Cheap and Satisfying Lunch at Long's Noodle House

I don’t always quote movies but one movie quote that have stuck with me is from Kung Fu Panda. “We are noodle folk. Broth runs through our veins.“ I’ve never had anybody articulate my love for noodles the way that animated duck did. One place that consistently satisfies my craving for noodles and broth is Long’s Noodle House. It can be classified as both a Vancouver institution and a bit of a hole in the wall. This is my go to place for a bit of xiao long bao and noodles.

If you’re visiting Long’s for lunch during the weekend, you’ll likely encounter a line up. There’s no sign in sheet, you just catch the attention of one of the staff and they will remember you. Be aware that during peak times, they will ask you to share a large table with several other parties. This is common practice for a lot of casual Chinese restaurants. If you’ve been waiting for awhile, sometimes they will offer to take your order when you’re the next in line. The staff there are incredibly quick and efficient. Everything is made fresh and to order (with the exception of the wine chicken) but I am still able to get my food within 5-10 minutes of ordering. When you’re ordering, don’t be alarmed if the staff is not writing it down. They will verbally repeat the order back to you to confirm they have everything correct. I’ve never had a missed order from them. They are skilled. When you’re ordering, you must have at least one order of the xiao long bao or little dragon buns. For those who are unaware, these are small buns filled with ground pork and steaming hot broth. Part of the fun of this dish is the challenge of picking up the bun without breaking the skin. Also eating it without burning your mouth. Dipping the bun into the dish of vinegar provides a contrast and breaks up the rich pork taste. A sign of a bad xiao long bao is that when you bite into the bun, there’ no soup. You won’t run into that problem at Long’s.

My personal favourite item at Long’s is the wine chicken. You will see that almost at every table. It’s a small vessel stuffed to the brim in cooled chicken, marinating in rice wine. I find that in many other restaurants, the wine taste is lacking. The wine chicken here are both smooth and favourful.

I’ve recently tried their spicy stew beef noodle and it’s fantastic. The beef is super tender and the flavours remind me of all the spices from Asia. I have not been able to find another place with the same flavour profile. It’s not very spicy and the owner told me that the spicy version is better than the non-spicy version.