Update 14/01/2023: Lanzhou Beef Noodle Bar is now replaced by Master Lanzhou Noodle Bar Express on Swanston St in Carlton; we more regularly visit the outlet on Elizabeth St.
Located on the edge of the University of Melbourne campus, I've passed Lanzhou Beef Noodle Bar and not paid any attention to it on countless walks and tram rides. But it unexpectedly turned up in our recent googlings of youpo mian, so we stopped in for an early low-fuss dinner after watching a movie at Nova. It was surprisingly tough to claim two seats at 5:30pm!
As the eatery's name suggests, this isn't really a spot for vegos. The one-page menu starts with three beef noodle soups, two beef noodles, and a cold noodle plate featuring - would you believe it? - beef. Then there's the youpo noodle ($11.80), helpfully labelled as vegan in green lettering! There appear to be a couple other veg options too, though they're not labelled: the 'capsiegg' noodle with soybean paste and a selection of sides.
I was determined not to order the lesser veg dish for a third time, so we doubled down on youpo. This one has the kudai/belt noodles we missed at Xi'an Famous! And there was no shortage of garlic and oil. I liked the chilli level, and there was more to hand at our table for Michael to dig into. In short, this had everything we've fondly recalled from the couple of youpo mian bowls we enjoyed in China! And all the more wonderful that we can revise the best noodle-pulling technique from the chefs while we wait.
We didn't dare imagine that we'd be accessing these noodles again so easily in Melbourne, but Lanzhou Beef Noodle Bar also has outlets in the city and in Caulfield as well as Carlton. They really couldn't be more convenient.
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The only other blog review I've found is about the Caulfield outlet, on far fetched & fanciful.
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Lanzhou Beef Noodle Bar
Shop 3, 743-751 Swanston St, Carlton (entry on Grattan St)
0452 596 756
menu
https://www.beefnoodle.com.au/
Accessibility: There's a shallow ramp on entry. Furniture is densely packed high tables with backless stools. We ordered and paid at a high counter. We didn't visit the toilets.
Thanks for posting this! I had seen your China blogs and was fascinated by the idea of youpo mian (& all the noodles really) so ran out to the city store today. Delicious!
ReplyDeleteWelcome, L! Very glad you enjoyed these noodles too. :)
DeleteGlad you enjoyed the noodles! I only tried the titular beef noodle soup last time, keen to get youpo mian a shot next time!
ReplyDeleteWelcome, Beini! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do. :)
DeleteGood thing you didn't visit the toilets. They're shared with the KFC that faces Swanston. Not as nasty as a servo loo, but nowhere near as decent as Macca's (and that's the only good thing I'll say about McRapburgers.) No toilet paper in either stall of the men's when I was there and the floor was wet and sticky with youknowhat. At least they had soap and a hot-air hand dryer.
ReplyDeleteWhingeing aside, the soup was good. I'm not vegan, so I had a bowl of the spiciest version of cowmurder, sorry. My lips were tingling from the Sichuan chiles. Almost two hours later and I don't have an MSG headache yet (one of the reasons I sadly have to ignore pho most of the time) so that's a plus.
Welcome, Bukko, and thanks for the brutal toilet report. XD
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