Beef Noodle Soup of the San Francisco Peninsula

Several weeks ago, I came up with a genius idea – to sample beef noodle soups (牛肉麵) as restaurant take-out orders and to rank them.

Why beef noodle soup? It’s among my favorite things to eat since childhood, and the only thing I craved during my eight years of vegetarianism. I grew up next to a couple of the most famous noodle shops in Taipei, so I’d like to think of myself as having high standards. Now that I live in a paradise – Millbrae, California – where I have multiple options within walking distance, it would be a shame not to systematically try them out.

Why take-out? Thanks to COVID-19, restaurants can no longer offer dine-in service. This was a blessing in disguise for my mission, though. Think about any restaurant review you’ve read. How much of it focuses on ambiance, decor, service, beverage options, servingware, and utensils? Those are silly distractions to the true foodie whose sole goal is to eat good food. Take-out beef noodle soup eliminates all those variables by allowing me to eat every option out of the same bowl on the same table.

Methodology

Like a good scientist, I made sure to conduct my survey with clearly defined methodologies to ensure consistent comparison. First, I picked restaurants within a 15-minute radius from home. This was so the food would be hot and fresh when I brought it home. With this constraint, I picked eight of my family’s favorite Chinese restaurants plus two that we had little experience with. There were beef noodle soup options in San Francisco and Milpitas that I knew would compete well, but had to be excluded because they were too far.

Then, to present the dishes consistently in photos, I made no attempt to plate them beyond dumping the contents of the noodle package in the bowl, followed by the contents of the soup package. This step was to highlight how tightly the noodles were crammed into the box. In the couple instances where the result was as presentable as what would be served in a restaurant, you know they took special care in packaging the dish.

Lastly, I limited my survey to lunch time only on weekdays. This excluded a potential contender.

Scoring Criteria

• NOODLES (25% of the overall score) – The essence in a bowl of beef noodle soup, which needs to delicately balance between the chewy texture and the absorption of flavor. It is a particularly challenge in this take-out survey because noodles don’t travel well. If packaged with the soup (which no self-respecting restaurant would do) they’d crumble into a soggy mess; packed too tightly into the box and they’d stick together; overly greased to prevent the stickiness and their flavor would take a hit.
• SOUP (25%) – The soul of the dish, and the bridge connecting the various components to one another. For this exercise I’m considering the vegetables as part of the soup.
• BEEF (18%) – To me, the beef is merely a source of flavor and does not deserve too much weight. It can call for point deductions when it’s too dry or difficult to chew. Ironically, that problem is usually associated with “premium” beef noodle soups with large cuts of lean meat.
• SPICINESS (25%) – Taiwan and Sichuan styled beef noodle soups are almost always spicy. Doesn’t have to be much, but a slight kick is an expected part of the flavor the same way wasabi is needed to make sushi. Spicier isn’t always better, of course, but it gets a higher score in this context because all of them were within reason. Personal preference could vary quite a bit on this one.
• AFFORDABILITY (7%) – This is the easy one: cheaper = better. I’m not giving this category much weight because I’m happy to pay a few more bucks for a better meal, but it’s nevertheless important to recognize the better value when all else are equal.

Ranking of the Beef Noodle Soup

#10 – Joy Restaurant 名廚

Joy is one of our favorite restaurants in the Bay Area, and their beef noodle soup used to be amazing. They must have changed the recipe recently, and turned the rich tomato-based soup into this bland soy sauce water. The noodles are from a cheap brand of boxed dry noodles, which are terrible to begin with and became an inseparable pasta cube in the take-out container.

Score: 1.2

#9 – Sichuan Chong Qing Cuisine 重慶人家

It’s ironic that a restaurant claiming to be both Sichuan and Chongqing makes beef noodle soup that’s not even slightly spicy. Their noodles are a bit too soft and lack chewiness. The spinach in the soup may have been a good touch for dining in, but the delicate vegetable disintegrates quickly during transport.

Score: 1.7

#8 – Boiling Beijing 京都食府

This dish claims to be Lanzhou La Mian 蘭州拉麵, a specific style of handmade noodles from western China, but it is really far from the real thing. Frankly, the noodles retain good texture despite being stuck together. The sliced beef also has a great balance between meat and tendon. The soup is the weakest link, and it has no vegetables.

