Wing Wah Noodle Shop

Unilocal, take a bow. I have 48 hours in Hong Kong for the first time in 16 years. I ditched the conference cocktails tonight hoping for a nice quiet, local meal. I walked past the outside twice before recognising it as the Unilocal recommendation. I sat at a back table, quickly made sense of the menu and ordered the shrimp wonton noodles. It was great. $ 75HK, very happy. Service is efficient. I was the only whitey in here, which suited me down to the ground. A great first meal in Hong Kong. Thanks.

This place is so good. We live in New Jersey, USA. Wing Wah’s wonton noodle soup is so good that it is on our «must eat» list.

Had noodles with shrimp dumplings. Very good and served nice and hot. Good portion for lunch or a light dinner. Three very tasty dumplings. Quick, cheap (HK$ 42) and flavorful!

Wonderful egg noodles. Bouncy, al dente noodles that taste different because they are made by a guy bouncing on bamboo. We came here twice while we were in Hong Kong. I got the roast pork noodles both times. My hubby got the wonton noodles and the wontons were filled with shrimp and pork. They come in tiny bowls but the amount is very satisfying. I also love the sweet and sour crunchy radishes at the table. Please note that like many other restaurants in Hong Kong you have to pay for napkins… so bring your own and slurp away!

Oh man back to my home town of Hong Kong. Came here on the advice of my aunt saying its the best noodles in town and she wasn’t lying. I almost couldn’t find it because the place didn’t open yet and had the gates partially opened. But the noodles were so crunchy and springy with a wonton to top it off. My only gripe was how little the bowl was for the price of the noodles. People weren’t joking when they said hong kong got even more expensive.

Wing Wah had me originally at «former michelin one star». Based on a busy street in the middle of Wan Chai — i nearly walked right past it while looking down at my phone following the foodie directions. I was pleased to see upon arriving that only locals were seated inside and a number of people had come to dine alone and grab a quick noodle. As soon as I was seated I received some hot green tea and proceeded to browse the menu written in both Cantonese and English.
As the other reviews suggest this is not someplace you should go if you have a big appetite (rather only if you’re feeling a bit peckish) and I found better value ($ 55HK for Shrimp Wonton Noodles) and more delicious wonton/​noodles at other venues (holes in the wall) during my visit.

The United flight SFO to HGK and ride into Hong Kong gets me to the Luk Kwok Hotel by 9:30pm. I’m ready for a snack. Two short blocks away is Wing Wah.
A former Michelin one star, this literally hole in the wall, has wonderful noodles. Hand made using an almost forgotten technic with bamboo sticks (see photo).
My favorites are Wonton soup or BBQ Pork soup.
The menu is in Chinese, but have pictures of everything. The best part is everything is less than $ 5 USD. With Chinese tea!

bamboo pole pressed egg noodle is a dying art so best to still eat here while you can. just like bluefin tuna days are numbered, so are shops like these. I recommend trying here and Mak An Kee.

