Address:
4853 Main Street
Vancouver, BC
Tel: (604) 879-7879
June 14, 2012 – Dinner
Written by: Second Stomach
Snowman`s parents are visiting so the first dinner we take them to this weekend is Long`s Noodle House, one of the best hole-in-the-wall Shanghainese restaurants in Vancouver.
We`ve been going to Long`s for years and frequently like to order the same thing over and over again because the food is so good that`s it hard sometimes to venture out and try something different on the menu. I have tried their chicken wonton soup (needs to be pre-ordered) and really enjoyed that but since it was only the 4 of us, we had to stick to just ordering a few select dishes.
Tonight`s dinner consisted of:
Wine chicken
Steamed Pork Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao)
Sauteed Prawns
Special Chop Wuxi (Spareribs)
Stir Fried Pea Tips
Pan fried red bean pancake (dessert)
Wine Chicken – $7.95
- Everytime I come here, we always seem to order this. I think it`s a real specialty here.
- The chicken is served in a little bowl but there are many little pieces of chicken in there! Yes, there`s bones in the chicken but the flavor is so intense and so good. True wine flavor.
Taste: 4.5/5
Presentation: 3.5/5
Value: 3.5/5
Steamed Pork Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao) – $5.50
- It also seems that whenever steamed pork dumplings are on the menu, we always need to order them. Having had them at Long`s before, I knew these ones should be good. They didn`t disappoint.
- What I really like about these is that there was very nice flavor to the dumplings and lots of soup. Unfortunately the dumpling skin was a little on the thicker side. Although these aren`t the best steamed pork dumplings I`ve had, these were overall fairly solid.
Taste: 4/5
Presentation: 3.5/5
Value: 3.5/5
Sauteed Prawns – $14.95
- There are 2 prawn dishes on the menu. The first one recommended to us was a dish where the prawns still have their shell. Snowman`s father was feeling like having prawns today but wasn`t too fond of having to deal with peeling off the shell, so it was decided to go with the stir fried prawns (without the shell).
- This was the `new` dish tonight for me. The prawns were sauteed with peas, garlic, and green onion. Unfortunately, I think it was the weakest dish tonight. It was relatively plainly flavored although the prawns were not overcooked. Still, a good solid basic dish.
Taste: 3.5/5
Presentation: 3.5/5
Value: 2.5/5
Special Chop Wuxi (Spareribs) – $14.95
- I ordered this because it just seemed like a dish that everyone should like (and its a good excuse to have rice).
- Sweet and savory. This was a good excuse to load up on rice and mix this together. The meat was very soft. An absolutely tasty dish.
Taste: 4.5/5
Presentation: 4/5
Value: 3.5/5
Stir Fried Pea Tips – $13.95
- Stir fried pea tips are probably my favorite chinese vegetable dish to order. I think it`s Snowman`s favorite too.
- I was happy to see that we received a relatively generous portion given that pea tips tend to shrink a lot after being fried up. These were flavored with garlic and were just a little salty. I also liked that the vegetables were not soggy – I really appreciated the crunchiness of the vegetables. Overall, very nicely flavored (although a bit on the salty side today).
Taste: 4/5
Presentation: 3.5/5
Value: 3/5
Pan fried red bean pancake (dessert) – $6.95
- Craving something sweet to cap off a fantastic dinner, we ordered this to share.
Here`s a closer look at one of the pieces:
- I liked the crispy exterior contrasting against the very hot and smooth red bean. I probably enjoyed this dessert the most tonight. Red bean is not really a favorite of Snowman`s but he seemed to find this dessert pretty good tonight.
Taste: 4/5
Presentation: 3.5/5
Value: 3/5
Long`s Noodle House is a very very small and busy restaurant on Main Street. It is your classic hole-in-the-wall that has absolutely fantastic Shanghainese food. Everytime I come here, I see the same owner – a lady who works so hard serving all the customers. Despite the restaurant lacking fancy decor, the atmosphere is very welcoming. The owner always has a smile and is very accomodating. Although you can make reservations here, she seems to always try to find a way to allow walk-ins. If you have a large party, it is definitely worth pre-ordering the chicken wonton soup.
The good…
- Really good comforting Shanghainese food at reasonable prices
- Pre-order the chicken wonton soup. It`s worth it.
The bad…
- Can be very busy. Make a reservation if you can.
- Very small restaurant with limited seating.
