Noshwellmenu

[rating:2]

Located on Kingsway in Burnaby and tucked away in a corner is Lao Shan Dong, a noodle house that serves Taiwanese noodle soups with a nice selection of tasty side dishes. Taiwan is known for their beef noodle soups: soups made from beef broth, stewed beef and slow cooked beef tendon and (often) with heavy doses of spicy chili oil. Tre and I have been here before and our experience wasn’t all that memorable, but we decided to give Lao Shan Dong another try in hopes they just had an off day. But in the end, it really comes down to personal preference. Whether Lao Shan Dong is the best for Taiwanese noodle soup in the city — is up for debate.

Tre orders the beef flank noodle soup spicy with regular noodles. I opted for the same but with bean thread noodles instead. To accompany our soups, we chose two side dishes: seasoned soy beans and marinated tofu. Our soups and our sides arrive fast and they look tasty. But looks can be deceiving. Our soups are bland and too dense for our liking. Our beef flank is dry — beef shouldn’t taste like rubber — not that I know what rubber taste like — but I imagine it would taste something like this. Our soups aren’t spicy which is a surprise. We can see the chili oil floating aimlessly around in our soups, but there was no heat. And my bean thread noodles were over cooked. The side dishes are the saving grace of the meal. The cold, marinated tofu tasted fresh and the soy beans were seasoned nicely.

Perfect For:

Quick cheap alternative to the Metrotown food court across the way.  A slightly healthier version of Asian fast food made of beef and lots of sodium.

The Details

105 4887 Kingsway, Burnaby
604.439.9588

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