Noodle Express, Fastfood Dim Sum

Growing up, dim sum was a foreign cuisine for me. While most place dim sum squarely in the area of Chinese cuisine, it actually should be clarified as Cantonese in origin. My family, hailing from Beijing, thus did not grow up with dim sum. Nevertheless the flavours, methods and ingredients all resemble those I indulged upon in my childhood, just packaged differently as wonderful little bamboo steamer presents of culinary delight.

I have had a recent dirge of dim sum posts after inundating this blog with them in the first couple months. Thus, like clockwork, I recently received the dim sum hunger pangs on a wispy morning. Unable to focus on anything else, I quickly packaged myself up and went to Noodle Express.

Noodle Express is situated within Chinatown and shows its age. A bright sign masks the olden dimly lit restaurant with sparse decorations and even sparser personality. I smiled secretly when I saw the menus plastered underneath the plastic tablecloth. Part ingenious, part lazy, it epitomizes that Noodle Express is simply about the food. Ultimately I cannot fault a restaurant for that.

Curry Squid is something I usually try to order. Cuttlefish mixed and steamed with curry sauce make this a nice start of the meal. Noodle Express unfortunately uses frozen squid which rendered a rubberi-ness to the squid.

Stuffed Green Pepper is a timeless classic: tender peppers with shrimp paste steamed and topped with a soy based broth. I appreciated the strong shrimp flavour of the paste which worked well with the sauce and crisp peppers.

Deluxe Shrimp Dumpling was average. It tasted exactly how one expects it to taste: a large shrimp in a thin wrapper. I appreciated that the wrappers stayed intact and did not stick to the bottom of the bamboo.

Pork Dumpling (Shao Mai) are one of my personal favourites. The version here are just plain average with just the flavour of the fatty pork. I wish they use some dried shrimp or taro in the filling to add a second element and flavour to the dish.

Taro Root Cake was requested by my dining companion. Large pieces of taro fried to a crisp on the outside but still nice and soft in the inside, these were one of the standouts of the meal.

Chinese Sponge Cake, usually a dessert dish, came out in the middle of the meal (go figure). Literally a slice of sponge cake, this had a nice soft texture and a hint of lemon-ly flavour.

Feeling fairly gluttonous, it was at this point where we started lamenting how many dishes we ordered. The Pork & Preserved Egg Congee was nicely done with a wonderful umami flavour to the dish. The fatty pieces of pork and soft egg accentuated the dish well.

Shrimp Rice Rolls were a no-brainer for me. Tender rolls of rice rolls wrapping juicy pieces of shrimp and finished with the sweet and salty soy, this was a personal standout.

Last dish of the day were the Beef Balls. Looking at it now, I realize the picture does not do this dish justice. The beef balls were nice and tender with a strong fatty flavour and beef aroma. Make sure to dip it with the nutty soy sauce they provide for this dish.

Overall Noodle Express is fast food, efficient and humble dim sum. You will not be surprised by haute cuisine here, but should look if you have a hankering for decent dim sum at extraordinarily reasonable prices.