First Glance: A.Wang Noodle Bar, Dongdaqiao

Noodles are not my favorite Asian food group. Quite frankly their slippery, string-like nature makes my stomach turn at the thought of ingesting them. But every so often comes a plate laden with the wiggling mass that leaves me feeling rather satisfied. 

A.Wang Noodle Bar, a new addition to the foodcourt of Parkview Green (芳草地) is bringing to this mall four corners of the Southeast realm; Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, in the form of deep-fried assortments, soups, stir-fry's, and more. Ordering at the counter you can see the large hotplates are already being put to work sizzling the previous customers order. Large jars of various spices adorn the back wall, as well as a stack of pointy rice field worker hats from one owner's trip to Thailand.


I've been to Thailand before and often like to compare the pad thai I had there to other country's interpretations of it. My Thai Pad Thai with Lemongrass Beef (RMB 38) was quite tangy, the noodles feeling a little over-saturated in lime, but the tamarind was still pronounced enough to not make it a hugely sour dish. The beef was well marinated, but with five pieces to indulge in I was left wanting a little more noodle to meat ratio happening on my plate.  The same meaty issue was going on with the Indonesian "Mee Goreng" with Lemongrass Beef (RMB 38), and while boasting a chili symbol next to it on the menu, proved to be mild at best with a sweetened overture doing more on the tastebuds than the aforementioned lemongrass or chili.


The Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup Pho with Sliced Beef (RMB 38) held to its roots well, a little less salt and it would have been the perfect winter comforter. As a sneaky side dish we decided to try out some of the deep-fried selections. A trio of Deep fried Squid and Deep fried Lobster (RMB 10) came with a little pottle of spicy chili sauce (found the spice in the end!). The lobster had juicy cubes of crustacean coated in a slightly chewy batter, but that chew factor was nothing compared to the squid. I've never had to place my chopsticks down to concentrate on swallowing something, and I think I lost five minutes of my life in trying to down the glob of gelantinous seafood. Never again.





As it's in a mall seating is going to remain a forever issue so be careful in choosing when to come, but when we arrived mid lunch hour we were served within a prompt ten minutes of ordering, which isn't bad for freshly whipped-up food. A few more carefully considered tweaks to the flavor nuances and I'll be satisfied.

A.Wang Noodle Bar
Daily 10am-10pm. B01, Great Food Town, Parkview Green, 9 Dongdaqiao Lu (182 1110 0368)
东大桥路9号芳草地好食成B01柜位
200m South Dongdaqiao (Line 6)

Photos: Erin Strong