Six of the best: A field guide to handmade noodles in East Victoria Park

Us Chinese are a superstitious bunch. Among the many customs we observe is the tradition of eating noodles on your birthday. Like mum often told my brother and I growing up: “long noodles, long life.”

But really, any day is a good day to eat noodles. Especially since, right now, Perth feels like it’s in the midst of a handmade noodle golden era. From Sarawak-style noodles (hi Two Hands!) to the ropey, hand-pulled laghman found at Silk Road Uyghur Cuisine, the career pathways for flour, eggs and salt grow bigger by the day.

Want noods? Get down to East Victoria Park, where you’ll be spoiled with some of the best noodle bowls in the city.

For those keen to take stock of Perth’s (handmade) noodle scene, I can’t think of a better destination than East Victoria Park: in particular, the stretch of Albany Highway between Mint and Dane streets that might well be renamed Noodle Alley. Here are six reasons – arranged in chronological order from east to west – to get there sooner rather than later.

Yip

Can a noodle shop where customers order via QR code and collect their own cutlery and napkins be a hatted restaurant? It can when the shop is run by sexagenarian Erich Wong, one of the few noodle makers on the planet still using a bamboo pole to make jook-sing mian, a style of noodle edging ever closer to extinction. Beyond the glorious noods, superb roast meats, a throat-catching laksa and ethereal dumplings reinforce Yip’s status as an essential Perth dining address.

915 Albany Hwy, East Victoria Park; (08) 6150 7781

Batavia Corner

Noodles accompanied by bakso in broth at Batavia Corner.

When Ollie Djatmiko and Robbie Theng’s homely Indonesian diner opened in 1998, the menu was built around Ambengan-style chicken soup and fried chicken. As Batavia’s popularity grew, so too did the kitchen’s repertoire: a good thing as it means you and I can now enjoy fantastic mie ayam, springy handmade egg noodles and minced chicken sold in a variety of configurations, including chaperoned with bouncy bakso (homemade beef balls) bobbing in a restorative broth.

3/912 Albany Hwy, East Victoria Park; (08) 6364 0808

Bintang Cafe

The sign on the door might say cafe, but this low-key eatery inside Vic Park Village is best thought of as a loving homage to the warung: those casual, family-run eateries – sometimes scarcely more than a bench and a wok in front of a tarp – that make eating in Indonesia such a delight. As well as a collection of all-in rice dishes, Bintang is another venue that believes housemade egg noodles make for a superior mie ayam.

11/910 Albany Hwy, East Victoria Park; (08) 9472 9788

Ramen Samurai

One of Perth’s first new-generation ramen shops, Ramen Samurai has long been a go-to for noodle nourishment: as long as you can avoid the paralysis of choice frequently faced by first-timers. In addition to classic ramen styles including salt- and soy-based bowls, Ramen Samurai is also one of the city’s few places doing soupless mazemen noodles as well as a unique ramen made with a black garlic soup base.

3/902 Albany Hwy, East Victoria Park; (08) 6150 1827

Qin’s Lanzhou Beef Noodle Victoria Park

Look for the giant bowl of noodles in the window, as well as the equally plus-sized queue of eaters patiently waiting for their turn to pounce. They’re here for the shop’s Muslim-influenced noodles paired with slices of tender poached beef brisket. The hand-pulled noodles come in eight different thickness levels; are available in hot and cold iterations; and joined by a strong supporting cast of grilled meats and pickles.

873 Albany Hwy, East Victoria Park; 0406 844 954

Spice Master 806 Noodle House

Sichuan-style noodles are the name of Spice Master’s game and the poky shop’s sprawling menu ensures we’re all winners. While this user-pays model lets guests fine-tune their order to the nth degree, even the base-model bowls are meals to be reckoned with. The last time I ate here, my $13 buy-in got me a mini jacuzzi filled with a sour preserved mustard green broth – one of the soup options – studded with a flotsam of stir-fried pork mince; thick glossy house-made egg noodles; tofu floatation devices; plus two molten-centred quail eggs.

806 Albany Hwy, Victoria Park; (08) 6150 7781

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.