Chinese noodle restaurant – Haymarket, Chinatown, Sydney CBD
Sadly soggy, oily, yucky.
A disturbingly oily pork mince pastry is the last dish to arrive at our table and no one dares to touch it. I brace myself and pick a slice up with my chopsticks, its soggy bottom threatens to split and the filling inside almost become a table wipe. With quick thinking and a fast maneuver, I pick up my bowl to fetch it instead of dragging it across the table, thank god I manage to save it from a total disaster just by the second. Mr P follows suit, but Helen refuses to touch it.
Don’t you just hate when friends ask you to bring them to restaurant where you had some great food in the past, and then when you go back with them and it turns out to be totally shit? I’m not just losing my credibility, the friendship possibly also in jeopardy. That’s what happened recently, when Helen and I catching up with Mr P, a freelance journalist who we met at Tasting Australia in Adelaide for a cheap dinner in Chinatown. I overruled Mr P’s suggestion of Mamak since I just came back from Malaysia and suggested to go to Chinese Noodle Restaurant where I had some great meals many moons ago. But this time is shockingly horrendous.
Chinese noodle restaurant on Thomas Street, Haymarket has been a long time favourite among Sydneysiders. With its cheap and cheerful menu of Northern Chinese handmade noodle and dumplings are particularly attractive to uni students and more recently frequented by young hipsters I’ve noticed.
Make no mistakes, there are actually two northern Chinese noodle restaurants tucked away at the same spot in Prince Centre, and the competitiveness is feisty. Young Chinese girls are standing outside, spruiking with laminated menus and both restaurants are just as busy. But Chinese noodle restaurant on the left is just a tad more popular with patrons waiting outside while perusing the menu and ready to order before even getting inside the restaurant. The service of this restaurant without a doubt is one of the most efficient yet can be a little brusque and pushy. Within the first 5 minutes of waiting, the lady has already come back to us three times asking whether we are ready to order.
The restaurant resembles of a tiny shoe box, with a horde of patrons squeeze inside the extremely cosy space, everyone seems to enjoying their meals under the fake plastic grapevine overhead and Persian tapestries on both walls, a typical kitschy decor to echo the scenery in Xinjang where Uighurian will feast under the real grapevine to escape the scotching heat.
(Wo-Tie) light pan-fried pork and chives dumplings - 8.50
When the lady tells us where to sit, we all simply laugh as the vacant space is humanly impossible for anyone to squeeze in. I carefully maneuver myself into a tight corner spot, trying to sit down without knocking down any bowls and plates on the table. Eventually I am in but with my right leg prodding at Helen the whole evening. The room is warmer than outside and when we realise we need to take our jackets off, it’s already too late to move.
My cravings for dumplings are finally answered with a dozen of pork and chives dumplings to share. The dumplings are pan-fried to a light golden brown on the bottom, unfortunately it doesn’t yield the crispiness as I was hoping for, the skin is also a little thick and doughy. Despite the pork mince inside is moist and garlicky, I couldn’t help but keep drowning the dumplings in vinegar and dried chilli oil is the only way to give them flavour.
hand-made noodles with Xinjiang stir fry - 9.50
Chinese Noodle Restaurant is famous for its hand-made noodles. Sometimes you will get a glimpse of the noodle making in action through the kitchen window. The Xinjiang style stir fry noodles comes in a generous portion with tender chicken pieces entangled in greasy hand-made noodles where green capsicum and tomato chunks add colours and textures. The noodles are fat and slippery with random thickness from hand kneading, some parts are firmer and chewier than others.
Northern style fried rice - 9.00
Mr P orders Northern style fried rice, which looks nothing more than a normal fried rice to me. The steamed rice is wok tossed with scrambled eggs, carrots, shredded chicken, green peas and shallots, perhaps also a little dose of MSG. The lack of wok breath makes the dish looks uninviting and bland. This staple dish seems bottomless no matter how hard we try to finish it.
pork mince pastry - 9.50
The sad looking pork mince pastry last to arrive at our table, at least 30 minutes late. Drowning myself in oil and jeopardising my weakening heart, I struggle and ate two slices, Mr P had one, Helen has none and not even trying to.
I notice a small inflation on the price since last visit, but our meal this evening is still consider reasonably cheap at roughly $12 per head. Unfortunately, the food is disappointingly underwhelming and force-feeding with fatty, greasy food in a confined space doesn’t appeal to me. I ain’t no goose, neither foie gras quality.
Chinese Noodle Restaurant (Chinatown Noodle Restaurant) TG7, Prince Centre 8 Quay Street, Haymarket Chinatown, Sydney Tel: +61 (02) 9281 9051 Open 7 days 11am-9pm
A Table For Two (ATFT) is Billy Law's food blog that features best eats in Sydney and around the world with drool-worthy food photography to salivate your appetite. I also throw in a smidgen of my food and travel photography for good measure. Billy Law also happened to be a contestant on MasterChef Australia 2011. 
