It’s hard to be a foodie in Dallas without great suggestions from friends. After reading fellow foodie Tim Lam’s review on the best beef noodle soup in Dallas, I found myself at the doors of Noodle House in Plano. I wanted to see for myself what all the hype was about.
Beef Noodle Soup, or in Chinese, Niu Rou Mien, is a Chinese/Taiwanese noodle soup made with succulent and tender braised beef, vegetables in a flavorful beef broth. It’s the Chinese version of American favorite beef stew or the Vietnamese familiar Bo Kho. Perfect for cold and rainy weather, this dish is a favorite of mine that always hits the spot. It’s only been within the past few years that more mom and pop shops are now serving the revered dish.
Noodle House is located off Coit and Park and resides within a strangely large space. It’s definitely not what you would expect. It’s not a shack serving fast bowls of dumplings, or really even a restaurant. I wouldn’t exactly bring people here for the ambiance, but I would bring them here for the food.
A friend and I started dinner with the steamed leek dumplings. They are fluffy pillows of delicious pork and leek filling. It’s savory and juicy. The filling was generous. Great balance of filling to the outer wrap of the dumpling. It’s not one of those instances where you take a bite and it’s all dough, which is definitely a plus. As much as I liked how it tasted, there was a strange smell I couldn’t put my finger on that I was not too fond of. It wasn’t extremely overpowering, enough for me to notice. Perhaps it’s just me. Perhaps it was just this time.
A delicious bowl of beef noodle soup.
Now on to the very reason I got out of bed that morning: Beef Noodle Soup. I had been thinking about this bowl all day long. I haven’t had rice or noodles or much carbs in two weeks. I was starving and so ready to eat. A small bowl of the beef noodle soup was more than enough to fill me up. There was a generous serving of noodles and the broth was amazing. The braised beef, so soft and tender. It was absolutely delicious. Right now, I’m finding it difficult to describe it with words other than: tasty, yummy, foodgasmic, and super duper awesome. I enjoyed eating the dish more so than I did taking a pic of it for Instagram if that means anything to you foodies.
Noodle House is owned by a very nice family. They are so very sweet and I love helping out the smaller businesses. I tend to find some of the best tasting foods at places that aren’t so invested in being trendy or hip. Cash is preferred here, but they will accept credit cards for orders of $20 or more. The pricing is pretty affordable. Nothing seems to be more than $7 bucks.
So does Noodle House serve the best beef noodle soup in town? It’s definitely in my top 3, tying with Sichuan King. Here’s why:
Sichuan King’s noodles offer both sliced noodles or traditional noodles made in-house. The broth is more oily but the flavor is all there. While I believe Noodle House takes the cake for the better braised beef, Sichuan King does a great job with the spices and the broth. They are pretty much on the same level in my book and do what each dish is supposed to do: induce a very welcomed food coma. Sichuan King is located in Richardson, off Arapaho and Greenville Ave next to Tapioca House.
Sichuan King’s Beef Noodle Soup with sliced noodles.
Third Place: King’s Noodle. This place is near and dear to my heart because it was here first. Even though the broth isn’t as rich as Sichuan King or Noodle House, the beef is still great and I enjoy a bowl every now and again with their cold sides of tofu or intestines. King’s Noodles is also in Richardson located off Polk and Greenville, across the street from First Chinese BBQ.
King’s Noodle Beef Noodle Soup
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