Food: Hap Chan Beef Brisket Noodle Soup

I'm an ultimate noodle soup lover, be it a Chinese noodle soup, a Japanese ramen, a Pinoy mami, an instant noodles in a cup or what have you. I just love noodle soups, nothing can fill me in with comfort and warmth as much as they do. So aside from the cheesecake series, I'm also planning a chain of noodle soup reviews to honor my favorite comfort food.

And let me begin with Hap Chan's Beef Brisket Noodle Soup.

I was thrilled when I saw a Hap Chan Tea House branch at Shopwise, San Pedro, Laguna. The location is perfect, just 30 minutes away from where I live and 2 jeepney rides away to fix sudden and frequent Chinese noodle soup cravings.




The first time we ate here, I ordered a favorite, Beef Brisket Noodle Soup, a staple noodle soup in most Chinese restaurants. And my husband, to my surprise because he is not a noodle soup lover, ordered Lobster Ball Noodle Soup. Both came in big enough servings, even if we ordered the small version, but we thought they were served a little cold.

I liked the broth especially -- very flavorful. The lobster balls in my husband's soup was good, too. Mine had tender beef chunks, 4 to 5 pieces I think. The Hong Kong style noodles were okay, although a little soggy than I would prefer.

Overall, it was a good first time experience, as far as the noodle soup is concerned. We came back a few days later (this time with the whole family), and I decided to try something different (well, not exactly different because it's still beef, only in balls): Beef Ball Noodle Soup.

It wasn't good, I realized that immediately after a few sips. The broth was oily (masebo) and lacked the strong beef flavor that I want. I didn't enjoy the beef balls either as I thought they tasted bland. I had a hard time finishing the bowl, and no one wanted to help me, not even my husband who said that I should've went safe and ordered the Beef Brisket Noodle Soup instead.

So a few weeks ago, when my husband was craving chicken feet -- and while I wasn't exactly hankering for a bowl of noodle soup, I thought it would be wonderful to have one for merienda/dinner -- we headed to Hap Chan.

I heeded my husband's advice and had Beef Brisket Noodle Soup again. And when it was served before me, I noticed that the bowl had less noodles and lots of broth.I even had to prop the noodles up with a spoon for this photo. Can you see them?

The taste remained the same. The same beef-flavor broth that delighted me on our first visit to the restaurant.  The same tender beef cubes to munch on. But the Hong Kong noodles also remained the same -- they were more on the soft side and some were even clumped together. I'd say they were just slightly better than regular instant noodles.

A small bowl of Beef Brisket Noodle Soup is only P80, and I think for that price, it is a reasonable dish. Although I wish they would improve on the quality of the noodles, and put more serving in a bowl. I'm paying for both the noodles and the broth so I expect to have as much noodles as broth in my noodle soup bowl. Otherwise, I'd rather have that bowl of broth soup that they give for free.

My Beef Brisket Noodle Soup came with an order of Jumbo Siopao that I shared with my husband. The perfect complement.