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Michigan Noodle Shop
Category: Restaurants Chinese Chinese [Edit]
8580 Alexandra RdSte 1160
Richmond, BC V6X 4B3
Neighbourhood: Golden Village
(604) 276-0882
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
13 reviews for Michigan Noodle Shop
13 reviews in English
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Review from Michael U.
2/21/2012 20 photos
For a second stop along the way, a spot we'd originally targeted for lunch but ended up enjoying for an early dinner instead, Michigan Noodle would prove an interesting stop for a quartet of Ohioans a whole country away from our neighboring state but having it on good word that this a great place for hand pulled noodles and wantons at a bargain price we decided to take a chance and incidentally ended up with some really great food in a fairly unlikely place.
Located in a rather non-descript bank of buildings and tucked way back in the corner so much that we would have never seen it had it not been for our GPS we found ample parking at Michigan Noodle and made our way in to find the restaurant largely empty at the off-hour of 4:00pm.
Sitting and browsing the surprisingly large menu with more varieties of noodles and dumplings than I'd have ever guessed existed it would be mere moments before an older waitress would approach our table with tea ($1/ea surcharge) and a tray of condiments including soy, spicy, and sweet sauces and speaking English better than any of our Dim Sum servers she asked us what we would like while also making some recommendations - an eventual dialogue that led to four entirely different dishes that she assured us would be large enough to share.
Sitting and browsing the room, now with four other tables filled and soon to be at about 75% capacity, Michigan Noodle would prove to be the first Chinese restaurant we'd been to on the trip without a speck of Christmas or Americana dotting the walls. Composed mostly of dark woods, white walls, and traditional tapestries and photographs the restaurant certainly felt like a place for locals and all things being equal the service was actually much better than it needed to be with our server bringing us cold water and tea refills plus silverware (okay, perhaps a bit of an assumption on her part there) without request and with a partially open kitchen diners were also treated to a show as the team stood there forming, stretching, and cutting noodles with great rapidity in utter silence.
Feeling rather hungry as we had missed lunch it would be only a short while before our orders would arrive and with each served in a surprisingly large bowl given the low prices we all knew food would be going back to the kitchen but planned to do our best and ended up leaving very little. Beginning first with my order, at first a slip up (the good kind where you get more food,) I selected the Fried Duck Congee but was instead served the Black Mushroom and Chicken Congee and although the mistake was delicious with the intensely creamy and slightly saline rice providing a nice backdrop to the earthy noodles and chicken the duck was even better with a crackling skin and unctuous meat in the same rice broth. Adding a touch of soy for some bites, a touch of the sweet sauce for others, and just a dab of hot sauce to taste my only wish would have been for the duck to be deboned - a small quibble when eating casually, but messy regardless.
Moving next to the reason we decided to visit in the first place, the noodles, my mother's Traditional Wanton Noodle Soup would prove to be a stunner - by far the best I have tasted in my limited experience but with a steamy broth was clean and clear yet rich and intense underlying springy and delicate noodles plus translucent pockets of pork and mushroom that burst in the mouth leaving behind a balanced but porky sapor. While certainly not for the MSG intolerant I will say that very few things that cost $5 are this tasty and this satisfying.
Choosing to sample her noodles without soup my aunt elected for the Lo Mein with Ginger and Green Onion and although it too was tasty I'm almost certain her noodles were envious of those that got to bathe with the wantons in that broth. Still impressively delicate given their thinness and with a great taste added by the ginger I will note that when sharing was complete it was just under half of this dish and approximately 1/4 of the *bonus* congee that went uneaten.
Rounding out our sampling (and likely accounting for my first congee) at the recommendation of our server my sister selected the Fried Noodles with Carrot, Black Mushroom, Chicken, and Bok Choy - an insanely large dish for the price that came served in big glass bowl with the crunchy noodles at the base and at least a quarter pound of boiled and lacquered chicken plus similar amounts of tender bok choy, crunchy carrots, and aromatic black mushrooms all bathed in a slightly sweet oyster sauce. Perhaps the most "familiar" of the selections as a similar version of this is found on the majority of Americanized Chinese restaurants I have to say that at first I was slightly surprised that our waitress had suggested this but in the end whether she did so because she assumed we were looking for familiar foods or because she really thought it was good doesn't matter - it was delicious. -
Review from Ken H.
