Two co-workers and I decided to indulge in a dim sum lunch last Friday to celebrate Chinese New Year. With only two options within reasonable walking distance for our one hour break, we chose Noodle Noodle over Urban China. Though I hadn’t been to Noodle Noodle in years, from what I remember, the prices weren’t egregious.

We arrived at the restaurant just after noon. It was pretty busy already, not unexpected for a Friday before a long weekend. We were quickly seated at a table by the door, and before long, were greeted by cart-directing servers.

As soon as our first dishes were marked on our tally sheet, we realized that the prices were way above average for dim sum – they ranged from $4.75 to $9.95! We were unfortunate enough to select a dish on the latter end of that scale (the ginger beef, primarily for one colleague who does not consume pork). As soon as the dish was priced my co-worker and I looked at each other and laughed at the absurd mark-up – it would be a painful meal.

Ginger Beef

Rice crepes, with either beef or shrimp? $6.50. Almond tofu? $5.95. BBQ pork buns the size of dumplings? $4.95. The quantity of food provided exacerbated our sticker shock as well – not only we were paying double for each dish, but in almost each case, the portion size was smaller than what we would find elsewhere.

Rice Crepes

 

 No joke, they were serving $10 dim sum dishes at Noodle Noodle

Good service was also something to be desired. After we told one waitress about our colleague’s non-pork diet, the next time she whizzed by, she did not bother to stop, and just commented in passing that there was nothing on her cart that we would want. Thankfully, the other servers were not as dismissive, but needless to say, we were not impressed.

Ellen and I “showing off” the BBQ pork buns

In terms of quality, the only dish that we were remotely happy with was the almond tofu. Lightly scented and accompanied by a decent amount of canned fruit, it provided a sweet end to an otherwise bitterly comical experience.

A serving of almond tofu

We all agreed in the end that our next dim sum trip would be in a vehicle.

Noodle Noodle
10008 106 Avenue
(780) 422-6862
Monday-Thursday 10am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 10am-11pm, Sundays & Holidays 10am-9:30pm