Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Angkor is a restaurant, so named for a historically significant region in Cambodia, which echoes the origin of the cuisine they serve. It sits in the middle of a lonely plaza on the corner of 33rd and Victoria sandwiched between an aging laundromat and a relatively new Chinese restaurant.

(Above: Cambodian Seafood Noodle Soup.)

Inside, the family operation is minimal; a well kept hole in the wall. We peer inside the menu to review our options. Case and I each ordered the seafood noodle soup — mine with rice noodles, Cases’ with egg noodles. The broth at Angkor is distinctively sweeter, but clear and flavourful. The noodles are well cooked and the dish is generously garnished with chunks of prawns, liver, pork and fried garlic. A jar of pickled peppers sits at the table, awaiting daring patrons to partake.

(Above: The infamous fried chicken.)

We couldn’t pass up the fried chicken: wings and drumettes coated in a sweet, salty and garlicky batter and served with a side of lime and pepper dipping sauce. The flavour was certainly spot on, but it was difficult to overlook the sheer density of the batter.

For dessert, we had a banana, tapioca dessert: chunks of fried banana bathed in a light coconut milk with tiny pearls of tapioca. The crumbled peanuts provided a nice textural counterbalance — a nice surprise.

(Above: Banana, Tapioca dessert swimming in coconut milk and sprinkled with a dusting of peanuts.)

Our meal came to just over $30 with taxes and tips — which felt a bit pricey. The menu at Angkor is very similar to, so comparisons with Chinatown’s Phnom Penh will be inevitable. But Angkor has its own thing going on, and will ultimately survive on its own merits.

Perfect for: an alternative to Phnom Penh.

The Details

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Motomachi Shokudo is located on Denman Street, just a few doors down from their sister restaurant Kintaro. Their speciality? None other than Japanese ramen noodle soup. But made with more healthier, organic ingredients.

Motomachi Shokudo is a tiny, intimate space. Inside is a large wood communal table and a few smaller tables. Carved tree trunk stools are used as seating, which seemed like a neat idea, but are a bit uncomfortable since they sat pretty high up on the table.

Unlike Kintaro, which uses pork and fish base, Motomachi Shokudo broths are made with a chicken and fish base making it a somewhat healthier alternative by lowering the fat content.

(Above: Shio Ramen Soup, beautifully arranged.)

We ordered two bowls of shio ramen and a side of gyoza. The ramen was beautifully presented in a bowl with: a soft boiled organic egg, shredded bamboo shoots, barbecue pork, white pepper, thinly sliced chili pepper, and seasonal green vegetable stewed in a light broth seasoned with all natural sea salt and topped with angel hair Japanese leeks.

The broth was nice and had a hint of a smokey charcoal flavor, but was tad bit on the salty side. The organic egg was the best soft boiled egg I’ve had. It had a touch of sweetness that added that little extra something. The ramen noodles were awesome as expected: perfectly cooked, thin, firm noodles that had a nice bite. The lean barbecue pork, however, was drier compared to Kintaro. Lastly, the gyzoa was decent, although nothing really special.

(Above: Pan fried gyoza.)

Our bill including taxes and tips came to just under $25, which is slightly more expensive then Kintaro, but justifiable given the quality of ingredients and care put into each dish. The service, however, could use some tweaking. Even though we enjoyed Motomachi, Kintaro is still the tops in our books. But it’s nice to know that if we can’t get into Kintaro, we can simply walk a few doors down for some good ramen.

Perfect for: Ramen with a conscience.

The Details

740 Denman Steet
604.609.0310

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

The shortlist for a really nice bowl of Wonton Noodles in Vancouver usually includes Mak’s, which unfortunately closed down during the Cambie/Broadway redevelopment. We heard rumours that the old Mak’s Noodle House had since relocated to one of the plaza complexes in Richmond just off Alexandra Road. What we found was McNoodle House. Close enough.

(Top to bottom: 1. Classic Noodles in Soup with Beef Brisket and Tendon. 2. Iced Lemon Coke.)

Everything about McNoodle House says Mak’s, from the the distinctive wood on wood decor, to the small portions and pricier than your run of the mill Wonton house menu. We figured some sign maker probably messed up and misheard Mak’s Noodle House and instead printed McNoodle House — and the owners likely just ran with it.

Besides the stingy portions, Mak’s was known for making a mean bowl of Wonton noodle soup, and all the accompanying variations you’d be accustomed to find at a classic Wonton noodle house.

