Sherman's Food Adventures: Congee Noodle House

Congee Noodle House

Generally, when certain menu items are in the actual restaurant name, one would expect them to be good.  For instance, there are some Chinese restaurants that put "Wonton House" in their name, but ultimately, their wontons suck more than a Dyson vacuum. Just because you serve wontons, doesn't mean you should proudly advertise them... However, in past history, Congee Noodle House has lived up to its namesake.  We've done a couple of visits and I decided that another post was in order.

To get a sense of their BBQ meat, we decided to get the 3 BBQ Items on Rice.  Going with the big 3 (Roast Pork, BBQ Pork and BBQ Duck), there was a decent amount to go with the big plate of rice.  I found the roast pork to be meaty, but lacking in flavour.  Furthermore, the most important part, the crackling, was not crunchy at all.  The BBQ pork wasn't bad, yet it was a leaner piece which meant it was more dry.  With only saltiness, the bark could've used more sweetness to balance the flavours.  We did like the BBQ duck though as it was moist (even though it was the breast meat) and natural tasting.  We also got an order of the Sweet & Sour Pork for variety.  The big chunks of pork were indeed crispy, but since they were re-fried, the meat was somewhat chewy.  As for the sauce, it was more sweet than sour.

Okay, now we couldn't visit the place without ordering a bowl of Preserved Egg & Salted Pork Congee could we?  It was pretty thick with big chunks of preserved egg with shredded salty pork.  There was no absence of flavour (thanks to the MSG) while the congee became watery at the end.  And of course we got an order of their other signature item being the Wonton Noodles.  With chewy noodles exhibiting a nice elasticity, this was legit.  The soup was a touch salty, but it couldn't be accused of being bland.  It had the classic flavours including shrimp shells.  As for the wontons, they were of a nice size and contained plenty of crunchy shrimp with bouncy pork. Flavours were apparent without being salty.  We could really get the sesame oil and white pepper hits.

For variety, we also got an order of the Fried Noodle with Beef in Black Bean Sauce.  This was a large portion of mostly crispy noodles and a mound of tender slices of beef, onions and peppers.  There was enough black bean sauce for both flavour and moisture.  It is a real challenge for the noodles to be devoid of grease (since they are deep fried), but these were a touch too oily.  To round out the available options on the menu, we had the Yeung Chow Fried Rice complete with plump crunchy shrimp and lean cubes of BBQ pork.  The rice was dry and chewy benefiting from good wok heat.  Flavours were mild though as there could've been more salt.  Once again, Congee Noodle House came through and offered up solid eats.

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Reasonable pricing
- Good portions

The Bad:
- Quick service, but too busy to do much else
- BBQ items are so-so

Congee Noodle House 粥麵館 on Urbanspoon

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