more , but find they missing preserved vegetable and soup is too much soy sause based.
4. No 1 is inconsistent but does have one of the best beef brisket on a good day. Beefy beef is the same owners
5. Tony use to be good until he relocated to oak Taiwanese beef noodle King. I don’t think Tony disclosed all the secrets in the soup to the new owners 😉
6 Sunway has good homemade noodles, but that’s about it as the soup and beef I’d just average.
7. Corner 23 is pretty average since they specialize in other Tw cuisines…
Just my 2 cents on these restaurants 🙂
Hi Sky:
/// Quote 5. Tony use to be good until he relocated to oak Taiwanese beef noodle King. I don’t think Tony disclosed all the secrets in the soup to the new owners 😉 Unquote ///
So, is that the real Tony that is now running the Taiwanese Beef Noodle King on Oak? Tony sold his name? I thought that the TBN King on Oak was originally from the restaurant Granville.
Ben
I think Tony’s first restaurant used to be on Main and 37th or something. Then he opened up the one on Cambie. Then he sold it, stopped for a while and opened up TWBNKing.
That was my first local bowl of TBN, the original Tony’s hole-in-wall at Main/37th here (old faded sign still there): http://goo.gl/YGAA4
Hey Ben,
Last week I had the Beef Noodle soup at Shanghai House……pretty decent. Just posted about it.
http://wokinthetuscankitchen.blogspot.com/2011/01/shanghai-house-in-richmond.html
I know, it’s not technically Taiwanese as it is “Szechuan Beef Noodle Soup”, but tasty all the same.
BR and I will definitely have to check out LSD…..(Loving this acronym!) Thanks for another informative post.
Hi joyluckclub: Oh nice review! I had never been to Shanghai House before thinking it is so classy and expensive. The Szechuan Beef Noodle Soup looked good and am amazed it is just $6 on your receipt. It looked like a big bowl too judging from the scoop that is inside the bowl. We gotta go check it out! Ben
Hi Ben, yes I heard it from someone before. Next time you are in TBN King take a look at the chef, he is the same guy as the picture in Tonys beef noodle signage outside!
The Granville one came from the main street before…
I had a bowl of Beef Noodles (1/2 tendon, 1/2 beef) at Dinesty yesterday. It was fairly good, I like wider, chewey noodles which they offered. The beef chunks were just ok, though, I thought. They weren’t terribly tasty but fairly tender. The beef tendon chunks were inconsistent, some were quite tough while others were almost slimey ….. a strange combination I found odd and not too appealing. The broth was alright but lacked depth.
OR you can make your own!!!! MMmMmmMm~ =p
http://www.priscillaliang.com/2010/07/braised-beef-noodle-soup-%E7%B4%85%E7%87%92%E7%89%9B%E8%82%89%E9%BA%B5/
Oh yum! If I knew earlier I would have added Chez Priscilla on the poll. 🙂 Ben
Hahha~ try it when you have time… it’s really tasty!! =D
Has anyone tried the TBN at Estea in Richmond? It’s a typical bbt restaurant, but my cousin lives for their TBN. It’s his fave bar none, above even LSD and all others around Lower Mainland. He says it’s because the soup is really flavorful and the pickled veggies on top help to cut the richness of the soup and add some additional texture.
Hi Rmd_Foodie: Nope, not me. I had been to Estea but we did not order TBN. Ben
Microwave Chee Cheong Fun
3/4 c rice flour
1/4 c tapiocal starch
1 T. oil
1 1/4 c water
Mix well and pour enough batter to coat a grese microwave pan and cover cook for 1 to 2 mins depend on how large pan use roll out and cool. You could add green onion dry shrimp or char siu to batter also.
You might add a bit more water to your taste in how thin you like it to be.
Thus far, I’ve had the best TBN at the most unusual (well, sort of) place: Bubble World. As much as I detest their average drink menu, the TBN is actually genuine like the ones in Taiwan! I also agree with Sky that Favor eat world in the Crystal Mall food court is great as well 🙂
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