ottawa foodies

We've been wanting to check this place out ever since it opened and finally made it for a late Saturday lunch today. It was fun to try but overall it was a bit of a disappointment.

Our food arrived quite quickly as everyone else seated already had their food.

The Pan-fried Shrimp, Pork, and Chive Buns ($16 for 8) were excellent! Tender steamed and lightly browned dough encased a meaty patty and lots of yummy juices. Flavours were mild and pleasant. You can add chili oil at the table if you want to kick it up.

My Chongqing Beef Noodles ($11) were nice and garlicky but the depth of flavour and noodle portion were both inferior to what I'm used to getting at 辣工坊 Spicy House.

Most disappointing were the watery broths of my daughter's Wonton Soup ($9) and my wife's Stewed Beef Noodle Soup ($14). The wontons were generous in quantity and size but the broth was so bland that it had leached away any flavour or salt the dumplings might have once had. Adding soy sauce didn't help enough.

In contrast, the beef noodles I've enjoyed at both 辣工坊 Spicy House and Le Mien Craft Noodle swim in a broth that is light but delicious. They taste better, cost less, and contain more beef and noodles than we got here.

I'd go back for the steamed/pan-fried buns and to try the chive crepe next time but I'd skip the noodles and soups because I know how much tastier they can be.

Here is the picture of the noodles.

Came here the other day for lunch. I had the wonton soup which had, I think, 9 wontons, and spouse had the Beijing Noodles with Fried Bean and Meat Sauce. Food was excellent- there is chili sauce on the table for those who want to spice things up and also black vinegar. The chili sauce looks to be made on the premises.
Great value.

This is just a first impressions (no pictures, sorry!). Came here on a weekday in the afternoon so it was fairly quiet. The decor and the tableware/glassware is nice, the menu is straightforward, and it's cool how you can see the items being handmade in front of you. Ordered some panfried bao and shrimp wonton soup. It was a bit of a wait, but it was understandable as the items are handmade and they seemed to be fulfilling takeout orders even though we were the only sit-down order. The items were tasty and not over-seasoned like other places. The bao was fluffy and juicy on the inside. And as a seaweed lover, the addition of the seaweed in the soup was welcome and tasty. I'll definitely return to try other things!