Xiamen Satay Noodle House: An Authentic Noodle Stall

It’s true that despite the number of Chinese restaurants proliferating in the metro, it’s still hard to find the ones that serve authentic food, without leaving your wallets empty. People tend to wish to be able to replicate or find similar dishes to the ones they’ve tried overseas, especially as more and more people travel abroad. This is case with Cris and Lindsey, owners of Xiamen Satay Noodle House.

Cris used to stay in Xiamen, and had a fondness for the satay noodles there. When he came back to the Philippines, he was surprised that not one restaurant here serves this the way it tastes in Xiamen. Since he misses the taste of authentic satay noodles, he opted to try replicating it at home. He tested the recipe a lot of times, and finally got the taste he wanted! When they decided to open a food stall, they thought of more menu items to ensure their customers would have a variety of food to choose from.

Here are the noodle and rice dishes available as of this writing. Everything comes in two sizes, Php 90 for regular and Php 140 for large.

Noodle Dishes

✅ XIAMEN SATAY NOODLES
The restaurant takes pride in this item, as evidently seen in the restaurant name. At first glance, you’d think that it’s very similar to the Singaporean Laksa. But when you taste the soup, you’d definitely spot the difference. For one, the soup is not spicy at all, and has more of a nutty flavor. The flat rice noodles is cooked well and is best slurped along with the soup. The toppings are bountiful, and would surely leave you with a full tummy!

✅ SINGAPORE NOODLES
Vermicelli noodles in curry? Yes please! If you’d like to have a noodle dish that is full of flavor, you’d better try this out. However, I am not really a fan of vermicelli noodles, since I feel like the flavor does not get to have its full potential (sometimes, it can get absorbed by the noodles). Best eaten when hot, so the chicken chunks do not get dry.

✅ BEIJING ZHAJIANG NOODLES
Warning: The sauce is really sticky and may be hard to mix into the noodles! This flavor is sweet and salty, and is made even more flavorful with the minced pork. To save you from the hassle of mixing the noodles (and maybe building your muscle with it), you may ask the friendly staff to mix in the sauce already while they cook it.

✅ SICHUAN DANDAN NOODLES
If you prefer a spicier flavor, then this one’s for you! This one is a bit on the nutty side, because of the soybean paste added to the sauce. The spice level is tolerable, for people who doesn’t like dishes that are too spicy. The taste of the pickled veggies (kiamchay) is quite evident and packs a punch of flavor at first, but once you acquire the taste, you’d surely enjoy it.

Rice Meals

✅ TAIWAN BRAISED PORK RICE
This one’s Ms. Lindsey’s favorite, and is her recipe, too. As a child who grew up in a Chinese family, this screams nostalgia to me. It tasted like lo-ma (Chinese Pork Adobo), and the sauce coats the rice pretty well. The dish wasn’t too salty, and the pork is cut into bite sized pieces, making it a perfect on-the-go meal. It has a boiled egg cooked in the braised pork sauce, and kiamchay as a side. Yummy! It’s my favorite, too!

✅ JAPANESE CURRY KATSU
This is their newest menu item, and it’s awesome that you can get it for as low as Php 90! Thick and juicy breaded pork cutlets with Japanese curry slathered on it, you’ll definitely enjoy this with steamed rice. I just wish they have some shredded cabbage as a side salad, and it’ll be perfect!

Snack

✅ HONGKONG CURRY LOBSTER BALLS
The lobster ball is one of the crowd favorites among shabu shabu / hotpot toppings, and it’s so great to have 5 pieces in one serving, for only Php 55! 😍 The Hong Kong style curry is more on the spicy side, but just enough to be enjoyable and not overwhelming. It’s a great snack, but can also be paired with plain rice for + Php 10 only!

Drink

✅ WINTERMELON TEA
Since all the dishes are quite flavorful, the team strived to come up with a drink that wouldn’t veer away from the Asian influence, while ensuring that it will cleanse the palate of the diners. This drink is perfect for this purpose! 😍 It is refreshing, not too sweet, and pairs well with any of their dishes. They even told us that some people come to the stall only to buy this tea. Delicious!

The ambiance of the indoor food park can be improved. So far, the food park is around 50% occupied. Hopefully, they would be able to get more tenants in the coming months for a more exciting mix. Despite being open for just a bit over two months, Xiamen Satay Noodle House has gained valued and loyal customers that frequently visits for their noodle fix. If you’re a noodle lover like us, make sure to drop by and try their bestsellers, you’d surely enjoy it to the last bite.

Xiamen Satay Noodle House is located at 2/F Canwin Plaza 1271-1277 Alvarado Extension, Manila. These dishes were served during a bloggers’ event, and all the reviews reflected are honest feedback from Eat Drink Splurge.