Cheap Eats: Dad Noodle Shop
Who would have thought a humble-looking house in a shabby little alley could produce such outstanding beef noodles? This noodle shop has been popular for the past seven years and attracted countless customers, but very few people know the touching history behind it.
Mysterious Little Noodle Shop
The location of this noodle shop is a bit surprising - down a dingy little alley where you’d never expect to find mouthwatering noodles.
Once you’re down the alley, you’ll spot the big number 5 indicating you’re in the right place. You might notice that all the buildings in this little quarter are family homes.
There’s a cute little pond outside with a few goldfish swimming around.
Apparently this noodle shop has been open for a whopping seven years now. In order to take better care of his son, the owner and head chef Fang quit his previous job as a chef and set up this place instead. To ensure that his little boy’s education wouldn’t be affected, he decided to only serve lunch.
When we went to explore, Fang’s son was actually in the shop helping out with taking money and tidying up.
There’s a super long menu with all sorts of toppings. You can pick soup or dry noodles (dry noodles cost RMB 1 more).
The signature steak noodles (牛排面)
The signature dish, and the most popular, is the beef steak noodles (牛排面）. The meat is crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, so it’s clear there’s a lot of skill, effort and quality ingredients involved. Plus the soup is fresh, so for RMB 26 you really can’t complain.
Braised intestines noodles (红烧大肠面)
As soon as these noodles are placed before you you’ll get a strong (and very pleasant) aroma.The soup is rich in flavor and the meat is pretty chewy, which is of course, what you want with braised intestines.
In contrast, these spicy noodles aren’t quite as good as the others, and despite the name they’re not particularly spicy. They’re still amazing though, served with beef, tofu and coriander.
Fragrant tendon noodles (酱香牛筋面)
These noodles are pretty good. The tendons are very rich and meaty, and the sauce is lovely and thick.
If you’re extra hungry, you could add a piece of chicken or an egg to your noodles. The eggs here are outstandingly good!
There’s also a little jar of pickled vegetables on every table for customers to add as they wish. It’s very sweet and adds a little extra kick to your noodles.
With just four indoor tables the store is pretty small. On the one hand, it seems like a typical Chinese restaurant, but it’s also full of incredible soul food and fatherly love!
Shikumen Steak Noodle Shop
How much: RMB 27
Where: Lane 5, 21 Huimin Lu, near Ocean Hotel, Hongkou district
Tel: 021-65356223
When: Mon-Sun 11:00-14:00
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