V-Rating: VVV
Where: 8 Quay Street, Haymarket
Tel: 9281 9051
Prices: Veggie Mains: $8.50 - $9.80

On Wednesday night I headed to Chinatown for dinner with some old friends. We were running through the list of places to eat when a clued-in friend suggested we try Chinese Noodle House. This turned out to be a tiny restaurant tucked away on Quay Street just down from Paddy’s Markets - the kind of place you have to stumble across, or hear about by word of mouth.

When you arrive Chinese Noodle House will probably be full, and there will probably be a line of people waiting to go in. That’s OK, because you’re handed the menu while you wait and can order from outside.

I was dubious about the prospect of vegetarian options but was happy to find there was a separate vegetarian section to the menu with eleven options. Even better, these were not just variations on a ‘vegetable’ theme (i.e. Chinese vegetables, stir fry vegetables, chilli stir fry vegetables, vegetable curry– you get the picture).

Vegetarian options included egg and tomato stir fry, Ma Po Tofu (Sichuan tofu), and braised eggplant. In addition to the eleven vegetarian options, you can also order vegetarian noodle dishes, a house specialty because the noodles are hand made, steamed dumplings, and rice pancakes (essentially over-sized rice paper rolls). I have it on good authority that these all rock.

A few minutes after we ordered we were ushered into the restaurant. We arrived at the table at the same time as our food. This has to rate as the fastest meal I’ve ever been served in a restaurant, and certainly puts the MacDonald’s lot to shame.

The tofu was great – the sauce was thick, rich and savoury which suited the texture of the soft tofu cubes. The noodles were also good, although there were only a few vegetables mixed in. The highlight was the vegetable steamed dumplings, which more than made up for the loss of my dumplings on Monday. These were very fresh and filled with Chinese spinach and a little chilli.

Once inside I was struck by Chinese Noodle House’s fusion design aesthetic. Thick plastic grape vines drooping with thick plastic grapes range wildly across the ceiling. Rug tapestries depicting archetypal ancient scenes drape the walls. These sit a little oddly with the tiled floor, crowded cafeteria style tables, and life-sized picture of menu items that cover the outside glass wall. And yet, it still works in an uber-kitsch kind of way.

One of the best parts of the meal was that our three large dishes and tea came to $24. For great veggie options, tasty food and bargain basement prices, I’d rate Chinese Noodle House a very easy VVV.

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