I celebrated my birthday dinner with my UBC friends at Long’s Noodle House. The group came here a few years ago. The food was decent, but what impressed more was how crowded it was. The place was tiny and they try to jam too many big tables in the space, not the best choice if you are claustrophobic.
Years later, I still keep hearing good things about this place, such as how the food is worth the long wait. My friend Bert even said it was the best Shanghainese food in the city for him. So when my buddies ask me to pick a place for my birthday dinner, I decided to try Long’s for sake of the good food that so many people raving about.
Nothing much has changed for the place, and it was still way too crowded. I was sitting right by the door, so I was constantly getting body contacts from other diners who walked in and out the place. I was asked to adjust my seat twice when different seating situations were happing at the table right behind me. This didn’t bother me much though, as I was being a good sport and the seating discomfort was well expected. However, I have high expectations over the food here. Let’s see how the dishes went.
The Drunken Chicken was prepared well, as the meat was flavourful and exhibited a good texture. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get us a nicer chunk of chicken with the skin intact.
The Zhajiang Noodle, populous in China for the “Zhajiang” sauce made of minced pork and fermented soybean paste, was surprisingly subtle in flavour despite the dark colour. It was okay but I was expecting some bold flavour.
The following dishes were well prepared but nothing special: the Fish Thick Soup (or they call it Sister Song’s Fish Soup in Chinese), the Hot and Sour Soup, the Stir-Fried Pea Shoots, and the Pan Fried Shanghai Rice Cake, all very common household dishes. The portion was pretty small as well. There were 10 of us, and we could get a bite or 2 from each dish overnight tramadol delivery each.
I liked the Yellow Crab Shell Pies, although they just looked like crab shell and there was no crab meat in them. The crunchy exterior was highlighted with nuttiness from sesame seeds.
The Soup Dumplings were also decent, meaning they have passed the basic test for being a Shanghai style restaurant.
The following dishes were lackluster despite being well-known dishes. The Minced Pork with Fried Vermicelli (or called “Ants on Tree” in Chinese) was a very simple dish with vermicelli and minced pork mixed together. I had tried a different version and it was a much more fun with deep fried vermicelli sizzling under the freshly pan-fried minced pork. The Pan Fried Eel with Gravy was the most expensive dish of the evening, but it was just a gluey mess and I couldn’t taste the eel.
I actually like the dessert dishes the most, with Glutenous Rice Flour Dumplings in Sweet Rice Wine Broth. We ordered 2 types of dumplings, the small ones and the bigger ones that were filled with sesame paste and brown sugar. The sweetness was balanced nicely with the rice wine aroma.
The noodle and pastry dishes were decent at Long’s Noodle House, and so were the soup dumplings. As for the rest of the dishes, they were not bad but just lacked excitement. The place may be popular among the loyal customers who have grown attached to it, but I really don’t see the food here stand out among other places. Maybe my expectations were a little high. When the food is a little too pricey, the hole-in-the-wall charm is lost – I rather pay more to sit more comfortably at a bigger restaurant with bigger portion size.
Price: $$ – $$$
Rating:
[wp-review id=”12950″]
Website and menu:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Longs-Noodle-House/158372327530580
More reviews:
Location:
1015
