Canton Noodle House, Burwood

I've made many treks to Strathfield but I have rarely checked out its equally busy, if not busier neighbour suburb of Burwood. I have no idea what was the best place to eat around this part of town especially since we were originally meant to catch up in the city to watch a movie. However, CC was running late so we decided to go somewhere closer and ended up in Burwood. Walking along Burwood Road, it felt like walking across the restaurant strip on Parramatta's Church Street as there was a block full of restaurants to choose from. A friend of ours has recommended Canton Noodle House as one of the places to check out so we decided on heading there.

If you walk past this restaurant, the first thing you would probably think about is how simplistic the restaurant looked with its bare white walls. But what it lacked in fancy decor, it made up for it in the local crowds and the food. When we arrived at the restaurant, we were greeted with a busy, noisy and packed restaurant with little room to move. Luckily we got in time to grab the last available table at the time. There was a ridiculously huge range of food to choose from. Not only can you choose from the regular menu, there were also a good selection from the Special menu.

I've had many mates proclaiming their love for pipis with XO sauce on my Facebook newsfeed but have never really tried them myself. For those who don't know, pipis are basically another word for clams. You can choose to have it with rice or (under the slightly more but not too expensive special menu list) with Vermicelli Noodles. When this dish arrived, I was amazed at its size. You can see the pipis were cluttered everywhere on top of the vast pile of noodles. The vermicelli noddles were so crispy and the XO sauce gave the whole dish a savoury and saucy texture. I even felt the urge to slurp up the XO sauce from all of the pipis. While I finished up the pipis, the noodles were quite massive but I've managed to clean up most of the plate. Definitely something I am keen to order again next time. 

Pipis with XO sauce and Rice Vermicelli ($19.80)

 

CC was in the mood for wontons and decided on the Won Ton Noodle Soup. We initially thought that this bowl would be easy to finish. Once she finished the wontons and eat some of the noodles, we realised how wrong we were. While the wontons were well cooked with a slight bite, the noodles were a bit too generous with its portions. It felt like a bottomless pit of noodles that never seemed to end. I tried a bit of it, and found the noodles were also cooked well enough and not too soft for my liking. 
 

Won Ton Noodle Soup ($8.50)
 

It's definitely got the points for good value for money since we both got full very quickly with our respective dishes. This hidden joint has to be one of Burwood's best kept secret as I've really never heard of this place until that day but it has got a solid following to be packed on a Sunday evening. Eventually, the crowd has died down around the time we left at 8:30pm. While the service was average, the portions are generous especially with affordable prices. If you feel like going out but don't want to go to an expensive place, give this one a go as most of the dishes in their already extensive menu are about $20 (if you are keen for seafood) or much much less (everything else!). They even have fried ice cream!

Canton Noodle House
45 Burwood Road, Burwood
02 9744 1833
http://www.facebook.com/CantonNoodleHouse.B