DinnerTony’s Beef Noodle
!Since the original posting of this article, Tony's has changed ownership several times.
I’m a total noodle fiend. And Taiwanese beef noodles top out as one of my favourite kind. Even though it isn’t haute cuisine, it’s still difficult to find well-made beef noodle soup outside the streets of Taiwan. Case and I were lucky enough to stumble upon Tony’s Beef Noodle — another unfortunate casualty of the Canada Line business massacre. The one thing that probably kept them from going under: wicked beef noodles.
Good beef noodle starts with the broth. It should be beefy, but not cloudy. You get a choice of thick or thin noodles; I like mine thin. Case likes the minced pork with preserved vegetable and bean thread noodles. Bean thread noodles are no longer on the menu, but they don’t usually have a problem making it for us if we ask for it. Their noodles are cooked al dente — firm with a bit of bounce to the bite.
Tony’s also serves a really solid fried chicken and noodle soup; a leg of chicken is nicely seasoned and deep fried to perfection. It compliments the noodles and a wonderfully refreshing bonito broth sprinkled with fried garlic bits. At first you might think the combination of fried chicken and noodle soup as an odd pairing — but it really works. It’s like the Taiwanese version of chicken and waffles — food for the soul.
One dish that stands out at Tony’s is the pan-fried potstickers. Unlike your typical potstickers, these ones are longer and thin and crispy on the bottom. They serve it with a mysterious, dark brown dipping sauce — which I’ve come to suspect is pure concentrated essence of garlic; awesome.
The front of the restaurant is easily missed behind all the construction mess. So keep your eyes peeled for the barely existent signage. The decor is minimal at best; a mish-mash of faux Ikea detailing and yard-sale recovered seating. The wait staff outfit is really unfortunate — especially true for the guys, who are effeminately adorned with frilly aprons that appear to have been pilfered from my auntie’s kitchen.
But no one comes here for the atmosphere, or the service — they come for some of the best beef noodle soup around — and the king of all potstickers.
The Details
5710 Cambie Street, Vancouver
604.327.5061
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