1/16/2012 1 Check-in Here
Came in here when I was really hungry one morning and this is the only place that was open at the hour.
Interesting decoration. Even their lamps were carefully selected, I like the details.
The foods , however, were quite average.
Wonton was alright (although they claimed they are specialist). The meat was not seasoned enough but they still put one whole shrimp in every wonton. The beef tendon was alright, can be better if they simmered longer and the rice noodle was unremarkable.
For quick and cheap meal, this is not bad. But I like other restaurants around this area more if I could wait longer. -
Review from Lisa L.
1/14/2012
My mom, sister and I had a 10 day trip from Seattle, Washington to parts of Canada this summer. I remember we stayed at the local La Quinta hotel nearby for several days and we would always wind up here to grab some grub for dinner mostly. I guess this is a very asian-populated area, which was a bit of a disappointment since we live in the Silicon Valley, which is like overly populated with Asians. Not a problem, just that we thought we would be exploring new territory haha. Oh well.
Michigan Noodle soup offered a variety of asian dishes, but we wanted to go simple and save money on food so that we could splurge on our trip and other goodies we could eat instead of something that would just digest in our bodies know what I mean?
For basically the few nights there, we tried many of their delicious congee. I mean, congee is pretty plain and sounds bland, but the way they prepared theirs is just so good! If I had just the plain porridge, i would probably be content too. The porridge is just so creamy like they added broth to it. LOL hopefully no MSG was added... ahh.
I liked the toppings? that complemented the porridge. Our favorites included the Oyster, Century Duck egg, and some meat congee. All were very filling and left us leaving the store happy.
We had the same waiter lady all those nights and she was definitely very friendly and remembered us until our last day. Our impression of Richmond, BC was good from start to finish thanks to this yummy place,
Would definitely come back to eat their porridge again and try other dishes! -
Review from Edward L.
I've been hearing a lot about this place, and so decided to give it a try. It was pretty packed, which made me hopeful.
There is a parking lot here, but it was completely full. If you get desperate you can park at Lansdowne, but don't look at me if you get ticketed or towed.
The food was fresh, but mediocre. These have to be some of the smallest wontons I have ever had. They were literally the size of pinballs. Taste-wise they were okay, but boy was this disappointing. Their noodles were fresh and not soggy. The soup had a bit too much salt compared to other places. Salt, not MSG.
I'm not sure if I'll be back, to be honest. -
Review from Annie M.
Vancouver, BC
We came here for lunch and the food portion was small - just so so food
The noodles was good but the beef brisket and shrimp dumpling just ok.
The deep fried fish paste ball was terrible!! Too much corn starch and too little fish paste. -
Review from Herman E.
11/22/2011
See my review of McKims
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Review from Marc D.
Vancouver, BC
7/15/2009
* Good for Vancouver, would be GREAT for someplace else *
Had lunch here today and I realized that I'm really happy to live in the Vancouver area. This spot would be a 4 or 5 star in most other cities in North America. But we have such a good variety available here (mostly in Richmond) that it is just a 3 star in comparison.
Let me compare to my current favourite for wonton noodles: Tsim Chai (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...)
I ordered my 2 standard test dishes of tendon wonton noodle, and chicken knees.
Noodles: were a bit clumpy, had a slight hint of ammonia taste. Point goes to Tsim Chai for perfectly cooked noodles with no hint of ammonia at all.
Tendon: good, but could have had a bit more star anise flavour. Point goes to Tsim Chai.
Broth: decent, but a bit MSG tasting and not enough shrimp taste in the stock (my guess is they didn't include the shells and used just dried flounder instead of a good mix like they should). Point goes to Tsim Chai for not having a strong MSG flavour, not tasting overly salty, and having nice shrimp flavour to balance things out.
Wontons: good wrapper, but hard to find the shrimp in the filling. Point goes to Tsim Chai for fresh large shrimp.
Chicken knees: good version, not greasy, jalapenos added a nice amount of heat. Slightly too much salt though. Point goes to Tsim Chai.
Atmosphere: feels a bit more upscale than Tsim Chai. Point goes to Michigan.
Parking: sucks at both places. Tie.
Name: Michigan. WTF???? Point to Tsim Chai.
So overall it is a clear win for Tsim Chai - when I go for noodles I'm not looking for atmosphere as much as the quality of the food.Listed in: Vancouver Chinese Food, Vanoodle, Engrish, Vancouver Dumplings
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Review from Randy F.
