Those of you who regularly read my blog or follow my instagram would know that it the cost of dining out has been an ongoing and repetitive issue of mine. Whilst I don't mind paying a high price for a meal, it deeply irritates me when I am not getting my value's worth. It has been a long time since I've had something I could unreservedly recommend but I have recently found it in Sheng Yuan Noodles at Market Square.
Having found the restaurant on Xiao Hong Shu, it had almost no presence on western social media but there was considerable hype on the chinese sites. I decided to go with my mum the last time I had a day off work. We arrived at lunchtime on a weekday and the restaurant was almost full (we took the only table they had cleared). The menu was very similar to Lanzhou beef noodles with a small selection of noodles, sides, dumplings and the option for set meals. Prices were very reasonable and I have to say I was skeptical at first about the quality and quantity of food.
Ordering at the counter, the staff were very friendly and accommodating. The first time I went, I had a combo straight off the menu. The second time I requested an adjustment to the combo to try other noodles and staff were flexible with my request.
The first time I went, we had one combo and one stand alone bowl of noodles. For $22.80, the combo comes with lanzhou beef noodles along with one drink, one side and one egg, making it fantastic value for money. Drinks wise, they had standard soft drink as well as soy milk and wintermelon tea. I opted for the cool refreshing soy milk. For the side, I opted for a serve of chilled beef and beef tripe in chilli sauce. This was refreshing, chewy and just a bit numbing for our enjoyment. Portions were generous for a side dish and if we didn't finish it, we could take the entire plastic container home.
My mum wasn't in the mood for a heavy meal that day so she opted for a serve of dry noodles with sesame sauce. It was a very generous portion of noodles, freshly made in house with tangy sesame sauce and crunchy cucumbers on top. She really enjoyed the meal and for $13.80, it was well worth the price.
I had the signature lanzhou beef noodles. This was excellent. With a choice between different noodle sizes, I opted for the thinner one and it was cooked to the perfect texture. There was also a very generous serve of sliced braised beef on top and the dish was finished off with a very clear beef broth which I greatly enjoyed. The portion was generous and I struggled to finish it when I would have ordinarily asked for extra noodles at a ramen shop.
Having ordered a set meal, it also came with a tea egg. This came later than expected and because I had to chase it up, they gave me an extra egg on the house. This was well seasoned and definitely hit the spot.
I enjoyed my first meal at Sheng Yuan so much that I went back a couple weeks after with Dr L as well as my friend Dr S. Between the three of us we had three combos. They had soy milk whilst I had jasmine tea. This time our sides included sliced beef in chilli sauce, beef and tripe in chilli sauce and cold beef slices served with sesame sauce. The crowd consensus preferred the sliced beef with sesame sauce for it's milder flavours but I really enjoyed the cool numbing flavours of beef tripe.
Dr L opted for the lanzhou beef noodle with the widest noodle which he really enjoyed. Again the meat was generous and the soup was light and wholesome.
This time, I had the braised beef noodle soup, again with thinner noodles. The quantity of beef was again very generous and this time in cubed chunks. They were tender whilst retaining a meaty flavour. The soup was light and I added a bit of chilli to it for some zing but otherwise it also had a very generous portion of noodles as well as vegetables. We were completely stuffed and packed home half of the sides, making it exceptionally good value for $22.80 in this day and age. I will definitely be back to try their other noodle dishes.
Taste: 9/10
Value: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Environment: 7/10
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