I am always very happy to discover new food experiences that I have never tried before, in fact I relish these moments. I have eaten plenty of Chinese food in my day (westernized versions and more authentic) but I have never tried Chinese food specifically from Guilin, a city in China that offers a unique regional cuisine. Located in southern China, this area is known for its dramatic landscape of limestone karst hills. Gui Lin Noodle House is the only restaurant in Edmonton that serves cuisine from this part of China. Named as Favourite Take-Out on the Edmonton Food Faves We Crave 2022 list, I was very excited to try something new! Visiting on a Sunday evening, I always look forward to trying restaurants in Edmonton's Chinatown (in the McCauley area). It's a vibrant area filled with excellent food and the businesses deserve support! Gui Lin has big and bright signage and you'll very likely be able to find street parking right out front. The inside is clean, cute, and reminded me a bit of a garden. The lime-green paint and white lattice really helped to create a fresh garden party vibe. I only ever saw two people working (one serving and one cooking) and they were both lovely! I enjoyed chatting with them about the food and they were friendly and helpful in answering questions. The menus are all written in Chinese characters followed by English, which I really enjoy. I prefer an authentic experience of the culture, right down to the food itself. Seated at a cozy table, we were immediately served the customary (and complimentary) pot of green tea to drink. Comforting warm sips while perusing the menu and formulating our game plan. From the drink menu I also had to order the Hong Kong Style Milk Tea ($3.95 for Hot). They can make it cold as well but it was a chilly day and hot tea was the right answer. Yes, I was drinking two different types of tea (both completely different) and no, I wasn't mad about it. Served in a super cute mug, this tea was everything that I love. I added some sugar to it because it was quite strong straight. This reminded me of the hot cans of milk tea that you can often find in Asian countries. I would definitely order this again and it's nice that you can get it either hot or cold. Other interesting options on the drink menu include; Ovaltine and Horlicks. Kinda love that these are options and it reminds me of my childhood. Once our food was ordered it all came out really quickly. We hardly waited ten minutes before the dishes were being delivered to the table. Friendly fast service? What more could you want? I was pretty intrigued by the Marinated Egg ($1.35) and figured that it couldn't hurt to give one a try! Described as "five spice flavour" this egg looked a lot like a hard boiled or pickled egg. Biting into it, it was very much a pickled egg in preparation, however it was unlike any that I've tried before. The brine was infused with a much different flavour profile than the typical pickled egg and it was really delicious and interesting. A really cool alternative to what I'm familiar with. Considering that the restaurant is a noodle house, we were prepared for a very noodle intensive type of meal. There are a lot of "house style" dishes served with various meats that are either presented in soup or not. The Beef Brisket Lo Noodle (House Style) (House noodle with bamboo shoot, parsley & green onion. Taste hot & sour with sweet potato noodle - $16.50) seemed like a good way to taste what the restaurant is known for. Our server was very mindful to advise which dishes might be considered spicy, which is not usually a concern for me, but kind nonetheless. Served with a side of broth, this is meant to be enjoyed separately (not poured over top). Sweet potato noodles are distinct in the way that they are a glassy noodle that are a bit similar to vermicelli except wide and flat. I find them challenging to eat with chopsticks because they can be quite slippery! I loved the preparation of the beef brisket a lot! Packed with big, delicious flavour, the tender meat was cooked to perfection. The entire spice profile was way over my head but the flavour was absolutely wonderful. I really liked the accompaniments of peanuts and fried garlic as well. The side of broth was great too - I wasn't expecting much from it but the broth was a lot more pleasing than I would have assumed. It tasted a lot like a chicken broth - a simple delight. This dish could be a meal in itself and I was really surprised by it in a great way. This dish can also be served with; minced pork, beef, chicken, pork belly, pork hock, or lamb. Any of these options are likely really good but I'd be interested to try the lamb. Next, Gui Lin has a bit of a dueling dish situation going on that I was curious to get to the bottom of. There are two dishes on the menu that I've heard a lot of recommendations about, and the only difference between them is the type of noodle used. I decided that I was going to try both of them and read more