7/8/2009 3 photos
Michigan Noodle Shop is a restaurant that I'm reluctant to even review. That's how good this place is.
In the niche world of soup noodles and with an unassuming name (Michigan?!?!) that is barely visible from it's corner location, it's not surprising that this place hasn't been reviewed yet. Either that or smarter people than I just don't want the rest of us to find out.
But I'll spill the beans (and provide pictures to boot). Michigan Noodle Soup is hands-down the best won ton noodle soup place I have ever been to. Here's the interesting thing. I don't really like won ton/shiu gao noodles. Give me beef soup noodles. Give me pho. Give me Chinese porridge. Won ton noodles is very low on my preference list.
But gosh darn it, the won ton noodles here are so perfect that even I can't deny them. The other soup noodles (beef and tendon noodle soup, roasted duck) are pretty solid too, but won ton (and shiu gao = bigger won ton with mushrooms) is the star.
Broth - hot, hearty, and absolutely "luung" or concentrated in flavor. One sip and it warms your stomach and taste buds.
Noodles - the most finely made noodles. It's amazing how delicate and soft the noodles are. I'm surprised they don't break. That's how thin they are.
Won ton/Shiu gao - absolutely perfection. The skin is transparent and like a subtle covering. The meat is soft and delicate, not hard and overcooked like every other won ton noodle shop I've had in the SF Bay Area. The contrast is simply amazing.
Michigan Noodle Shop was the only place we ate at twice during our trip. Enough said. That and I think their name should be changed to Won Ton King Noodle Shop.
Cash only.
P.S. Oops. I realized I have no pics of the won ton or shiu gao. They were so delicious, I ate them too fast... -
Review from Larry L.
Thought I'd better update my review of this place, since I've been here like a dozen times or more since the last review.
Still solid, consistent food pumped out everyday like a good Wuntun place should. This is why I keep coming back. The staff are friendly (you just need to know how to interact with them) and it actually does have an upbeat tempo to the place.
My only challenge is when I enter, the staff kinda know who I am, but still think I can speak Chinese. So sometimes ordering can be a challenge when they talk to me in Chinese and I have to reply in English hoping I understood them.
With other friends, it seems that they have no problem ordering in English.
So I guess, it's just that they got used to talking to me in this way.
It is fun though!Listed in: Wanting for Wuntun and Congee, Ham Yu (Chinese steamed pork…
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/15/2009
This is one of the best wun tun noodles shops in town. I could eat here everyday.
In fact I was here… Read more »
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Review from eugene s.
12/31/2011
Good wonton noodle soup place. Unfortunately, their tea time menu does not have wonton noodle soup. Otherwise, it would be a great tea time place. I like their thin noodle and the soup base.
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Review from Derrick W.
7/2/2010
Ate here twice and still not sure what to think of the place completely. Their noodles are good... In soup form (Wonton Noodle Soup) it was ok at best... the texture just wasn't the same as the noodle shops in SF and San Jose. On the other hand.... when pan fried... they were excellent. Just the right texture and consistency for Hong Kong Style Pan Fried Noodles. Beef Stew was ok, Wonton was ok, the deep fried pig intestines was very good, and the fried noodles... the bomb.
We tried the jook (rice congee) and that was very good. Just as good as the top place in SF Chinatown. Can't complain at all. Service was luke warm at best from one of the servers while good from others including the owner. He was cool.
If I'm in the area again, I'd eat here. A bit pricy though, but heck... it's Vancouver/Richmond. -
Review from Sonya J.
Richmond, BC
3/14/2010
Portions are small but the noodles are delicious. Especially the beef brisket. Their lai cha is not to die for but the traditional noodle soup dishes are great.
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Review from P F.
Richmond, BC
12/27/2009
Well ... I have been eating out the whole day today and that's why I am writing my second review of the day. Back to this Michigan Noodle Shop ... Again, I am sure there is no argument about their wun tun. I had fish and pork neck meat rice vermicelli soup for the change (Note: not the ordinary vermicelli, but vermicelli threads) and milk tea. I should of know better, you should only have wun tun noodle at a wun tun noodle place; similarly, you should only order sushi at a sushi place. The soup was rather bland, it can be hotter. Fish and the pork were fresh at least and the most disappointment - a hot milk tea turned into a lurk warm milk tea. Need I say more??
