6th April 2015: Wonderful Noodle Bar & Restaurant 老街坊
Easter long weekend, the forecasts were for rain all weekend, but Sunday’s weather turned out to be very good, this day was slightly overcast, but still better than expected. Walked into the restaurant, was not expecting much from the interior design, but it was a lot better than expected, with long wooden tables, and an open kitchen out front, where the dumplings are hand made to order.
First dish out was the Crispy Spiced Tofu, and yes it was crispy, some of the spice was in the skin, the rest was dusted on after the cooking process. This same spice was used in dusting the Crispy Skin Chicken. The tofu was soft and jelly like as it was supposed to be.
A cooked to order dish was next up, Eggplant and Pork in Black Bean Sauce. This dish wasn’t on the menu, we asked for it, and it was cooked. The black bean sauce made the dish, it was just the right amount of sauce, and the eggplant wasn’t overly oily. The pork was really there for decoration, it was the eggplant that made the dish. Note there was nothing wrong with the pork, it acted more like a garnish then a main ingredient of the dish.
I did not consume the soup dishes, but i did try their hand made noodles, and the noodles had a very nice texture, thick, and not soggy. The noodles were good enough to eat on it’s own, just add a bit of chilli sauce and you have a meal on it’s own. Which is exactly how I consumed it.
The Crispy Skin Chicken, was indeed crispy, the meat fell off the bone, but it was served like that. It was like they took the meat off for us to eat. The meat was more on the dry side, than being moist. This dish was okay, but I wouldn’t order it again, my sister would, and this was the second time she’d ordered it.
Sizzling Crispy Beef in Satay Sauce, the satay sauce was nice and thick, the beef was most probably cooked crispy, but having it satay sauce made it a bit soggy. Nonetheless I liked this dish, it was one big serving, this would easily feed two people if consumed with a bowl of rice.
Pan Fried Pork and Chive Dumplings, these were hand made to order, and these were so good, I would come back just to eat these and nothing else. The amount of meat on the inside is small, but that is the way it is supposed to be. Pan Fried on the one side, crispy, while soft on the other.
If you are looking for this type of food, it is a relatively cheap place to eat, and it is a place where there isn’t likely to be a long queue, like in Ashfield, unless word gets out. I will return to this place.
