We were super hungry and had cravings for any type of Asian noodles with soup. Vietnamese Pho, Japanese Ramen, Chinese Noodles; there’s just too many choices in the GTA and it was kind of hard to decide.
Choosing a delicious Chinese restaurant in the GTA can be overwhelming, but we decided to go for some Chinese hand pulled noodles, so we agreed on stopping by Big Beef Bowl, a homemade Lanzhou-style beef noodles restaurant served in massive bowls.
This is one of the first places we thought about top stop by for some really good-tasting hand pulled noodles. The last time we were here was two years ago during pre-Covid times. Rui and I went with my parents I remember it being quite the memorable place because of the Bruce Lee “image” or “logo” they use for their brand.
They are located in Markham and you can find them here:
Address: 8362 Kennedy Rd, Unionville, ON L3R 9W5
Phone: (905) 470-7575
This was a great choice given it was a pretty chilly night.
By the way, we also took pictures of their menu for you to see what this place serves. Continue reading on below for our review and honest opinion about Big Beef Bowl restaurant in Markham.
Big Beef Bowl Menu
Classic Beef Hand Pulled Noodles
Like the usual, I ordered the Classic Beef.
They give you options for your Noodle size. It comes in round or flat. And you have the choice of choosing thin, regular or thick. They also ask you how you like the firmness of your noodle from softest to firmest.
I asked for a medium which has a nice al dente bite. This time, I decided to go for a large because Rui convinced me to even though I didn’t want to order a large.
Due to many places that don’t serve a lot of noodles like most of these top ramen restaurants or best pho places, he gets concerned about not being full after his meals. But then again, this restaurant is probably called “Big Beef Bowl Noodles” for a reason! 😂
Only Extra $1 for the large
Plus, he thought that the extra dollar was going to be worth the extra noodles.
Anyways, when my bowl came out I was a little surprised at how big the portion was. This is probably one of places that give you the most food in terms of portion wise. I usually go for the small, but I guess I forget how much noodles they give you!
If you are really hungry and you just love to eat, then go for the large. Otherwise, the small will likely fill you up. I was especially observant today (it’s unlike me to be) and I noticed everyone around ordered a small. I didn’t see anyone order large bowls except for us so I felt out of place.
The amount of noodles was overkill and I did not want to consume significant amount of carbs! So I ate 60% of the noodles and finished the beef in the large size, which is already consider overeating with the carbs.
Hence a small would have been perfect. Plus, we ordered a side dish, the Pan Fried Bao, which we review later as well:
The soup base wasn’t oil-free but it wasn’t overly oily. The taste was really good and quite addicting if you start sipping away or drinking it with your spoon. It goes really well with the noodles and beef.
The one thing I didn’t like is that they don’t give you enough vegetables. I literally only has 1 piece. It’s always nice to enjoy your noodles with more veggies! I didn’t realize this until later but they also serve a separate dish of Bok Choy for $1.99. It’s something I would have ordered and will try to keep in mind next time when I come back.
Overall, I enjoyed this nice hot BIG bowl of hand pulled beef noodles and will definitely go for it again! It’s what I usually order. 🙂
Braised Beef Brisket Hand Pulled Noodles
If I ordered a large, then Rui is definitely going to order a large too.
If there was a choice of XL, he probably would have went for that since he was excited to go all out and eat a ton tonight. He does admit that this is probably one of the places that serves you a ton of noodles! He said that it was too much noodles and that it was not necessary.
We are not sure if it was just a server who gave us way too much noodles or if that is the norm. Despite it being a lot of noodles, he still pigged out and finished his big beef brisket bowl because it was so good and addicting. Even though he wanted to stop, he couldn’t because the soup base and overall taste was like crack to him. It was very mouth watering and filled with lots of flavour.
One thing he didn’t like about this bowl is it wasn’t spicy at all when the menu states that it’s a spicy item. I agree too. I had a few bites and didn’t taste any spice though the soup base did have some slight red spice colour to it. When you look at our images, it’s kind of hard to tell.
Minus that part, it was still a very pleasurable and indulge-worthy item to order especially if you’re a fan of beef brisket.
The beef brisket was soft and tender. It was easy to chew on and the beef pulls apart easily which makes it easy to eat. Unlike other beef brisket with noodle soup, it wasn’t stale or “unchewable” – if that’s even a word, hah! But you know what I mean, right?
Overall, he really liked the beef brisket here and would pay another visit here again!
Big Beef Bowl Shanghai Pan Fried Bao
We were really craving for some good food tonight so we decided to order a side dish.
Because we generally love the taste and texture of Xiao Long Bao, a main staple of Chinese dim sum, we wanted to include their Shanghai Pan Fried Bao.
If you’re salivating over dim sum, check out these best Toronto dim sum restaurants.
We also have a list of the top Markham dim sum restaurants to visit here too for those of you who live in this area.
This is an appetizer we tried the last time we were here and since we don’t eat this stuff very often, we wanted order it again. If you enjoy Xiao Long Bao, then you’ll find this dish quite delightful and enjoyable. Just imagine it being slightly fried and golden. It’s not super deep fried which “feels” kind of good.
The best part is when the soup from the center of the bao bursts into your mouth. Just be careful to not burn yourself because it’s steaming hot when it comes out. I recommend waiting at least 10 minutes before consuming it.
Food: 4.3/5
The food was good based on our review above. The noodles were easy to fight on based on the texture we ordered. The soup face was not very oily and had some nice flavor inside. The Shanghai Pan Fried Bao made a nice appetizer and it’s always nice to have a variety of other foods to try. We would come back again.
Service: 3/5
The service was not amazing but it wasn’t bad either. Just like any typical Asian joint, they take your order and come out with your dishes. The service was fast too, but probably because we were here during quiet and earlier time (around 5:45 to 6pm) so it was not super packed.
Ambiance: 3.8/5
The restaurant was very spacious due to Covid times. The tables were far apart from each other so it didn’t feel like you were too close to other people. Overall, it was clean and didn’t feel dirty or unsanitary.
Price: $$
Big Beef Bowl Rating: 4/5
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