Came here for dinner last week on a Thursday night for the first time in probably a year. Used to come here more often many many years ago. There was a line up when we arrived at about 730pm. To be honest, the only thing i really look forward to eating here are their dumplings and deep fried bun (simple but one of my faves). Their noodles are good and i appreciate how it's freshly made. But all the noodle dishes make me feel like eating i'm eating a bowl of dough. Even their fried noodles don't contain much meat or veggies nor come with a tasty sauce, Their noodles in soup tastes bland but that's bc they don't use msg (apparently). They should find other ways to put flavor into their dishes rather than using salt. Their ja jiang mein is very disappointing. I don't know why they are so busy bc the food is just mediocre and they haven't made any improvements to the decor of the restaurant.

I had lunch last Friday with a friend and was surprised to see 2 other similar restaurants on the same block having hand made noodles. Sha Lin is the original one and had line ups in the past, but now with 2 other noodle restaurants, they are no longer having line ups, which is good for hungry stomachs. I have always liked the food here, but will eventually try the other 2 noodle places.

The servers were quick to greet me when I walked inside and they came right away with tea and the menus. Different types of noodles (dragging, cutting, etc) are made from the same dough that they knead behind this glass enclosed room you can watch them. Dragging noodles are like spaghetti and are good for soup or dry with a sauce poured on top. The cutting noodles are good in soup and stir fried. We ordered the Sha Jiang dragging noodles which is a dry noodle with a pork/bean paste sauce and cucumbers. I found the sauce by itself was a little salty for my liking, but mixed with the noodles and cucumber, it was just right. We ordered also a curried beef fried cutting noodle. The beef was very tender and the hint of curry flavour made the dish very tasty. It also had brocolli, carrots, green and red peppers.

I wanted to order the fried dumplings, but they only make them for dinner or in the weekends. I guess I will be back soon for dinner or in the weekends for those yummy dumplings.

I love going to this place. I always bring some wipes to wipe down the table and utensils, just in case. I know that it's a popular restaurant in the area and there's always a lineup around meal times. But man, this place is quite disgusting sometimes. Even then, I find I often return.

I always order fresh cold soya milk and a noodle dish of some kind. If I'm with other people, we tend to split a serving of pot stickers. I notice that I'm not the only one that's a fan of their pot stickers. Looking around the room I see that most people have ordered the same fare.

The food usually comes quite quickly, as for the bill, not so quick. The place could use a makeover, if only it being paint and new food posters. Some of the pictures are so faded and discoloured that I have no idea what it was supposed to be!

The prices are worthy of the food. So if you're in the neighbourhood, don't be afraid of that lineup! It's really worth the wait!

The food is good, and that's only reason I went there.

But they give the worse services ever!

I and my gf went there for a quick dinner this afternoon. For some reason the waitresses seemed all pissed off. They pretty much threw the menu and dished on our table, and ignored our requests for more tea. We felt very uncomfortable being treated that way even though we didn't expect any outstanding services from a Chinese restaurant, so we decided to give them no tips.

But the most ridiculous thing happened when we were about to leave. The old man at the counter stalked us and ASKed FOR tips! He said "You are supposed to give tips if you eat here. " I was so shocked when I heard him say so, but then I told him that their services made me unhappy and that's the reason I didn't give tips. Then he asked if the waitresses are always like that and I said yes but the young waiter is good(yes he's very polite). But then he said, "Ok you don't give tips this time, but don't come here again. "

Speechless. That was just sooo rude, like savages. I doubt he's ever been educated.

For those of you who consider going there, I highly recommend you take a second thought. I admit their food is good, but their inability to respect customers makes them a horrible horrible restaurant.

That means okay, or acceptable (sort of), in Mandarin. Such was our experience at Sha Lin. I kept hoping David Carradine would leap out of the kitchen or something, but nope, they just have noodles and dumplings. No kung fu here.

The restaurant was spartan inside, but they did have a big window so you could see the half of the kitchen where they cut the noodles. The back part where they make the sauces was behind a curtain. I found the whole place including the w/c to be clean, but I wanted brighter lighting in the dining area.

Mrs. C and I had 'dragging noodles' with lamb, two of the kebabs, green onion pancakes, and a dozen pork and bok choi dumplings. I thought the kebabs were tasty but my beloved dining companion said they were too hot. They had plenty of cumin, and that was kind of the point. The noodles were very tasty and had a good texture. The lamb and sauce perfectly complemented the noodles. I wasn't crazy about the pancakes, but I was told they were authentic. The dumplings looked like they were going to be bland, but I found them packed with flavor despite their plain exterior. That was a nice surprise. Service was good throughout the meal, and we got two quality checks.

