Wah Nam Noodle Restaurant — Restaurant in Hong Kong

This is my local neighborhood noodle joint; been coming here for almost 20 years. Whenever I’m away from HK for any extended period of time, this is one of the first places I visit (sometimes the first!) when I get back in town. I always crave this comfort food.

On this particular occasion, I brought some friends over after a drinking session for a good ol’ bowl of noodles. It was about 10pm and the place was hopping (to my surprise!). I ordered the beef combinations in noodle soup with an iced lemon tea, along with an extra bowl of wontons. The bowl of noodles was as tasty as usual. Broth is full of flavor, a good amount of toppings is provided and the noodles were bouncy. The chilli sauce on the table is good, but you need to use it sparingly as it is damn spicy.

Typical HK noodle shop service, which means it’s quick but brusk. You don’t come here to linger, just to enjoy a good...

Eating here almost converted me to a vegan.

Got the standard beef brisket and offal noodle. Expected a savory meal... But got those brisket so gamey and fermented tasting that I feel like whatever is in they thousand year soup pot should be sentient by now, and we should get some cultures from the pot to see if it can grow into a civilization.

Back to the food. If the beef and offal were just gamey, I'd be mildly okay. But at the same time I could taste the "fridge smell" in some pieces, meaning some beef has been in storage for a long time.

All that, for $84. I could get something better at half that price at other half decent places. I rarely write negative reviews like this, but this is...

Quality has deteriorated in the past few years. The beef soup base still packs plenty of flavour and the beef brisket and beef offal is generally decent. But portions are a lot smaller than it used to be and is now overpriced relative to most other similar offerings in the area.

That being said it's still above average quality and the location is convenient if you have a beef offal noodle craving.

It also has one of the best chiuchow style hot sauces in town; there's a distinct smokiness in their peppers you can't find elsewhere. You can buy a jar for a price of around HK$200, consistent with them being a relatively overpriced little...