永華麵家 Wing Wah Noodle Shop, really needs no introduction. It is one of the last surviving old school Cantonese bamboo pole egg noodle shops in town. For Wanchai, this is as good as it gets. It certainly does not hurt that it has the endorsement of many (including Chua Lam, Craig Auyeung and many more lesser known local wannabes), from the pro bloggers to the amateur foodies, to international visitors alike. Heck, this place is even Michelin recommended! It comes at a hefty price by local standards.
But certain segments of HK people are weird. Some forsake tradition in favor of quantity and value. Or some just do not understand or appreciate the craft altogether, and rather wait in line 2 hours and spend HK$ 120 to $ 150+ on a bowl of pork bone broth ramen, because it is so cool. It boggle$ da mind.
Then there are these so called «won ton noodle soup» enthusiasts, who keep chasing after the perfect won ton, only to be utterly disappointed. Then they turn their noses up at Wing Wah and slam it. Sigh.
Even if you do not get won tons or in noodle soup here, there are other noodle dishes you can truly enjoy.
Ordering lo mein 撈麵 (broth on the side) is really the way to go if you want to savor the texture of the bamboo pole noodles (a little lard drizzle is compulsory!). Whether it is beef brisket 牛腩, or the sweet/​spicy/​mildly sour pork strip noodles 炸醬麵, or 水餃 shui gow, or prawn roe 蝦子.
During my Dec 2013/​Jan 2014 visit to Hong Kong, I have had the pleasure of visiting 4 noodle shops… Ho To Tai (Yuen Long), Mak An Kee (Wing Kut Street), Lau Sam Kee (Sham Shui Po) and Wing Wah. The conclusion is that each has their own strengths and weaknesses, so if some won ton expert were to do a tasting, he or she will be disappointed.
I will say that even at their worst, any one of these shops are far far far superior to anything in North America. It’s amazing how many complain, yet don’t appreciate the fact that those living overseas just simply do not have anything close.
You arrive and tell the cashier how many people. As always with prime real estate, sharing tables with strangers is going to be the norm, unless you have enough in your party to occupy all the chairs. If you are holding seats for a friend, they usually will leave you alone but it may be better to place an order anyway.
The noodle soup bowls are definitely on the smaller portion side, and with Wanchai real estate skyrocketing, the prices are not coming down anytime soon. In fact the prices are considered very high, almost catching up to Mak An Kee (Wing Kut Street) Central, and I thought HK$ 56 for a bowl of won ton noodles in California was ridiculous. With the cost of living increasing and people’s salaries not keeping up with the rate of inflation, I totally sympathize. But if you choose to splurge, at least the lo mein portions are a lot bigger by default (they give you additional noodles, more than a noodle soup bowl’s worth).
And if you are super hungry, I believe choosing wide egg noodles will not incur a surcharge (but check before you do so).
On every table is a pickled daikon jar. You don’t see this in many noodle shops anymore (and definitely not overseas). Cubed crunchy vinegar (maybe a little sugar?) marinated turnip/​daikon cubes with a little jalapeño/​chili (very faint presence). The crunch factor, texture, and sour/​sweet balance is out of this world. For me this stuff is gold and addicting.
It is said that these pickles were put in, not just to whet the appetite, but because of the alkali water in the noodles… and thus a little acid helps neutralize or counteract. Remember your acids and bases lessons from high school chemistry? :-)
Shui gow — the ones here seem to lack some bamboo shoot flavor, perhaps not quite as much pork fat. They are fairly decent but I much prefer the ones from Lau Sam Kee, which are by far more superior and tasty (perhaps even more umami from LSK’s soup base). The broth here lacks dried tilefish flavor, and seems more like an animal carcass/​bone/​protein based stock? Could be wrong on that
Beef brisket — perhaps there is some inconsistency with this, but the one time I had a beef brisket noodle soup, was really really good. Nothing like rich braised/​stewed brisket juices merging with the broth
Ja Jeung noodles — Selected the wide egg noodle option for lo mein, and I must say this was probably the best ja jeung meen in town (then again I only had Good Hope noodle’s version which I did not enjoy as much). The addition of mushrooms was very interesting. Luckily the temperature of the meat sauce was just right. A very pleasurable bite down to cleaning up the entire plate. Definitely Cantonese pasta bolognese al dente!
Yes it was a little bit painful after paying the bill, but I really wonder… will Wing Wah still be around once the noodle master goes

3 things must try, first the handmade egg noodle. The dough was knead by an extra large size bamboo staff and the texture of the final product is simply amazing. Secondly, vegetable with shrimp roe. Third is the Sangjiseng with egg and lotus seeds. Comparatively expensive and foods other than those 3 mentioned are just mediocre.

I guess it is not easy to find a perfect bowl of Wonton Noodle Soup?!
永華麵家 has been around forever, as long as I could remember. But when I was younger, it was not the place I would hang out as this is an old school noodle place. Now I am older, seems like eating authentic old school Chinese food becomes my top priority. So how is 永華麵家?
竹昇麵 Bamboo Noodle does have a good bounce and bite! The broth was good (salty in a good way and well balanced!) but the wonton was so so…
Maybe I should just order a plain noodle next time!
虾子芥蘭 for HKD$ 37 which is not cheap in any means was also decent especially if you like that salty and savory taste.
桑寄生蛋茶 as dessert to end the meal was quite standard.
Portion wise is small but I got to try a few more items without worrying about having any leftover!
永華麵家 pricing might be higher than other comparable wonton specialist in Hong Kong. But still worth a try as there are not too many 竹昇麵 Bamboo Noodle around anymore.