congee noodle house

the reasonable prices and consistent quality has kept me coming here for years now. they have quick service and are also great for takeout. their congee is the best in vancouver, and their other dishes are reallygoodas well. on this occasion we got the pea tips and notices they were much better than other places. instead of the mature vegetable, they served us "baby" pea tips which were out of this world.

the chinese parsley & sea bass congee is still my favorite and will still keep me coming back. the congee is verygoodhere - in my opinion, one of the better places in vancouver for congee (although overall, i prefer congee noodle king for the consistency and value). ofcourse, congee noodle house has so many other items on the menu to offer. a huge menu of congee is complemented by a huge menu of noodles and rice. the restaurant is very spacious – and the atmosphere is incredibly casual, but the service is very quick. as casual as the items may look, they do prepare fancier ingredients like live seafood, which are likely for dinner meals. there’s a tank holding the seasonal items (lobster, crab, live prawns etc). today we saw king crab being offered. there’s also parking behind the restaurant – although the lot is often full.

terrible service. went for lunch today with a couple of friends. we had to ask for tea, ask to order, ask for a refill on our tea...and not once did the waitress make eye contact with any one of us. one order came out first, and then we had to wait forever for the other two orders to come out (simple dumpling soup) by then the first order was getting cold. we then had to ask for our bill too...we decided not to tip as we felt there was next to no service, let alonegoodservice and left nothing on the tray. and then cashier had the audacity to ask for a tip! and i really wanted to ask her "for what?" not impressed...

congee noodle house is one of those places that you have driven past a thousand times (main and broadway) and wondered if you should stop (you should). we were seated almost right away in the large dining room. it's a little clattery and busy but not uncomfortable and this is one of those places where the food is the point rather than ambiance! service is friendly and a team effort. catch someone's eye and they will help you whether it is their table or not. we started with steamed shrimp rice rolls which were very nice. the noodle was very delicate (to the point of tearing easily) while the shrimp were large and maintained some texture (not overcooked). i was expecting the side sauces that you get with dim sum at some places but it really didn't need it. we had beef tendon and beef brisket with noodle (i forgot to ask for lo mein noodles but the rice noodles were decent). highlighted by a couple of large pieces of tendon that were just soft enough and a generous amount of brisket, this was another winner. the barbeque was verygoodalso. three types (kitchen's choice) on rice was only $11 and a decent deal. duck, roasted pork and barbeque pork were all tasty (not quite hk barbeque master but is anyone?)finally, there was the hk style sampan congee with minced beef that i had been craving. rich, creamy and hot (be careful not to burn the roof of your mouth like i always do). i am not able to identify all the ingredients but i was aware of the minced beef and some type of intestine. the topping was ginger, peanuts and green onions and a little sesame oil. wonderful! prices are very reasonable and the menu is long. the room is big and noisy and we found the staff to be friendly enough. most importantly the food is very good. we happily recommend that you give this place a try.

service...average at best.

cleanliness...questionable.

but dang the food is good! one of the very fewgoodauthentic hong kong style noodle houses left in the city. i guess you could argue that service and decor is authentic hong kong style too...kinda like a dai pai dong.

tonight, my wife and i filled our bellies on yummy noodle soup for $20 all in - great value! the bbq meats here are excellent. we often pick up a bbq duck or roast pork for a nice quick dinner at home. my wife's family often orders take out from here for dinner when there's a family dinner (her mom doesn't like to cook) so it's kinda a family fave for affordable and reliable food.

when my husband and i went in, they asked us to sit by the window table which is not clean. we sat there forgood5 minutes before someone came to clean the table.

at the end of the meal, we asked them to box a dish and didn't know they charge for the box for $0.5. i told them that they never charge for the box and asked if they have a sign for the new charge. she said yes and point at the kitchen window where i still didn't see it...too small i guess. so, i paid no tips. on my way out, they told me that i have to pay tips.

i have no problem paying for the box, but they should put a sign by the cashier or by the door for customer to see. this is dishonest act towards to their customers.

this is a casual chinese restaurant located on broadway near main street with a very large menu consisting of congee, noodles, rice and chinese barbecue. i had their pineapple sweet & sour pork on steamed rice (which i upgraded to fried rice for an extra $2.5) and their b.b.q. duck with noodle. the food was actually quite good, and the prices are reasonable given the quality and portion sizes. unfortunately, what really soured my experience was the rather poor service. since i was a single diner, i had to share a table with a few other diners, which is understandable as they have mainly large tables at the restaurant. however, they were quite slow in cleaning the tables, and i found myself sitting with a pile of dirty dishes from a previous diner right next to me. moreover, the staff were very inattentive and never checked once on our table other than to bring the food. one of the other diners that i was sharing the table with asked for her bill and i swear she waited probably 15 minutes before the server finally arrived with her bill. i seriously felt sorry for her. all in all, while i really did like the food, the lackluster service prevents me from whole-heartedly recommending this place.

