Dagu Rice Noodle Henderson 大鼓米线西区店 — Restaurant in Henderson-Massey

Updating my review from four stars to two. This used to be one of my favourite places. Food is just not as advertised. There are other reviews complaining of this issue too. No wonder why it’s not busy here anymore.

I have attached photos of the dish portrayed on the menu and my actual dish. The only things that matched the menu toppings were a sprinkling of the toughest enoki mushrooms I’ve ever tried, one piece of bamboo shoot and the cabbage.

When I asked the staff member about the toppings, she asked the chef, who said they have NEVER had chives and the range of mushrooms (advertised on the menu) in the dish. The staff member later told me the menu was used overseas so they couldn’t provide the same stuff here. She gave me some more enoki mushrooms and chives after telling the chef a “customer was getting angry” lol.

If it weren’t for the fact that I’ve mostly enjoyed my meals here and the staff member being nice about it, it would be a one-star review.

———

I've been to two branches of Dagu Rice Noodle and have anyways enjoyed the meals I've tried. That being said, I have only tried their noodles range.

The soup is delicious - really hits the spot! The food normally comes out pretty quickly. They also give you free refills of the noodles if you dine in. People are saying one refill but I once went in as a big group to the Mt Eden branch and the boys had quite a few free refills each. If you order it as a takeaway, they give you two portions of the noodles with no refill.

The missing star is due to the service. It's not consistent but the level of service is normally average. One positive is that there are staff who can speak English reasonably well though, which is...

When we went there I think we were the second customers to come through the door on Saturday. Service was great for us. The food came out in no time, especially the noodles. The cold dish of beef and tripe is great, although it looked nothing like the photos at all. My Seafood Fried rice took a little longer, but it's better than it not coming at all. I originally ordered the Grandma Braised Pork Fried Rice, but they had none. My disappointment level went down by 1. Luckily I had a plan B.

In saying that, I want to come back and try the Braised Pork Fried Rice. The Seafood Fried Rice is actually very very good. Every grain of rice was evenly coated and the prawns were plentiful, scallops were also present.

Protip for those who haven't been here or want to try going:

These types of places require you to go to the counter and order. Don't be ignorant and look around. Do what other people do. Don't expect to be served at the table. Think if it as McDonald's or KFC. There is also a self serving tray that's filled with plates, bowls, utensils, cups, bottles of water, and condiments. Serve yourself...see Protip #2.

Set your expectation a little lower than usual. You're not going to a Michelin starred restaurant where they serve you and ask every 30 minutes how your meal is while you have a mouthful of food. Quite annoying I must say.

Always have a plan B for meals. Always choose 2 different meals in case the one you want is not available. You have no idea how much this happens in ethnic restaurants.

Be prepared to pay...

Came here as the Chinese restaurant a few shops next to it was fully booked. We always like Dagu Rice Noodles and frequently go to the first branch in Dominion Road. Ordered the new spicy golden soup sliced beef noodle, their signature pork soft bone soup noodle, fried chicken and a sweet jelly dessert.

The golden soup noodles was quite good while the fried chicken was well worth it as the portion was very big and tasted quite nice. However their signature pork bone noodles was a major disappointment. The soup was very bland. It is usually our kids' favourite noodle but both didn't eat much.

Service level were also significantly down a notch vs the service level at Dominion Road. The front of house was ran by 2 youngsters (1 male n 1 female) and both looks really grumpy and had no smile as though they don't really want to be there. While service was relatively fast, we do not feel the same level of hospitality we had in Dominion Road.

Overall, definitely no where as good as the Dominion Road branch so will likely head there next time when we feel like having a bowl of...