Cui Hua Gui Lin Noodle House

A few work colleagues and I stopped in for lunch on a whim. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meal. I had the Gui Lin Style noodle soup with BBQ pork. Nice! No complaints. The pickled flavour element is very unique. I’ve since returned and tried the BBQ pork vermicelli. The service is friendly and quick! They also sell chilli sauce in mason jars, which is a nice take home treat.

The food has a really unique flavour. We went there on a food crawl of Edmonton’s China Town. It’s a cute and clean little place. We sampled the Gui Lin style soup with the thicker rice noodle, tomato and the most distinct flavour, the fermented vegetables. The meat noodles and broth were awesome, but the veggies I was torn on. I don’t know if I liked them or not! The base comes out seperate from the soup broth, and comes in Gui Lin, which is darker and spicier, and a more mild broth that I can’t remember the name of. I think I would have liked it better if I would have left the both on the side and dipped the noodles which is one of the styles of eating they mentioned, different than just dumping the broth in. I liked the flavour initially but found the fermented flavour got really into the broth, so the flavour was less a subtle bite and took over the subtle heat of the gui lin broth. I’ll be back to try a different technique and to sample some of the other food. The gui lin style mac and cheese interestes me!

Ate here tonight with my lovely spouse. The food is really good! She ate here last Sunday and got me the Pork Belly Lo Vermicilli (Gui Lin Style) and I really liked the pickled taste. So today i had the Beef Brisket dish. The prices are decent and it’s definitely different. Recommended for those who are looking for some authenticity and not really greasy or oily. Highly recommended.

Cui Hua Gui Lin Noodle House, now that’s a mouthful. Let’s just go with Gui Lin, which if you don’t know, is a combination of Cantonese and Hunanese cooking styles. Gui Lin specializes in noodle bowls so if you like stuffing noodles in your mouth, this is a worthy spot! We decided to check Gui Lin out on an early Tuesday for dinner.
The menu is small and simple, just the way I like it. 34 items total. It’s basically split into three groups: gui lin style vermicelli soup bowls, gui lin style vermicelli and house style soup bowls. The only exceptions are a fried rice and fried macaroni dish. The fried macaroni looks good, something we make at home from time to time (I call it Asian style pasta). There is also a couple of appetizers/​specials, which are on bright pink and blue «menus».
The interior is clean, simple and décor takes the minimalist approach. There are colourful booths on both sides of the restaurant — take a seat and you’ll be served promptly. Pot of tea is given to you while you peruse the menu. We didn’t have to wait very long for our meal to come, although there was a few minutes gap between each bowl being delivered to our table. At least you know it’s being made fresh?
— BBQ pork vermicelli in soup (Gui Lin style) (#4) ($ 10.50) — vermicelli with tomato, preserved veggie, parsley and green onions. Interesting that they add tomatoes into the soup, it must add a bit of sweetness to the dish. My buddy ordered this and he told me it was tasty. Good amounts of BBQ pork too.
— Pork lo vermicelli (Gui Lin style) (#12) ($ 11.50) — my dad ordered this one as he was craving only noodles. This one comes with a side of soup (you can see in the background). According to our waiter, you’re supposed to eat them separately. I thought it would be similar to Co Do Hue’s special dry rice noodle where you dip in the noodles with the soup but no dice. Two completely different beasts. This one is more like a palate cleanser.
— Lamb brisket vermicelli in soup (house style) (#26) ($ 12.00) — house noodle with bamboo shoot, parsley and green onion. The house style is described on their menu as being hot and sour. I didn’t get any hotness from the soup, but I could definitely taste a bit of sourness. I think I chose wisely — the house style broth is heavier, lots of depth (the broth reminded me of something my grandma made, couldn’t quite put my finger on it though) and flavour. The lamb was tasty and had a decent amount of real meat on it, although there was quite a bit of fat. The noodles were starchy, clear glass potato noodles that had a great texture to them. Different than the noodles from the above two dishes.
Make sure you have cash or debit on you! The prices are reasonable, service is friendly and fast, and you’ll be stuffed after devouring a bowl. Chinatown just keeps on getting better and better.