Rhinofish is a Taiwanese Beef Noodle shop in Chinatown. It recently opened and I was excited because it’s hard to find good Taiwanese Beef Noodle in the area. Before they opened, they gave a few of us a sneak peek to see what to expect.
Niu Rou Mian
Taiwanese beef noodle with braised soup, tomato, baby bok choy, carrot, potato and asian sauerkraut. I had high hopes for this dish as it’s their specialty, but it fell short of expectations. The beef was very dry and did not melt in my mouth. The broth was deep in flavour but tasted more like Chinese medicine. The noodles themselves were good.
Hua Diao Ji Mian
Hua diao rice wine chicken broth, sous vide chicken breast, baby bok choy, cherry tomatoes, and tea infused egg. I preferred this a little bit more, but the broth flavour is very very subtle. It was a clean homey flavour to it. Some others commented saying it was bland. I added some mustard greens and some chili oil to transform the flavour.
Guo Bao
Taiwanese steamed bun with pork belly was ok but it needed something a bit more to bind the two things together. Maybe more sauce to moisten the bun slightly.
Xiao Huang Gua
Pickled Japanese cucumber with garlic and chili is a nice item to start with, but for $5, it’s a bit much for what you end up getting.
Mu Er
Wood ear mushroom with sesame soy dressing and plum salt in this dish. Another starter dish to share.
Yansuji with Nanjing sauce
A classic Taiwanese dish of crispy chicken nuggets topped with fried basil. the nanjing sauce is on the side. The chicken is good on it’s own, so the added sauce doesn’t add much difference. The chicken was moist on the inside and the outer fried are was crisp.
Yansuji with Parmesan and truffle oil
Very similar to the dish above with the different toppings and a bit of lemon.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the food was ok but the menu prices are a bit high for what you get. We ended up giving the chef some feedback about the dishes but we’re not sure if he ever made changes before they opened. They tried to be innovative with their dishes but in the end it fell flat as they tried to reinvent the wheel as basic Taiwanese beef noodle is a classic dish. No one was impressed.
We Rate Rhinofish:
Address:
550 Main St, Vancouver
Website:
http://www.rhinofishnoodlebar.com/