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Cui Hua Gui Lin Noodle House is a Chinatown restaurant specializing in - as its name suggests - noodle dishes. The menu consists of a variety of soups (which include noodles), vermicelli dishes, and house specialty noodles. The proteins in most of the dishes include beef, pork, and chicken, as well as lamb in a few of them. Since noodles is the Gui Lin speciality, house noodle dishes are what I ordered: a Chicken Lo Noodle and a Brisket Lo Noodle, to be precise. The noodles were flat and almost clear, with a slightly chewy texture. They mixed in well with the protein, peanuts, and bamboo shoots, and parsley that adorned. Each mouthful resonated with notes of sweet, spicy and sour in different levels of intensity. The flavours were balanced, and as someone who has a low spice tolerance threshold, I was not overwhelmed with heat, but felt my taste buds tingling just enough. While the chicken mostly tasted from the hot and sour flavour soundtrack, the brisket was tender and maintained some of its meaty notes, although it also had the same flavour combination underscoring it. The person who ate the rest of the Brisket Lo Noodle raved about the dish's flavour. I also ordered one of the restaurant's appetizers, the lemongrass chicken. What looked like the equivalent of two thighs were cut up in bite-sized pieces and cooked in the tangy and mildly spicy lemongrass, served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. Definitely flavourful and satisfying. Overall, after finishing my lunch I felt like I had taken a culinary journey, which I hope to explore again. read more

Cui Hua Gui Lin Noodle House - Chicken Lo Noodle - Chinese Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

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One of our favorite spots in Edmonton - owners are the sweetest and service is always so quick. Their menu consists of noodles/choice of meat in guilin soup, lo mein aka soup on side, or hot & sour soup + stir fried rice/macaroni/instant noodle & side dishes. My husband and I literally came here once a week, sometimes 2-3x depending if our family & friends want to eat here too. Haven't been able to eat here for awhile due to moving to the States + covid = not flying back, but definitely a spot that's always on our mind and can't wait to eat here again! Husband always goes for lo mein style because he likes the crispy garlic & peanuts in the bowl and without them getting soggy - I usually prefer the soup esp for winters. But also you NEED to get their stir fry macaroni. It's my go-to if I'm not feeling soup or.. drink half of my husband's. I remember my first few trips here years ago and honestly wasn't sure how I felt because of the pickled veggies served in all their bowls - but here's me also crediting this restaurant for my love for it now - I started off by ordering most bowls without them, then gradually to "less" and happy to then graduated to "no adjustments" hahaha. Wanted to drop a review here to let people know THIS PLACE IS GREAT - please keep them afloat during covid! read more

Cui Hua Gui Lin Noodle House - Beef brisket lo noodle - Chinese Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

I checked this place out during the Chinatown Dining Week event. They had a $15 deal which included bacon wrapped shrimp and beef brisket vermicelli in soup (Guilin style). Since this place is named after Guilin which is a city in Southern China that is known for their rice noodles, I wanted to see if this place lives up to its name. Bacon Wrapped Shrimp- it was crunchy and nice starter. However the bacon was not noticeable. It just tasted like regular fried shrimp. Beef brisket vermicelli in soup- this a good bowl of noodle soup for a cold winter night in Edmonton. The soup was flavourful and beef was tender. The pickled veggie was a good addition and added spicy & sweet crunch to the dish. Was it the best beef noodle soup I've ever tasted? No but it's pretty good for Edmonton. Unfortunately it definitely does not represent authentic Guilin noodles found in China. I've been to Guilin city because I have family there, and the noodles there are mind blowing delicious. The authentic one will have way more ingredients and the presentation will make your mouth water. So in conclusion, this place does not live up to its name but its a decent noodle place in Edmonton. read more

Cui Hua Gui Lin Noodle House - Chinese Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

Came out yesterday to Cui Hua Gui Lin Noodle House for the first time as part of the inaugural Chinatown Week YEG! Their set menu offering for $15 for Chinatown Week was: Appetizer: bacon wrapped shrimp Main: beef brisket vermicelli in soup (Guilin style) I met up with a fellow foodie and we delved right in - requesting the set menu for Chinatown Week. There was plenty of seating - tables and booths available. I chose a table in the middle of the restaurant and watched the place fill up EVERY single other table around me for the noon lunch rush. The food came out fast! Perfect for work break lunches! The bacon wrapped grilled shrimp were tasty with smoky flavours from the BBQ and didn't need the accompanying sweet chili sauce at all. The highlight for me was the beef brisket soup - YUM! My dining partner wasn't as pleased with the fattier bites but I enjoyed every bit of that beef brisket soup. The broth didn't come our separately for us which I had looked forward to reading other people's reviews of the Guilin style soups but was delish none the less! While waiting for my friend, the waitress chatted with me about the history of the restaurant (3 years) and the origins of the food mostly from South Western China. She said that they chose this dish for Chinatown Week because it's yummy but also mild. I let her know that I LOVE spicy food and would be most interested next time in trying out stronger flavoured dishes. Halfway through our meal, she brought out a plate of "spicy bamboo" that she said goes in the soup dishes she would recommend to me next time. And DANG that bamboo was delicious! I ate some straight and plopped the rest into my soup bowl. I had also added a tablespoon or so of their house made chili oil (which they sell - YES!) to spice up my soup. I will most definitely be back and am so thankful that Chinatown Week introduced me to this place! Noodle On! read more

