Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle located at 1CF8, 9390 Woodbine Ave, Markham, ON

I tried this bamboo noodles shop called Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle (坤記竹昇麵) for lunch on a weekday.  It’s relatively newly opened and inside King Square Shopping Centre inside the unit where Very Good Noodles and Congee used to be (that congee and noodle shop is now relocated upstairs in the same mall). 

Interior — decent number of patrons on a weekday

The inside seating looked relatively the same as its former occupant except that they now built a separate area for the bamboo noodles to be made.  It’s a neat concept and you can watch the noodle master knead the noodles with a bamboo stick through the glass enclosure, but it also seems to be a wasted space and reduces their capacity for seating customers inside.  I wonder if they get busy here and if the wait times are long during peak hours.

The room where you can see the bamboo noodles being made

The master kneading the noodles with a bamboo stick

We ordered a few things to share.  I got the shrimp wonton noodles.  They have earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand in the Hong Kong location every year since 2012 so I expected the noodles to be really good.  This location is the North American flagship store.  The server asked how I wanted the noodles to be done and as I wasn’t expecting to be able to choose, I said “regular” firmness.

Menu 1

Menu 2

Specials

More specials

Shrimp Wonton Soup Noodle $14

I wasn’t a huge fan of the wonton noodles.  They were overly bouncy and not what I expected wonton noodles to be like.  But then again, this was my first time eating in-house kneaded bamboo noodles so I didn’t have prior experience with it.  I liked the shrimp wonton but it seemed to have more mushy meat in it than shrimp.  The broth was very bland.

They offer free noodle refills and when we asked for it at the time of placing our order, the server said to wait until we were done eating the first bowl before ordering it.  Well, as you can expect, we forgot about the free refill once we were actually done eating.  It’s not like at Hey Noodle or Yunshang Rice Noodle where you can order the free noodle ahead of time, which is better for the consumer.

Rice noodles with shrimp wontons and beef tendon $15

My mom got the shrimp wonton and beef tendon rice noodles.  She liked how smooth and silky the rice noodles were when the bowl arrived steaming hot to the table.  I liked the very smooth beef tendon and the sauce it had.

X-Deep Fried Shrimp Toast $4 (side dish size)

The shrimp toast was $4 (as a snack size to the noodle) for four pieces and came with a side of mustard.  The shrimp toast was crispy and the first thing to arrive to our table.  It was average-tasting.

The street rice rolls were spread out on the plate it was presented in and tasted so-so.  You will find silkier rice rolls at places like Yin Ji.  I also love more sauce on the rice rolls.

Plain Rice Rolls $9.99

Pork Liver & Kidney $16

We ordered a dish of their boiled pork liver to try and while I was impressed with the quantity for $16, it didn’t taste as smooth and tender as their predecessor occupant.  It’s difficult to cook smooth pork liver at home, so we usually leave it to a restaurant to make a good one.  Unfortunately, they didn’t deliver here.

All of the items took a while to arrive on the table and arrived separately.

Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle mural

After we had paid (it’s cash and debit card only), one of the kitchen staff happened to pass by our table upon receiving a shipment at the entrance.  He asked me how the pork liver was.  I replied it was “okay”.  He pressed on for more details and I told him I’ve had smoother, more tender liver before and this was not it.  He again asked if the dish was okay/acceptable.   Uhh, I said what I said…

Anyway, do try this place if you want to try in-house kneaded bamboo noodles as I’m not sure they offer it everywhere and it can be an acquired taste.  I would be open to trying it again in the future as I’m sure my husband wants to try this spot out too (since he wasn’t able to dine in with us this time).

Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle inside of King Square

They have daily specials, morning breakfast combos, dinner combos, a Monday two dine-in special, and like many other wonton noodle places, also sell their own raw noodles and spicy oil and seasonings.  I tried their spicy oil and it wasn’t hot at all.

Our server was really nice and gave my child a chocolate when she was having an emotional outburst.

They have free wifi inside the restaurant, but the mall itself also offers free wifi.  The restrooms are inside the mall down the hallway.