When it comes to eating in Melbourne CBD, there are so many restaurants that come to mind. The closer to Chinatown, the better chance you have of stumbling on a delicious spot. We recently visited the new Bowltiful restaurant on Swanston Street, and we have never had better noodles anywhere in Melbourne. The restaurant had quite a buzz with office worker diners and recreational diners, each of them choosing the noodle of their choice and settling in for a hearty bowl of Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles.
What are Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles?
Lanzhou is a part of the Gansu province of Northwest China, and it’s where the art of hand-pulling noodles is an almost daily staple. If you’ve ever experienced a life-altering good noodle dish, then you will want to experience hand-pulled noodles by a Lanzhou chef. Hand-pulled noodles are crafted and stretched in front of your eyes and offer a textual experience like no other. The chewiness that is achieved by hand-stretched noodles is incomparable and the freshness is so good you’ll be wondering how you’ve not tried them before.
So special are the techniques of a Lanzhou chef, they train under hand stretching masters before being capable of taking on the noodles themselves. That is a level of expertise and craft you have to see to believe. When the chef takes the soft dough ball in front of you, the first thought is how can anyone make noodles out of that by hand? What happens next is an art form, as the dough is stretched, and stretched until it’s perfectly shaped into the noodles you’ve ordered.
Once the noodles are hand-stretched by the incredible chefs, they are then boiled for no more than 60 seconds, that’s right, 1 minute. After this, the delicious noodles are bathed in a broth that packs a serious flavour punch. Better yet, the chewiness, freshness or finesse isn’t even the best part, the best part is you get to choose the specific type of noodle you want and the chef will hand stretch it for your dish.
A noodle for every taste
The incredible chefs at Bowltiful Lanzhou Beef Noodle can hand stretch up to 9 different types of noodles. That’s a noodle for every taste, preference and occasion. Whether you are someone who loves an extra thin noodle or prefers an extra wide one, the Bowltiful chefs can guarantee fresh perfection for any pallet.
The 9 different types of noodles on offer at Bowltiful Lanzhou Beef Noodle are the biggest choose-your-own-noodle selection in town and each is made fresh to order right in front of your eyes. The choices are:
- Super thin
- Thin
- Thick
- Thicker
- Extra thick
- Prism
- Semi-wide
- Wide
- Extra wide
The noodle selection is another element of this incredible dining experience and ranges in thickness from half a millimetre to 30 millimetres. No matter what type of noodle you want, the chefs at Bowltiful Lanzhou Beef Noodle have a fresh hand-stretched option for you. If you’re game, come back and see if you can try them all.
Curious, we had to give their menu a try so here’s what we feasted on.
Signature Lamb Skewers
To kick things off, we ordered the signature lamb skewers which come with a serving of 5 tender and perfectly cooked morsels. The lamb skewers were perfectly sized for the start of the meal and were covered in a spice mix that was to die for. There was a slight kick from the chilli, followed by a delicious combination of flavours that made the lamb taste even better. The skewers are only available at the Swanston Street store, but if you’re in the city they are more than worth it. The lamb is cut thinner than usual, which makes the skewers a great way to start and leaves plenty of room for the Lanzhou noodles to come.
Spicy Chicken Salad
Speaking of a chilli kick, the spicy chicken salad is a great side dish if you love a little spice with your meal. The salad was portioned perfectly, had a genuine freshness and the chicken was delicious. The salad is ideal if you are looking for a palate cleanser before taking on Melbourne’s best Lanzhou noodle soup.
Seaweed Salad
As a big fan of seaweed salad, it was refreshing to see the new take that Bowltiful Noodle had taken. The seaweed had a slight crunch, an aromatic smell and again the signature but subtle chilli taste. There was a nice refreshing element to the seaweed salad that helped prepare us for the Lanzhou noodle soup to come.
Lanzhou Style Spicy Lamb Burger
Spice on spice, on spice, is the only way to describe the Lanzhou-style spicy lamb burger. This lamb burger, more of a sandwich really, is a great extra if you find yourself particularly hungry at Bowltiful Noodle. The bread was soft and crispy which was perfect for soaking up the spicy marinade on the lamb. Inside the burger was a generous helping of soft, tasty lamb covered in a spicy rub and chopped up chillies. If you’re a fan of spicy sandwiches, then do yourself a favour and grab a Lazhou-style spicy lamb burger to go with your Lanzhou noodles.
Lanzhou Beef Noodle Soup w/Homemade Pickles
Talk about a game changer of noodle soup, this dish was absolutely delicious. The bowl was not only a generous serve, it came out in almost record time. From the point of ordering our Lanzhou noodles to a piping hot bowl being in front of us, it could only have been a matter of minutes. The bowl arrived looking incredibly well put together, with fine slices of tender beef, chilli oil, vegetables and pickles all presenting the perfect dish for a hungry customer. Sitting beneath the tasty accompaniments however was the star of the dish, the Lanzhou noodles. To say we’ve ever had fresher noodles would be a lie. The noodles were boiled in front of us just minutes ago and they tasted it too.
The noodles were soft, and chewy and added a volume to the dish that left us stuffed by the end of it. The Bowltiful Noodle broth was full of flavour and when it was all put together it was a dish we won’t soon forget. The spice level was more than manageable and added yet another element to the meal. If you’re wondering where to start in the more than 15 meal choices on the menu, the Lanzhou beef noodle soup with homemade pickles won’t let you down.
Braised Beef Brisket Noodle Soup
If you’re a fan of slow-cooked, soft meat then you must order the braised beef brisket noodle soup. The meat melts in your mouth and when combined with that signature Bowltiful broth and fresh Lanzhou noodles, the experience is incredible. This dish was a little more subdued when it came to the spice level, so if you prefer your food on the softer side of the spice range then the braised beef brisket noodle soup is a great choice.
The Lanzhou noodles were again the star of the show given how fresh and chewy they were. The beef however stood its ground and the taste of the meat melting in your mouth with the chewiness of the Lanzhou noodles was an experience in itself. If you’re wandering through the city and looking for Melbourne’s best Lanzhou noodles, then Bowltiful Noodle is the place to go, and the braised beef brisket is the dish for you.
If you are ready to try these fresh noodles, the Bowltiful menu is extensive with Halal and vegetarian options on offer. What’s more, to celebrate the opening of the 249 Swanston Street store, Bowltiful is slinging FREE Bowltiful noodles! Did that get your attention? Here’s what you need to know:
Bowltiful is opening its doors on Saturday 18th of February at 12pm for three days, serving 249 bowls of FREE hand-pulled noodles. It’s best in, best served so allow enough time to be one of those 249 lucky diners and enjoy a Bowltiful lunch, completely free! You can check out the Bowltiful menu here to get you excited.
Bowltiful is one of our favourite places to have lunch in the city, with the friendly staff serving noodles so artfully that you wouldn’t believe it is all made in-house. Be sure to check out our other Melbourten food reviews!
