Lucky Noodle Chinese Restaurant

Lucky Noodle Chinese Restaurant @ 3377 Kingsway

Today for lunch we were looking for a new Chinese place to try, so we did the obvious thing and drove down Kingsway towards Metrotown. After the section dominated by Vietnamese restaurants for the dozen or so blocks south of Broadway, things become a little more Chinese starting around Rupert, roughly speaking, though of course it's not like there's a clear demarcation or anything.

We noticed that the strip of commercial property just across from the Safeway around 41st Ave. has a few interesting Chinese restaurants we've never tried before, including a Beijing noodle place and hot pot place called Spicy Legend and a Hunan place called Lucky Noodle. We decided to go for Hunan food, because that sounded interesting and we haven't eaten at a good Hunan restaurant before.

When we visited Xi-an a few years ago, we visited a Hunan restaurant, but it turned out to be the worst meal we've ever had in China, by no fault of Hunan cooking, to be sure. Dining in China is an adventure, and it's fun being able to explore all the little restaurants intended for locals. They're often the ones with the most affordable and locally authentic food. This place, though, oversalted everything like you wouldn't believe. I don't know how they could eat that. So I was eager to finally get to taste Hunan food I could actually eat. I wonder if that restaurant was actually authentic and that is how Hunan food really is?

Long story short, we loved our meal at Lucky Noodle. We'll be going back as soon as we can to sample some more of their authentic Hunan dishes. I don't know of any other Hunan restaurants anywhere near us.

I don't know why Lucky Noodle is called Lucky Noodle, because they are not actually a noodle place. They only have about six noodle items out of about a hundred items. They're a Hunan restaurant. There's nothing in English indicating that this is a Hunan restaurant. Only the Chinese characters make it clear that this is a Hunan restaurant: 湘 is the abbreviation for Hunan. So strange.

Instead of calling themselves a noodle joint, maybe they should have called themselves a Hunan restaurant! I don't get the logic here.

Service was great. The server lady was very friendly and helpful, explaining each of the restaurant's specialties in detail. Couldn't ask for better service. Food came out very quick. They provide free Jasmine tea. Most of the non-food bases are covered.

Interior decoration was decent, with some nice paintings on the wall. The interior felt well-lit. There were enough smaller tables to seat a few smaller parties and not just big banquet-style tables.

They had these cute lanterns:

The menu was substantial and all had lengthy and helpful descriptions in English that give you a good idea what to expect. I like menus that are to the point like this one, without all the fancy frippery like in some high-end Chinese places.

We ordered a glass of soy milk for $2.00. I expected a tiny glass for that price. That's been my experience elsewhere. Here they brought out this huge glass:

We ordered four dishes in total. My initial impression after eating there is that Hunan food seems dominated by preserved and smoked dishes, and they use a lot of chili peppers. The meal was very spicy and I had to order a Sprite by the end to cool my tongue down. It's not the kind of spiciness that builds and builds until you can't bear it like Szechuan spiciness. It doesn't burn the lips like Jalapeno. It's a kind of constant warming sensation that's actually pretty pleasant, to be honest, though I'm not usually a fan of excessive spiciness.

In this respect, Hunan food seems like the diametric opposite of Cantonese food - full of hearty flavors, strong spices, preserved vegetables and cured meats, presumably a historical artifact of their inland geography and hot climate, as opposed to the very subdued style of Cantonese, which seems to be all about raw or freshly cooked seafood without as much emphasis on sauce to mask or enhance the flavor.

Crunchy Radish ($3.95)

Okay, maybe the title could be a little more descriptive for this one. But this turned out to be a good choice. It was excellent. Nothing like kimchi or any other sort of banchan or ochazuke-style pickled vegetable. Very strong flavor, great crunchy bite, and potent spicy kick combine to make a wonderful little appetizer. And they bring out quite a healthy portion for a mere $3.95. It might not look like it, but that's a lot.

Shredded Potato With Chinese Vinegar ($8.95)

This is something I've had elsewhere before, and honestly it tastes better elsewhere. The price is a little high, although they do bring out a very large portion. It's just that we don't need a huge heaping portion of this. Cutting the price in half and bringing out half would be a better idea. Still a good dish, but perhaps not quite enough vinegar. Apparently this is not a Hunan specialty like everything else we got, which would explain why this was the only one that didn't feel quite as special and successful as the other dishes, though it was by no means bad in any way.

Hunan Style Pea Curd in Spicy Sauce ($2.95)

This, on the other hand, was remarkably pleasant and unlike anything I've tried elsewhere. I was not expecting this when I ordered it. Heck, I didn't know what to expect of "pea curd". I thought they brought out the wrong dish when they brought this to the table, because it looks like rice noodles. But it's not. It has something of the same texture, but more youkan-ish. The savory and spicy sauce with sesame seed sprinkles goes very well with it. A nice light dish to complement a heavier main such as the following.

Steamed Smoked Pork, Fish and Chicken in Special Sauce ($14.95)

Notice a trend? They seem to love cilantro at this place. There's a sprig of cilantro on every plate. LOL.

This was fantastic. The meats are smoked to a deep, rich flavor. Many of the other dishes I saw on the tables around me had this same distinctive dark color, which is apparently typical of Hunan food. The pork in particular is excellent. The server lady told us it was actually bacon, but this special kind of Chinese bacon rather than the usual type western bacon. They leave the thick layers of fat on the meat as per tradition, but the way they've smoked it renders the fat very airy and light. I usually hate it when the fat is left on pork and have to take it off as it makes me gag, but I could eat the whole piece here. The chicken was also quite good, as was the fish, though the fish was a little dry. This was one of the dishes the server lady recommended as one of the house special dishes, and it was very satisfying.

We'll have to go back sometime. They've got a nice lunch special selection with Hunan dishes at a decent price.

All in all, a nice find. This is what Vancouver is great for: Its bounty of regionally specialized Chinese restaurants serving authentic local fare.