Oh dears, that pork mince pastry was very disappointing indeed. I did sneak a taste of it, but ha, even I wasn’t going to commit myself to a whole piece of that. I didn’t mind the noodles which had a satisfying chewiness to them but yes, we were definitely seated at the world’s smallest table. Just as well we’re all friends, right? lol
oh how sad about the food! lol mamak 2moro?
chocolatesuze´s last [type] ..2010 Iron Chef Dinner, Sydney [3]
I love this place, it’s a real shame that you had a bad experience there.
I forgive the plastic grapes on the ceiling, bad tapastries of the Swiss Alps on the wall and brusque service because the food is so good.
My favourites are the chicken salad and steamed dumplings, but then both of these dishes have no oil in them!
Richard Elliot´s last [type] ..An expidition to Cabramatta
Ughh YES that totally sucks when you take someone to a place that you’ve been raving about and it turns out to be awful
That pork mince pastry does look a little woeful!
Steph´s last [type] ..Duck & Cherry Pastries
I work around the corner from this place and have never had a bad experience. Best boiled pork and chive dumplings in Sydney, so good in fact, it took an intervention from friends to stop me going there every day. Absolute value for money.
Kimberley´s last [type] ..Pancake Sunday – have you ever eaten a giraffe?
It’s so sad to hear your disappointment! Perhaps being sardined into the corner made the food seem a bit worse? I don’t mind the dumplings here so much and kind of expect the pastry to be on the thicker and doughier side, this could be a Uighurian thing. Shame Helen had no choice but to be felt up by your knee!
john@heneedsfood´s last [type] ..Cabramatta Eating Tour, Street Food
Oh shame- I love little places like this, and you can put up with the noise, pushy service and cramped space if the food is good. Too bad it wasn’t!!
I haven’t eaten here for over 5 years, I think! I do remember liking the pan-fried dumplings and zha jiang mian though because of the lack of uniformity in their handmade-ness. Shame about all the oil.
mademoiselle delicieuse´s last [type] ..Gumshara, 13 March 2010
I like it when you rage
i am so glad you gave it a YUCK stamp. been wondering why people flock to this place given the standard of food they serve. been once, thought it was an off-day for them, came back months later it was the same… B-A-D….. my fave is Menya…right next door.
Oh nooo, it’s terrible that you had a bad meal! Especially if you have raved about it to your friends!
I do eat at the other restaurant on the right though, so maybe there is a difference.
I still enjoy the dumplings and noodles very much every time I go
Sandra @The French Wench´s last [type] ..La Chandeleur in June (Crêpes Day)
Ah yes, I’ve been caught out taking people places that were once good, but in the company of others turned out to be craaaaaap!
Despite the disappointing dumplings, I’m starting to crave them. Looks like I’ll be ordering them for lunch tomorrow from the dumpling place down the road =D
Iron Chef Shellie´s last [type] ..Product Review: Bakers Delight – Passionfruit and White Chocolate Scones
We go here all the time, though I agree some of the dishes are a bit oily. I love the cold noodles here though!
Howard´s last [type] ..Malaysia Mondays – Ipoh, Part 2
I think you went on an off-night. They definitely have them. We suspect sometimes the head cook takes a vacation and the underlings have to fill in. During those periods, things get disappointing and the flavours are all off. But it does bounce back, I still eat here every 2 weeks or so and I love it – the eggplant is to die for!
Forager´s last [type] ..David Thompson’s easy tom yum goong
I was there a few weeks back and thought it was a little so-so myself. Dumpling pastry was somewhat soggy.
I know the feeling that you had about the recommendation. Did you make up for it with a follow up?
Oh, I left Sydney 8 months ago, and that was one of my favourite lunch spots. It’s sad when you see someone else have such a bad dinner at somewhere you love.
Aw, such a shame … we used to love this place when we lived in Ultimo. That was 5 years ago though
)
There used to be a Taiwanese place that did amazing steamed pork buns with mustard greens with shaken ice teas next door for 5 bucks in the afternoons as well. With inflation they could be like 12 bucks now and maybe not as good ….
Kat & Kim´s last [type] ..Granja viader – Milk Bar, Barcelona
How embarrassing when a favourite place disappoints you in front of friends! I often wonder if we food bloggers sometimes love a place to death and they are so successful they stop trying to keep up standards!
Moya´s last [type] ..A Table for Fifteen – (ATFT Workshop)
Boo at usually good places going down in standards
FFichiban´s last [type] ..Moo Gourmet Burgers – Coogee, Sydney
Shame.