I walked into Jinweide expecting a simple menu where I could just say ‘1 lanzhou beef noodle please’, but when confronted with a number of unexpected options, I deferred to the person taking my order, ending up with this Handmade beef noodle, thin (type 3) noodles, less spicy ($14.80)
Despite the high degree of visual appeal, the taste of these noodles failed to impress me. I think the most critical part was that the flavour of the broth was too mild, tasting watery rather than soupy. I don’t think the ‘less spicy’ option was necessarily a factor in this, but just that a bit more salt or even some natural or artificial glutamate would’ve helped. Having said that, the quantity of food for $14.80 was quite good, with a large serving of noodles and beef and soup that I could not finish, only half because I didn’t want to.
The beef bun / roujiamo with lean and fat meat ($8.80) – choices of just lean and just at also available – was not bad, but not great. It was overall pretty juicy and flavourful, with little bits of tendon included, and more spice and colour than from Cheng’s next door. Though I understand the need for a beef variation for our Muslim friends and colleagues, this one was far from the standard of a good pork roujiamo.
Other thoughts
The guys on the table next to me participated in some kind of challenge item where you place a gloved hand into a big box of sliced beef, and the amount that you fish out is the amount that you get to eat. This looks fun, though I don’t know how I would’ve eaten such a large amount of unexciting noodle soup. Overall I feel that 1919 Lanzhou Beef Noodles, further down Burwood Rd, is a superior option.
Jinweide Lanzhou Golden Taste 金味阁兰州牛肉面版权所有
Shop 8/258-264 Burwood Rd, Burwood NSW 2134
(02) 9360 0171