(Top to bottom: 1. Spicy Pork Sauce Lo Mein. 2. MSG Soup on the side.)

I had the beef brisket and tendon noodle soup. The briskets and tendon were tender, well seasoned and the noodles perfectly cooked. Case ordered the Spicy Pork sauce Lo Mein: the pork juliennes were smothered in a sweet and supposedly spicy sauce. It came with a side of soup that tasted laden with MSG goodness. An iced lemon coke accompanied our meal to cut through the salt and grease. Mak’s, er McNoodle’s certainly haven’t lost their touch. The classic Chinese greasy spoon dishes remain solid as always.

Our meal came to under $18 with taxes and tips which doesn’t sound too bad, except the portions are half the size of regular wonton houses. Don’t expect much in ways of service, but McNoodle’s hits the spot for a later afternoon snack.

Perfect for: maintaining portion control while enjoying top notch wonton noodle soup.

The Details

8291 Alexandra Road, Richmond
604.231.8141

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Pho Van on Fraser Street in East Vancouver is a Vietnamese restaurant that’s still kicking it old school. Neon lights, bright red decoration and oversized mirrors take you away to a little hole in the wall in East Asia. The big screen TV in the corner is showcasing a singer on a variety show crooning to Ricky Martin’s “Nobody Wants to be Lonely,” while we enjoy some pho.

Pho Van was busy, but we were seated quickly behind a big Koi fish tank. Tre immediately pointed out a weird looking fish behind me which appeared to be either pregnant or deformed. I was queasy after staring at the fishie for some time and lost my appetite somewhat. Note to self: focus on food — nothing else.

(Clockwise: 1. Bun Bo Hue, spicy beef noodle soup with pig knuckles. 2. Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk 3. Brilliant neon lights.)

Tre ordered a small bowl of beef noodle soup. I ordered the Bun Bo Hue: a spicy noodle soup with beef and pig’s knuckle, and vermicelli. To accompany our soups, we ordered a pork and shrimp salad roll, plus two iced Vietnamese coffees to offset the large amounts of sodium we were about to consume.

Our soups were okay, but nothing exceptional. Tre’s noodles were slightly over cooked and the beef broth tasted very light. A nice little surprise was a piece of daikon radish (not normally found in Pho), which was extremely flavourful. To my disappointment, my Bun Bo Hue was not at all spicy and my broth tasted watery. I think both our soup broths were freshly made, but wasn’t given enough time to stew. The salad roll was only average, but the iced coffees definitely hit the spot.

(Top to bottom: 1. Shrimp and pork slice salad roll. 2. Pho.)

Our meals including taxes and tips came to just under $22, which we thought was a good deal. Pho Van isn’t one of those places we’d go out of our way to return to unless we happen to be in the neighborhood. But if we do, next time around, I’ll switch seats with Tre.

Perfect for: Enjoying Pho while bathed in neon lights and serenaded by bad karaoke.

The Details

3370 Fraser Street, Vancouver
604.872.2879

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

If there was an archetypal Chinese diner, it would be something like the Congee Noodle King, a no frills greasy spoon type joint on Kingsway right on the corner adjacent to Joyce street. Here, you can expect an open space dining room bustling with loud, hungry patrons. Zero decor, zero ambience, sketchy service, but solid food. We wouldn’t want it any other way.

We arrived during Tea Time, which for most Hong Kong style restaurants means a selection of smaller portion meals at a reduced price, usually accompanied with a complimentary drink. Case’s litmus test for the quality of these types of joints is the classic North American Chinese dish: Beef and Tomato on rice. Each restaurant has their own house style, Congee Noodle King’s is pretty decent: large chunks of tomatoes, slivers of tender beef swimming in a glutinous tomato-like sauce on top of white rice.

(Clockwise: 1. Beef and tomato on rice. A classic. 2. Iced Hong Kong style tea. 3. Standard issue condiments.)

I ordered the Beef in Soy Sauce Rice noodle, another hard-to-mess-up-but-many-restaurants-somehow-still-manage type dish. Tender beef slices tossed with green onions, been sprouts and pan-fried rice noodles still smoky and glistening from being wok-fried with soy sauce. We both had iced Hong Kong style tea. A nice bonus is they didn’t charge us extra for the cold drink (most places do). Our meals came to $13 including tax and tip solidifying this as a really good way to eat out and still save some coin.

Perfect for: Something quick and dirty.

The Details

3313 Kingsway, Vancouver
604.435.6670