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It was my second visit to this place. As we did our grocery in Chinatown, we often grabbed a lunch around the area. For my partner, it was his first visit. Most of the time, he agrees with my pick wherever restaurants that we would eat out. As all what is going on currently, I noticed that people attend to avoid anything with China including Chinatown This place was a bit empty and the only people who ate there when we were there were Asian descendants except my partner. The foods were still as yummy as I could recall from my first visit 3 years ago. Very attentive service. The spiciness was perfect for us. Perfect chewiness for noodles and tasty broth! To me, the portion was too big but it's all good so I could always take it home. #SupportYEGChinatown read more

Cui Hua Gui Lin Noodle House - Pork Hock Lo Vermicelli and Lamb Lo Noodle - Chinese Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

Cui Hua Gui Lin Noodle House, now that's a mouthful. Let's just go with Gui Lin, which if you don't know, is a combination of Cantonese and Hunanese cooking styles. Gui Lin specializes in noodle bowls so if you like stuffing noodles in your mouth, this is a worthy spot! We decided to check Gui Lin out on an early Tuesday for dinner. The menu is small and simple, just the way I like it. 34 items total. It's basically split into three groups: gui lin style vermicelli soup bowls, gui lin style vermicelli and house style soup bowls. The only exceptions are a fried rice and fried macaroni dish. The fried macaroni looks good, something we make at home from time to time (I call it Asian style pasta). There is also a couple of appetizers/specials, which are on bright pink and blue "menus". The interior is clean, simple and décor takes the minimalist approach. There are colourful booths on both sides of the restaurant - take a seat and you'll be served promptly. Pot of tea is given to you while you peruse the menu. We didn't have to wait very long for our meal to come, although there was a few minutes gap between each bowl being delivered to our table. At least you know it's being made fresh? - BBQ pork vermicelli in soup (Gui Lin style) (#4) ($10.50) - vermicelli with tomato, preserved veggie, parsley and green onions. Interesting that they add tomatoes into the soup, it must add a bit of sweetness to the dish. My buddy ordered this and he told me it was tasty. Good amounts of BBQ pork too. - Pork lo vermicelli (Gui Lin style) (#12) ($11.50) - my dad ordered this one as he was craving only noodles. This one comes with a side of soup (you can see in the background). According to our waiter, you're supposed to eat them separately. I thought it would be similar to Co Do Hue's special dry rice noodle where you dip in the noodles with the soup but no dice. Two completely different beasts. This one is more like a palate cleanser. - Lamb brisket vermicelli in soup (house style) (#26) ($12.00) - house noodle with bamboo shoot, parsley and green onion. The house style is described on their menu as being hot and sour. I didn't get any hotness from the soup, but I could definitely taste a bit of sourness. I think I chose wisely - the house style broth is heavier, lots of depth (the broth reminded me of something my grandma made, couldn't quite put my finger on it though) and flavour. The lamb was tasty and had a decent amount of real meat on it, although there was quite a bit of fat. The noodles were starchy, clear glass potato noodles that had a great texture to them. Different than the noodles from the above two dishes. Make sure you have cash or debit on you! The prices are reasonable, service is friendly and fast, and you'll be stuffed after devouring a bowl. Chinatown just keeps on getting better and better. read more

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So we went to Cui Hua Gui Lin Noodle House for Edmonton dining week. This place was one of the featured during the week. They had a special of Beef Brisket Vermicelli in soup and bacon wrapped shrimp for $15.00. However, their special was good only for evening. So we decided to split the Beef Brisket Vermicelli and add some Gui Lin style fried rice and the lemongrass chicken. Restaurant was clean and neat. A little bit nicer than the typical Chinatown restaurant. Service was prompt. Food was decent but definitely not anything that I would run out to eat....things here were a hit and miss. Let's start with the positives. Lemongrass chicken was phenomenal. Perfectly spiced and delicate on the tongue, and the chicken was so super tender! Really a beautiful dish. This with some steamed rice and maybe a veggie side and it makes a lovely light meal. Fried rice was good...full of ground pork, which I am thinking what makes this Gui Lin style. It was pleasant, but nothing outstanding. Soup was okay. I didn't love the noodles in this dish and I found the broth to be okay but not as fragrant as I would have liked it. However, it was filling and had a nice amount of brisket and noodles in the bowl. I was intrigued by some of the other dishes in the menu...fried macaroni seems interesting to me as well as the spiced BBQ duck. If I am in Chinatown I may give this one another try. Portions are large and very reasonable. read more