Score: 1.9

#7 – Wonderful

Wonderful’s beef noodle soup is oddly mild and non-spicy for how strong in flavor most of their menu is. The soup is excellent for people who prefer a subtle flavor profile, and the bok choy is cooked perfectly to retain a level of crispness. The beef comes from a good cut of meat and each chunk is consistent in shape and size, but tastes unfortunately tough and dry. The noodles are freshly made in the restaurant and thoughtfully packaged in a wide container to minimize sticking. Priced at 52% more than the average of its competition, though, it’s not the best value you can get.

Score: 1.9

#6 – Dumpling Empire 水餃帝國

The noodles are loosely packaged in a flat container, similar to Wonderful’s, which is very promising at the first sight. The texture is somewhat strange and the noodles snap easily. The beef slices, packaged with the noodles instead of in the soup, are incredibly smooth and a joy to eat. The soup is uniquely flavored with dried chili and peppercorn but really needs more seasoning. The wood ear is another unusual feature, which I appreciate but not sure is fitting in a beef noodle soup.

Score: 3.0

#5 – Yummy Sichuan 印象四川

This bowl would make a good textbook example for what great beef noodle soup looks like. The soup is delicious with a pronounced but not overpowering kick. The noodles are top-notch and remain loose through transport. The beef is cooked well and easy to bite through. My only complaint is against the bits of tendon, which have potential but are too tough in this case.

Even better dish from Yummy Sichuan: Chongqing Xiao Mian 重慶小麵.

Score: 3.7

#4 – Easterly 眷湘

Easterly’s soup is very memorable. It’s rich, well seasoned, and spicy. The flavor penetrates the beef well, too. The meat could be improved by using a fattier cut or slicing it into smaller chunks.

Score: 3.8

#3 – Hubei Restaurant 湖北味道

The top three contenders are very close in overall score, and Hubei could have won if its noodles were less stuck in the box. I’d categorize the soup with its spicy and complex flavors in the “addicting” category. The beef chunks, while seemingly messy and random in size, pleasantly melt in your mouth.

Score: 4.2

#2 – Fashion Wok 食尚灣

I went on this mission expecting Fashion Wok to win the top spot, because their magical spicy soup is something I’d love to eat everyday. While it still did well, this bowl of soup was quite oily and deducted from the pleasant flavor. The noodles are more stuck together than I’d like, but can be separated with chopsticks with relative ease. The beef is great and the price makes this bowl a definite bargain.

Even better dish from Fashion Wok: Lamb Noodle Soup 紅悶羊肉湯麵.

Score: 4.3

#1 – Dumpling Era 思鄉水餃

Dumpling Era was initially thought of as a filler player because our experience with this restaurant’s other dishes was mediocre, but it emerged as the dark horse. Aside from the beef, which is just okay, everything else is fantastic. The noodles travel well and have the best texture. The soup is filled with chopped garlic (lots and lots of it), which added an amazing dimension to the spicy flavor. All this deliciousness can be had for under $9, too, sealing it as the best deal among the beef noodle soup options on the Peninsula.

Score: 4.4

Honorable Mentions

I love beef noodle soup, but you know what can beat it? Lamb noodle soup! Not that many restaurants sell it so I won’t be writing a separate post, but I’d stack them up right here against the beef noodle soups on the Peninsula.

Dumpling Era 思鄉水餃

Having been wowed by their beef noodle soup, I couldn’t wait to try their lamb counterpart. To my surprise, it was a very different dish with a light and non-spicy soup base. The noodles were the same but this batch got stuck and didn’t retain the same texture. Quality control issue, perhaps? Overall still a good dish, just not amazing.

Score: 2.3

Fashion Wok 食尚灣

I have no idea why this restaurant’s beef noodle soup is covered in a thick layer of oil and the lamb version isn’t, but that makes a world of difference between these similar dishes. For those who prefer lamb over beef like I do, the meat here is also far tastier. That makes it a no-brainer to pay the extra $1.20 at Fashion Wok for what is perhaps the most delicious noodle soup in the Bay Area.

Score: 4.7