We went there excited to see a noodle place with ratings comparing it to the downtown ramen houses. Big let down. I guess we should've predicted judging from the menu that they weren't "specialists" in any type of noodle. There were "Japanese" ramen, "Vietnamese" pho-style noodles, "Laksa" noodles, "Dan Dan" and "Tom Yum Gong" noodles.
Like some of the other reviews, we noted that the menu style and ordering format was much like Deer Garden. One good thing was that they have the option of paying a little more to upgrade to a Presotea bubble tea. It's sad to say that the Presotea (franchised bubble tea) was the best part of the dinner.
We tried the laksa soup with flat rice noodles, chasiu and tofu puffs. The soup was just OK. Deer Garden's soup is much tastier and the noodles come with much more veggies in it.
Another noodle bowl was the shoyu soup with house made fish tofu and pho beef. The beef was good but the fish tofu was a mushy mess, also way better at Deer Garden. The soup base DOES NOT compare to the downtown ramen places at all. The noodles were subpar as well. Definitely a disappointment when the review were saying this place was as good as downtown. I am still going to make the drive until Sansotei opens in Markham.
We also decided to try a few side dishes. DO NOT WASTE the extra money. Chicken wings were skimpy in size and taste. (Both the honey garlic and 5 spice - even our little guy wouldn't touch them). The Taiwanese popcorn chicken was not good. The lemongrass chicken is better across the street at Xuela as is the dense and not crispy spring roll.
We may return if we are desperate and don't feel like driving downtown but for dinner Keung's and many other restaurants nearby would be our first choice.