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If you tend to go to the same Chinese restaurant time and time again, here is a great place to diversify! Noodles are a large part of chinese cuisine and broth making can probably be considered an art form. Gui Lin's soup broth is incredibly flavourful. Personally, I like it over ramen broth because it's less fatty while retaining a lot of flavour. The house hot and sour soup with minced pork fit this bill. The pickled bamboo in the dish was really tasty, and the flat glass noodles were fun to eat (you can ask for wooden chopsticks to minimize the slippage). We also had the vermicelli soup with chunks of fall apart, flavourful, tender lamb chunks and pickled mustard cabbage. So delicious! Service was great, our waitress spoke excellent english and was cheerfully helpful. We went on a Sunday night and there was lots of space. I would definitely come back! read more

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Service here is always super friendly and they're very helpful if you have questions. Food comes out ridiculously fast too. Our favourite is the fried macaroni - the pickled vegetables in it make it so so good. The BBQ pork they use is also very addictive in their vermicelli dish. Also, don't be surprised by their vermicelli - it's not the thin strand like in Vietnamese restaurants, but thicker, like a spaghetti. Affordable, big portion sizes and fast. Cash or debit only. read more

Cui Hua Gui Lin Noodle House - Vermicelli with BBQ pork - Chinese Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

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I absolutely love this place! The food is amazing! The owners are so sweet! I always order the same thing because I'm obsessed with their hot and soup soup!!! ive paid 15$ delivery fee before to far south side and it's still worth it!! read more

Ate here tonight with my lovely spouse. The food is really good! She ate here last Sunday and got me the Pork Belly Lo Vermicilli (Gui Lin Style) and I really liked the pickled taste. So today i had the Beef Brisket dish. The prices are decent and it's definitely different. Recommended for those who are looking for some authenticity and not really greasy or oily. Highly recommended. read more

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Drove by Chinatown and saw this noodle house. We were the only customers around 2pm on a Friday afternoon but that didn't stop my curiosity. So we ordered #23 - with glass noodle and #6 - pork belly noodle soup (gui Lin style) and it was actually quite tasty. If you like bamboo shoots and sour pickled cabbage then you will enjoy the taste of noodles here. Not oily at all. Beef brisket was soft and tender. Yet to try LO MEIN style but interested for sure. read more

Love love love their noodles! It doesn't taste like any other noodle place in the city. Once you have it you are hooked. If you don't know what to get for the time, try their house special noodles. Their chilli sauce is also great, very spicy! read more

Very interesting Western West part of China Chinese food with great beef and noodles sweet and sour type taste excellent food worth a try great family don't be afraid check it out read more

The food has a really unique flavour. We went there on a food crawl of Edmonton's China Town. It's a cute and clean little place. We sampled the Gui Lin style soup with the thicker rice noodle, tomato and the most distinct flavour, the fermented vegetables. The meat noodles and broth were awesome, but the veggies I was torn on. I don't know if I liked them or not! The base comes out seperate from the soup broth, and comes in Gui Lin, which is darker and spicier, and a more mild broth that I can't remember the name of. I think I would have liked it better if I would have left the both on the side and dipped the noodles which is one of the styles of eating they mentioned, different than just dumping the broth in. I liked the flavour initially but found the fermented flavour got really into the broth, so the flavour was less a subtle bite and took over the subtle heat of the gui lin broth. I'll be back to try a different technique and to sample some of the other food. The gui lin style mac and cheese interestes me! read more

Cui Hua Gui Lin Noodle House - Menu cover - Chinese Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

A few work colleagues and I stopped in for lunch on a whim. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meal. I had the Gui Lin Style noodle soup with BBQ pork. Nice! No complaints. The pickled flavour element is very unique. I've since returned and tried the BBQ pork vermicelli. The service is friendly and quick! They also sell chilli sauce in mason jars, which is a nice take home treat. read more

Awesome noodles. It's a whole new type of cuisine that you will crave. Get the brisket or the lamb in noodle soup. There is nothing like this in Edmonton. Must try. read more