Thursday, November 29, 2012

Tai Hing Congee and Noodle House - Richmond, BC

It's a late Friday afternoon and Mr Piglet and I are absolutely pooped.  We were planning to go home after a long day at work but as soon as we hopped in the car, turned on the local traffic station and found out there was an accident on the bridge, we knew we were hooped.  Ok, nevermind about going home.  It's raining and when it rains in the Lower Mainland, people suddenly can't remember how to drive.  *sigh*  We need something warm, comforting and quiet.  No flashy lights, yelling servers or techno-remixes for us tonight.  So we drive around and stumble upon the deserted Tai Hing Congee and Noodle House.  Perfect.
When I say deserted, I mean DESERTED.  There's one single man eating, the server is wiping down the mirrors and there's nothing else to describe the interior except "dive".  Hm, my experience is that the food will be pretty darn good.  We're handed the small menu, we order and wait quietly for our food...
Mushroom and Chicken Congee - $6.10
It's not a big bowl but it's a very hearty bowl - it's a thicker congee, thicker than I've had elsewhere and packed with both flavour and ingredients.  Tons of mushroom and chicken inside and my tummy appreciates it.  It just needs a bit of white pepper to bring out the mushroom flavours and has landed on my top 3 bowls of congee I've ever had.  Even Mr. Piglet, who doesn't like congee, doesn't mind this bowl.  He adds some hot sauce and is pretty content.  Yum!  I can't wait to try their house made style congee next time...

Dough Fritters and Rice Noodle Roll - Free (came with my congee!)
I can't believe I got this as part of a combo!  $6.10 gets you congee and a side!  Awesome.  We've had this at dim sum before and it holds a special place in Mr's heart.  I LOVE that this comes with the hoisin sauce and sesame sauce in the bottles - you can make your own art!  A sprinkle of sesame seeds and we're ready to go.  The noodle is amazing, warm and super soft, but we both wished the Chinese doughnut was crispy - it was limp, soggy and kind of oily.  I think we'd try the other sides next time.


Wonton & Shui Kau Noodle in Soup - $6.20
About a medium-sized portion and not bad for the price - this would be filling for me but not enough for the Mr.  Thank goodness I've got congee leftover...  7 pieces of pretty good-sized wontons and shui kaus and tons of noodle.  The soup broth is a little weak in flavour (needs hot sauce and hot pepper for sure) but the noodles and dumplings are fantastic.  Al dente noodles and tons of seafood and meat in the dumplings.  I would order this one again for sure.


Um, we just ate dinner for two for under $15.  That's awesome.  If you're looking for a good cheap warming meal, we would absolutely recommend Tai Hing Congee and Noodle House.  It's not a pretty place and the service not personable but your stomach will thank you for it.  Bon appetite!
Oinks:
  • Cheap prices
  • Moderate portion sizes
  • Great congee
  • Free parking
Doinks:
  • Absolute dive atmosphere
  • Cash only
  • Free parking is a nightmare
  • Limited operating hours
Tai Hing Congee and Noodle House 大興粥麵之家 on Urbanspoon

No comments:

Post a Comment