Perth knows a good noodle. From a seared char kway teow to a spicy laksa, rich bowls of ramen or smooth udon, there’s no shortage of quality noods. But Chinese-style noodles are becoming fast favourites in this city. You’ll find regional dishes from the north-west capital of Lanzhou to the inland Hunan province and all the way south to Guangdong or Hong Kong. Here’s where to start exploring the flavours of regional Chinese noodles.
Chilli Panda
Chilli Panda brings Hunan cuisine (considered one of China’s eight great cuisines) to the heart of Northbridge. The hot, spicy-salty characteristics of Hunan cuisine are served in cauldron-sized bowls of noodles. At Chilli Panda, you can get these noodles with beef tenderloin, chicken gizzard, pork mince or pickled vegetables. And unlike their tongue-numbing cousins in Sichuan, the spicy noodles in Hunan cuisine are mouth warming, with layers of cut red and green chillies in each bowl.
Suite 2/137 Newcastle Street, Perth
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SUBSCRIBE NOWFelix Hong Kong Rice Noodles
Felix Hong Kong Rice Noodles bring vibrant, smooth and stretchy rice noodles from the streets of Hong Kong to Victoria Park. Rice noodles (mai sin in Cantonese) made their way from Yunnan province to Hong Kong where their chewy yet smooth texture gained a loyal following. At Felix, you can order these noodles spicy or go for a mild option with a milky-clear broth, which you can load up with your choice of toppings, from pork tripe to fried bean curd and beef brisket.
Shop 2/869 Albany Highway, East Victoria Park
Hello Spice
Why make the drive down the freeway towards Canning Vale’s Hello Space? For restaurant-quality noodles at hawker stall prices. Scallion oil noodles topped with crisp chickpeas are the go-to, with your choice of meat: dajien beef, chilli pork or spicy Sichuan chicken. The secret to a standout noodle that it has to be strong enough to pull all the sauce and toppings from the tip of the chopstick to your mouth. The preservative-free dough at Hello Spice is machine-churned, extruded and cooked fresh daily. You’ll be hard pressed to find better value anywhere else in Perth.
Market City, 280 Bannister Road, Canning Vale
Qin’s Lanzhou Beef Noodle
When it comes to Lanzhou noodles, Qin’s leads the charge, with lines streaming out of its stores. The hand-pulled noodles come in eight different thicknesses, from hair thin to lasagne-sheet thick, plus a triangular option to shake it all up. The traditional signature beef noodles served in a clear broth is mildly spiced and garnished with coriander. It comes in a bowl the size of your face, with thin slices of slow-cooked beef that are as tender as the noodles themselves. The Victoria Park branch is halal-friendly.
Victoria Park: 873 Albany Highway, East Victoria Park
Victoria Park Halal: 915 Albany Highway, East Victoria Park
Northbridge: 139 Newcastle Street, Perth
Mr King Lanzhou Noodles
Mr King Lanzhou Noodles is another contender for the title of best Lanzhou noodles in Perth. A bowl at Mr King will have all the hallmarks of a solid Lanzhou noodle: a clear broth, a generous dusting of coriander and spring onion – and lots of beef. You’ll also find vegetarian options here, including dry noodles with fried tomato, and mild hand-pulled noodles in mushroom soup. Watch at the window as skilled chefs pull and knead noodles to your desired length. If you’re feeling inspired, book yourself in for a masterclass and learn to make top-quality noodles at home.
Level Two, Westfield Carousel, 1382 Albany Highway, Cannington
Yip
While the flavours at Yip lean Southeast Asian (think mee pok, spicy beef rendang and balanchan), the zhu cheng (bamboo) noodles themselves can be traced to China's southern province of Guangdong. Chef Erich Wong dishes out bowls of nostalgia to the Chinese-Malaysian diaspora in Victoria Park. Tables of aunties and uncles swarm to get a bowl of handmade egg noodles, which are served thin or flat with your choice of soup (bone broth or laksa). If it’s a classic 40-degree Perth day, crowds go for the dry noodles, which are stirred vigorously with a light sauce (Kuala Lumpur-style) or a darker saltier sauce (Hong Kong-style). End your meal on a sweet note with a Milo dinosaur or a teh tarik for the road.
915 Albany Highway, East Victoria Park
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