Big Bowl Noodle House, East Victoria Park
Birthday dinner
The last couple of times we’ve been in Vic Park/East Vic Park, we’ve walked past Big Bowl Noodle House and peeked in the window. It’s usually pretty crowded at dinner time, with seemingly more Asian customers than Western ones, always a good sign for a Chinese restaurant. We’ve been meaning to check it out for ourselves. After eating breakfast at The Pony Club and roast meat sandwiches from Mondo Butchers earlier in the day, I was in the mood for something Chinese, like noodles. So for my birthday dinner, Jac took me to Big Bowl Noodle House!
You order and pay at the front counter, then take a seat wherever you like. I was impressed – our noodles only took around 10 minutes to arrive. Jac ordered the combination hor fun (AU$13.80). We were impressed to see the abundance of chicken, beef, prawns, Chinese mushrooms, bok choy and carrot all coated in a thick, delicious-smelling brown sauce on top of the noodles.
The noodles had a fantastic wok hei flavour. You could see the char on them too. Jac really enjoyed this dish (and so did I – I ate her noodles as well as my own!).
They have a self-serve area where you can get yourself cut fresh red chillies or chilli sauce, and extra napkins and cutlery. I grabbed Jac a dish of fresh red chilli with soy sauce to eat with her noodles.
I ordered the pork and prawn wantan noodles, dry style ($10.80 dry style, AU$9.80 in soup). I was given the choice of three thicknesses of noodle – I chose the thinnest option. The wantans looked very fresh and homestyle, served on a mound of soft noodles and sauce with steamed bok choy placed all around.
I am not exaggerating when I say that these pork and prawn wantan were among the best I’ve eaten in a Chinese restaurant. They were only just cooked (but definitely cooked, most definitely no longer raw), and the prawns and pork were pleasingly bursty to bite. The pork was beautifully seasoned and amazingly tasty. I could’ve eaten many more!
When I look at the photos of the wantan I can’t help putting on a zombie voice and moaning: “Brains… BRAINS…BRAINS!” :P
Our dishes tasted really fresh and delicious. We will definitely return to try more of Big Bowl’s dishes. Jac was especially intrigued by the noodles baked with cheese (they looked like pasta bake made with spaghetti!). Next time I will definitely order a “big bowl” of noodles – I am really keen to order the pork and prawn wantan in noodle soup. I saw many big bowls of noodle soup being served that evening, with large ladle-like spoons. I must say the people in the restaurant eating noodle soup that night looked like they were enjoying it very much. I think I’d have fun drinking broth with a large ladle-like spoon! The other noodle soup dishes I thought sounded particularly “me” were the grilled chicken noodles and the pork chop noodles. :P Even the pork and pickled vegetable noodles sound good. Damn, just writing about this is giving me a craving for noodles. Must. Return. Soon.
We really enjoyed our meal at Big Bowl Noodle House. It’s relaxed, no-frills casual dining that reminded me of being in a food hall (totally my kind of dining!). If you love noodles, it’s definitely worth checking out. I know I’ve said this already, but I really thought the pork and prawn wantan were awesome!
Big Bowl Noodle House
884 Albany Hwy
East Victoria Park
The original Big Bowl Noodle House is in Northbridge, at 408 William Street.
TFP’s birthday 2010 posts
Here’s the full list of my 2010 birthday posts, in reading order:
- Chocolate mini muffins, Part 2 – it’s my birthday!
- The Pony Club, Mount Lawley
- Hot roast meat sandwiches from Mondo Butchers, Inglewood
- Big Bowl Noodle House, East Victoria Park (the post you’re currently reading)
- Desserts at Utopia, Victoria Park
- My birthday – family afternoon tea