It’s been a long time since our last visit to No 1 Beef Noodle House in Burnaby. It was always our go to place to have late night eats when we were in University. Prices are fair and good portion sizes. It’s great to see that it’s still around after 10+ years.
Interior
There are a lot of tables inside for small to large groups. The interior has been updated over the years.
Menu
Their menu is huge and they have got everything you can typically find for a Taiwanese restaurant. Lots of selection. We were invited to give a few of their signature items on their new menu a try.
Mix Beef Noodle Soup
We got this Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup with beef flank, tendon, and tripe. We also decided to get the thick noodles for this dish. The noodles hit the spot on a cold day as it warmed our stomaches. A good bowl of noodles and the thick noodles has a chewy texture so it added a nice bounce.
Stir-fried Pea Sprout with Garlic
A solid menu choice if you want some veggies in your meal. It is cooked very nicely and great to share among the table.
Chive, Shrimp, and Pork Dumping
Dumplings are another great sharing dish. These were good and you can’t go wrong with them. Dip it in some sauce and eat it up.
Preserved Veggie, Pork, Rice Cake
Another great dish to be shared among the table. The rice cake has a nice chew to them and the combination of the pork and preserved veggies work well together.
Japanese style Omurice with Side of Salty Peppery Chicken
At first glance, it doesn’t look like much of anything. On the inside, the fried rice was very flavourful and a good texture.
As for the side, we got salt and peppery chicken. Very good and can’t go wrong. We love the fried basil on top.
Shredded Scallop and Sliced Fish with Egg Whites
This is always an interesting dish as the fillet themselves aren’t that flavourful or fresh, but the addition of the shredded scallop and egg whites.
Sizzling Plate
The sizzling plate that we got had steak, chicken, chicken wing, egg noodle with half black pepper and half mushroom tomato sauce. It’s got a bit of everything. It comes on this hot sizzling plate and it’s another decent dish. The chicken is battered and fried, so it did got soggy under all the sauce. Might have been better if the chicken was pan fried. Other than that, the steak had a nice texture and taste.
Tainan shrimp paste roll
With first glance, it looks greasy but it wasn’t. The taste was good and there is a decent amount of shrimp paste. Tainan is a city in Taiwan and is known for their shrimp.
Stinky tofu with Taiwanese style Pickled Cabbage
These small fried tofu are cute and it had a decent fermented stink to them. It pairs well with the pickled cabbage.
Mango slush
This was huge and you definitely get bang for your buck with the mango slush. It’s good to split this with one other person as it’s enough for 2 people.
3 Brothers Milk Tea
The bubble tea here is solid and is best half sweet. It has pearls, pudding and grass jelly, which is fantastic as those are the best 3 toppings in a milk tea. We did enjoy it.
Coffee Milk Tea
If you love milk tea but need an extra caffeine kick, this might be for you. It is referred to as a ying yeung as it has both parts to make a whole. It was a tad on the sweet side even though it was half sweet.
Dessert
For this particular dessert, you choose a base from the list – red bean soup, sweet tofu, grass jelly, or lemon jelly. Then you can choose your toppings at an additional charge – pearls, mini pearls, coconut jelly, pudding, grass jelly, mango star, mini taro balls, red bean, agar jelly, taro, or ice cream.
It’ great to see the customization and many combinations.
Final Thoughts
Overall, No 1 Beef Noodle House is solid and has been a neighbourhood favourite for a long time. The parking is horrible during peak periods as there aren’t that many available in the complex for the other businesses too. We always end up parking a block or 2 away.
There are so many items on the menu and you’ll find something to enjoy. You can either get an individual meal or share a bunch of different dishes with friends. You get your moneys worth and it’s casual and comforting.
Address:
4741 Willingdon Ave, Burnaby, BC
Website:
http://jynoodle.com/