pineapple sweet & sour pork on steamed rice ($12.50 + $2.50 for fried rice):
4/5
the pork was very good: it was tender, meaty and quite crispy wihtout an overly thick batter. the sauce was thick, and had agoodbalance between sweet and tangy. i got the dish with fried rice for an extra $2.50, and although the rice was quite tasty and had a nice savoury flavour, i actually don't think that you need to have it as the sauce was very flavourful and probably would be better paired with plain rice. although a bit on the pricier side, the portion that they provide is fairly generous, and given the quality, i do think it's worth the cost.

b.b.q. duck with noodle ($10):
4/5
they have two versions, either the the noodles in soup or with the soup on the side - i had mine with the soup on the side. the noodles had a very nice bouncy texture. there is a prettygoodamount of bbq duck. the duck itself was quite flavourful, although i found it to be a bit too boney. the side of broth had agoodsavory flavour, and went well with the noodles.

summary:
food: 4/5
price: 4/5
service: 1.5/5
overall: 3.5/5
recommendations: pineapple sweet & sour pork on steamed rice, soup/mixed noodles

• street parking only, its in a very busy street so take the transit or carpool if you must
• i ordered take out for convenience, it was fast and efficient but a bit pricey! 3 items cost $45! spareribs, salt & pepper squid and yang chow fried rice. itsgoodtaste but $$$! i did not bother checking the price menu, hopefully its correct
• i find the guy at the bbq section was a bit rude. everything costs like a tiny container of ginger, spring onions in an oil is like $1 extra! that shouldn't be as their prices are already high!
• i would go back again but i heard late night after 10pm is cheaper.

this place was really crowded during dinner time, and there was a waiting line. this place isgoodfor typical hong kong noodle, rice and congee food. service was fast. we tried dried oyster congee and it was quite good. the noodles and rice were typical, nothing that's special, but that's expected.

very authentic chinese restaurant where they take their food and efficiency seriously. the decor is minimal, and it has the feel of a simple noodle/congee restaurant in the depths of hong kong. on weekends, expect few waits (people rarely spend more than 45 mins there!) the lady who served us seated us right by a table by the window at the corner of the restaurant, and it was cold over there! i didn't notice it at first but when i took off my jacket, it was pretty much an icebox. i didn't really care though at first either. i ordered the supreme soy sauce fried noodles, as i really craved agoodchow mein. we also ordered two congees, mine was the meatball and fish slice congee, and the chinese fried lettuce. then the lady left- and we realized we wanted 粽 (sticky rice dumpling). we waved our hands but the lady returned our wave with her dismissive one. i feel like there aren't enough servers, but after all the food comes quickly (we got our 粽 anyway.) 

first came the noodles, and they were fried really well. the noodles were really oily but that was just because of the soy sauce (and just one meal with too much sodium- who cares?) the texture was perfect (springy and chewy) but because of the icebox table we were at, the noodles went too cold too quickly. with the congee, i could taste the msg from the first spoon....but the congee was still reallygood(fish slices added a pleasant texture.) the sticky rice dumplings had little flavor, and there wasn't any meat, all just duck egg. it was a little disappointing considering the authenticity of the rest of the dishes. the veggies were reallygoodbut the accompanying sauce had a strange flavor. 

i feel congee noodle house needs a renovation, the place looks really worn out and the tables are old and the chairs are dirty.....

overall there is not much special about the restaurant, but if you want traditional hk fare, come here.

this was my first time at congee noodle house for dinner but i’ve had lunch here before. i was ready for somegoodold chinese food! we saw that they had different deals where you can pick 3, 4, or 5 dishes etc. off a special dinner menu and it will come with rice, soup, dessert and they will give you a small “free” bbq dish as well! we had 6 people but we don’t eat a lot so we ordered 4 dishes and it came with half a bbq duck for around $67.

came here for lunch today with my dad. we both ordered a bowl of congee and a dish of rice rolls and a deep fried pancake.
the pancake did not taste fresh by itself so i added it into my congee, although it's a little soggy, it still taste okay.
my bowl of fish and meal ball congee came pretty fast, however, the other bowl of congee came very late. service was a little slower today but they were busy so it's okay.
the dried shrimp rice rolls was apparently not verygoodas per what my dad (who is a chinese chef) said.
overallgood- 3.5/5
service - 3.5/5

the congee is verygoodhere, we usually order the congee with fish, chinese donut, bbq duck, chow mein, and the green beans. most of the food is pretty standard for a chinese place. this is the type of restaurant a lot of young people come to after a night at the bar. 

service is terrible (no surprise), and prices are not as cheap as you would expect.

i'd say it's one of the better place to get congee around vancouver because the congee it's self is tasty, and the condiments that goes with it fits well like deep fried chinese doughnut, and the boiled vegetable, century egg, and deep friend squid, definitely agoodoption over here. any type of congee over here is good. definitely will recommend this place for a congee fix :d

standard chinese food place. they're best known for their congee and opening late. this location seems to cater better towards the caucasian crowd than the congee noodle king (kingsway/joyce) and ironically this location has better tasting congee. given that there aren't that many chinese noodle options in mount pleasant this is a prettygoodpick if you want some hot food fast.