I'm not sure there are many restaurants out there with a Facebook page of more than 700 fans. Chinese Noodle Restaurant is a cheap and cheery place, popular with students, grads and just about everyone else... and has 719 fans & counting!

Over the years, Chinese Noodle Restaurant has fine-tuned its process to meet its peak hour demands such that by the time a table is available for you, the order you had placed outside is served almost immediately. The service is as quick as fast food and rather quirky. Cans of soft drinks are stored in eskies and like most Northern Chinese and Uighur restaurants, there are grape vines hanging from the ceiling and wall tapestries on all sides.

At Chinese Noodle Restaurant, there's even a tiny squared window for customers to view the kneading, whacking and stretching of handmade noodles.

One of my favourite dishes here, is the eggplant special. Chunky pieces of eggplant are fried and coated in a light crisp glaze... thankfully, they have never been overbearingly soaked in oil.

I was in a classic kind of mood, so we also order these steamed pork and chive dumplings which are scrumptious with a dash of chilli and vinegar. The serving size was plentiful with a 12 serve only costing us $8.50. Other variations include egg & chives, pork & Chinese cabbage, pork & seafood, lamb & celery, lamb & onion and lamb & carrot. The dumplings can also be boiled or tossed in a light pan-fry.

These pan-fried mini pork buns were piping hot and so filling! The crunchy base was addictive so I found myself finishing off more than I should have! But I think I'd still prefer the crab filling from Shanghai Night / New Shanghai in Ashfield.

Today, the signature Xinjiang handmade noodle stir-fry was heavier than usual but the combination of Chinese cabbage, tomatoes and capsicum provided relief.

Nothing beats a tasty, authentic and highly addictive midweek dinner at Chinese Noodle Restaurant.

Chinese Noodle Restaurant
Prince Centre, Shop 7 / 8 Quay St, Chinatown
(02) 9281 9051