congee noodle house

the chinese parsley & sea bass congee is still my favorite and will still keep me coming back. the congee is very good here - in my opinion, one of the better places in vancouver for congee (although overall, i prefer congeenoodleking for the consistency and value). ofcourse, congeenoodlehouse 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.

congee is rice porridge and is essentially the chinese equivalent to chickennoodlesoup. it isn't a terribly exciting dish, but when made right, with the right fixings and seasonings, it can really satisfy the soul.

jenkins and i stopped by congeenoodlehouse for dinner one day. we believe it is somehow related to congeenoodleking or has the same owner…something like that. in any case, the menus are pretty much identical, as is the basic layout of the restaurant.

congeenoodlehouse 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. thenoodlewas 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 withnoodle(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 very good also. 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 few good authentic hong kong stylenoodlehouses 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 yummynoodlesoup 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.

chinese food is great!!!
and i experienced it here in congeenoodlehouse.
great food, great presentation
hygiene is well maintained also!
👍👍👍👍

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 a good balance 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 withnoodle($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 pretty good amount of bbq duck. the duck itself was quite flavourful, although i found it to be a bit too boney. the side of broth had a good savory 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

our dinner at congeenoodlehouse was enjoyable with a much more friendly service. this place used to be notorious for the attitude of the server ladies so this was definitely a pleasant surprise. they really did the cantonese classic dishes justice. like a lot of other congee +noodlehouses in the city, they are more than what they are called as they provide a full menu of cantonese dishes. sometimes you can even find a full king crab dinner on their daily specials. but if you’re just looking for some comfort from congee or wontonnoodlesoup, this is the right place.

food was decent ... spot prawns over priced $32.50 per pound for a greasy spoon gas food place... bf referred to white turnip cake as "white burned jello" lumpy bits from unknown...for a caucasian he knows his dim sum turnip cake... waitress said try it even though we had. other friend said congeenoodlehouse has gone downhill about a year ago. waitress said you want change back and never came back with change... cashier gave back change and it was the wrong amount.

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 a good chow 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 really good (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 really good but the accompanying sauce had a strange flavor. 

i feel congeenoodlehouse 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.

we were here twice during our 5 day visit in vancouver.

for breakfast we ordered the
1) white pepper, pork stomach and clam congee which i would suggest stirring to ensure the white pepper is evenly distributed throughout the bowl.
2) assorted meat congee - and by assorted i mean liver, kidney, meat ball, stomach and heart
3) salted chinese donut

both congees were delicious. the flavors were embedded in each of the bowls - the congee itself tasted like the meat flavors.

on a seperate night, we ordered takeout after a night out. we ordered
1) sliced pork congee - not as flavorful as the ones we had for breakfast but the pork was tender
2) prawn and scramble egg with fried ricenoodle- i don't know how to describe it but it's delicious...
3) deep fried chicken wings with spicy salt and chili - you can't go wrong
4) salt and pepper squid - a classic
5) shanghai noodles - another classic

congeenoodlehouse is regularly ranked by zomato as one of the top 10 restaurants in metro vancouver based on popularity.  serving hong-kong style dishes that is delicious and affordable, congeenoodleis also a hit for anyone looking for late night eats as they open until 2 am.  earlier this month, i visited congeenoodlehouse for some comforting eats, specifically congee and noodle.  what better place to enjoy these than at a restaurant whose name suggests that they specialise exactly in those things?

this was my first time at congeenoodlehouse for dinner but i’ve had lunch here before. i was ready for some good old 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.

good ol' congeenoodlehouse, something you can't really go wrong with when you want some early morning congee or some late night bites. i often find myself eating here with family in the morning, during which i usually get congee with, of course.. you guessed it.. chinese doughnuts

photo: my late night snacking @ congeenoodlehouse, everyone’s fave place for cheap chinese comfort food and open til late. they offer a variety of barbecued meats (like pork, chicken, and duck), as well as congees, noodles, dumplings and other stirfry dishes. they also have a late night menu which is a little cheaper. because there is so much variety, you can go in for a light snack, or have a full-on meal. they also have some fresh seafood, like crab and fish, that you can order.