Tang Dynasty Handcrafted Noodle House

To weigh in on the Tang verse Peaceful debate, I think they are pretty much on par. If there is a line-​up at Peaceful, I have no qualms about going to Tang Dynasty. They’re both greasy spots with hand pulled noodles. For me Tang Dynasty has a slight edge over Peaceful because they have a lighter noodle and fresher dumplings. This however may be a matter of preference.
We also got the complimentary onion pancake. Maybe that helps too, I love getting things for free.

It’s hard to review Tang Dynasty without comparing it to its neighbours, Peaceful and Sha Lin. They’re all on the same block and they offer nearly the same product. I think that in order for Tang to compete with these other two, it should probably be a lot better than them, since the others are already pretty good and also well-​established with faithful customers and frequent lineups.
Tang Dynasty is not better. It’s about average. Big portions and acceptable quality, but slightly more expensive and not as many pictures on the menu (Sha Lin has pictures of just about every dish, either on the menu or on the wall, which helps the average customer who is likely not familiar with this kind of Chinese food). The service was good and they didn’t rush us at all, even though they were closing by the time we were done eating, so they get bonus points there.
All around decent, but if Tang wants to be number one, it’s going to have to try a little harder.

* Noodle district meh addition *
The Broadway hand pulled noodle district has yet another offering joining the fray. This entry may not end up being as successful though.
I ordered the latiao noodles with tofu, shrimp and fungus in sour broth. Oy… The broth was a stereotypical Canadian Chinese restaurant corn starch laden goopy mess with no richness of flavour at all. It was spiced up with some chili which did not integrate well as it appears to have come too late in the process. Meh. Photo:
The noodles themselves were overly clumpy as well as being severely overcooked. These were not good noodles. Photo:
Just for good measure I also ordered a cumin chili lamb skewer as I can not pass up lamb on a menu. I got nervous when I heard a microwave door slam, and the tell tale beeps. Oy… Wasn’t surprised when the lamb was overly chewy, cooked from the inside out and then just quickly coated in chili dust after cooking. I’m guessing they pre-​grill and then keep either in the freezer or fridge and then just warm it up in the microwave. I’ve never had microwaved lamb skewers before, and I won’t ever have them again. Photo:
For me, Peaceful (
) is still the best in the area for hand pulled noodles.
Should it be against the law for a place with the word, «Handcrafted» in its name to own a microwave?

The new kid on the block of handmade noodle specialists.
Challenging Peaceful and Sha Lin at their own game take serious chutzpah. Customers around here are noodle connoisseurs who expect & demand greatness!
I came here for a late solo lunch. Was it any good? Yes and no.
The $ 6.98 lunch combos offer run-​of-​the-​mill dishes (think: lemon chicken, ginger beef) with a side of noodles or rice, stir-​fried or plain.
But let’s cut to the chase. Noodles are best critiqued (& eaten!) in soup.
So I went with A6 on their regular menu = La mien (pulled noodles) with sliced beef.
6 different varieties of noodles to choose from (pancake, you’re next). I picked shaved because my waiter said so. Don’t you know a wise old man when you see one?
Noodles: softly chewy, good range of thickness without veering to either extreme — beats Sha Lin’s IMHO!
Soup broth: not the traditional deep, rich, star-​anise infused base I hoped for. Only glorified chicken soup at best.
Beef shank: 7 – 8 hearty slices. Could’ve used more TLC to really tenderize it though.
Veggies: get your recommended daily serving by eating these gargantuan pieces of Shanghai bok choy!
They claim to use NO MSG. Which softens the blow of the lackluster broth. Kinda.

I was from northern China, so I was very happy to see three northern Chinese restaurants on the same block: Tang Dynasty, Peaceful and Shao Lin Noodles.
I have always been a fan of Shao Lin Noodles as it was the only place I can find my hometown specialty: Lamb stewed noodles in Vancouver. Their pan fried cutting noodles and steamed dumplings were good too. Other dishes were just average.
I been to Peaceful few times, but never liked their noodles or dishes. Small portion and flavors were not authentic.
Now is the newest addition: Tang Dynasty. I only tried a couple of times so far. The services were way better than Shao Lin or Peaceful. I also got the free green onion pancakes. The portions were slightly bigger than Shao Lin. The meat was on the fattier side. I liked their Zheng Zhou lamb stewed noodles. It’s slightly better than Shao Lin’s. Recommend! The pan fried noodles however, was not as good as Shao Lin’s. Lamb skewers were deep fried, it’s a pass.