I can't speak for everyone out there, but when winter hits (and it was -10 outside when we had our meal) you crave hearty fare. This place delivers the real deal, but I just kept hoping for the chefs to start jumping around and doing some kung fu. Just as well, since Mrs. C doesn't like to fight much these days...

Recommended, Grasshopper.

I went this this restaurant for the first time, after reading several reviews and seeing it on the Food Network with Rachael Ray. Since I had seen noodles being pulled several times on tv before, it was no big deal to watch it being done in person...I guess it just lost the "wow" factor.

I had the dragging noodles in soup with bbq pork and vegetables for $7.55 and a green onion pancake for $2.50. Not sure what other people were writing about a big bowl of noodles. The bowl was actually quite small and although there wasn't a skimpy amount of noodles, I wouldn't say it was "generous" either. Noodles were al dente and tasted good. Soup was bland, but it was a subtle chicken stock with the hint of ginger. There were several pieces of cooked bok choy and a few slices of carrots. BBQ pork was noticeable by it's absence...in that there were on a very few thin slices. The green onion pancake was okay, a bit on the salty side and a bit greasy. I've made better at home.

Overall, this place is just a small dumpy restaurant. Food was okay, nothing great. Maybe I should try the dumplings or the fried noodles dishes if I ever go back, but that might not happen. After tax and tip, lunch for one person was $12 and I still went away hungry.

I really like the food at the Sha Lin Noodle House. I come here at least twice a month and seem to order the same thing again and again - the Sha Lin noodle special with dragging noodles and BBQ pork. the pork and chive dumplings and the fried pork that comes with soft shells (which I believe are made of rice). Did I mention that I like pork?

Do not come here expecting anything whatsoever on the ambience front - it's less then spartan, loud at times and the bathrooms are an experience. The place is usually quite clean though. The waitresses are always friendly and smiling and are efficient at what they do. The food always comes quickly and is always hot.

As for the food quality itself, I really do love it. Yes it's dough and carbs, but that can hardly be helped. The portions are big and the tea just keeps on coming. As for comparing the price between here and China - you must be kidding. Of course you're not going to pay $1 for the dish. The prices are completely in line with what you'd pay at other places in Vancouver. My only complaint with the food is that the dragging noodle special can be very oily at times- I asked for less oil last time and got what I wanted.

So go and try the Sha Lin for yourself. I will continue to go back time and again because they always deliver the goods.

I'm always skeptical of places (and products) that advertise no MSG...I don't get that much of a 'chemical' headache from MSG, but that means it must be substituted with something else for flavouring, and 99% of the time, it means more sodium/salt. This is exactly what the soup stock tasted like: saltwater. I ordered a bowl of the beef and beansprouts. The beef slices were amazingly seasoned and soft (I like it like that), but the beef stock was overpowered by a consistent salty taste. I tried to dilute it with some hot water, but just ended up with soggy, run-down (and still salty) soup.

So if they could cut back on the salt (and noodles fresh made, but probably include salt in the making as well) and just let the natural flavours of all the other ingredients mellow, it'd be SO much more better.

Service was quick for on-the-spot takeout request. In 5 minutes, I placed my order, paid the cheque, got my order, and was out the door.

Just cut back on the salt!

We went here for dinner because we saw that it was packed and people were waiting for tables even though there were several Asian restaurants right next door with no line-ups. So, we thought "This place must be good!" We waited in line and got seated right in front of the glass windows where the cooks were making the noodles. What a great show!

We saw a lot of people ordering the dumplings, so we did the same. We didn't know which kind of noodles to order however, so we asked the waitress for her suggestion. She asked us if we wanted thin noodles or thick. We didn't care, so she suggested that we try the thick noodles - so we did.

When our food came, we were not impressed. Yes, the noodles tasted fresh, but there was nothing spectacular about it. What were we missing ?? Why is it so packed here? The dumplings were doughy and the spicy beans that we ordered were similar to most other spicy beans dishes that you can order around the city. So, needless to say, we won't be waiting in line for this place again.

It''s too starchy a meal for our tastes. The broths that go with the noodles are also tasty, especially the chicken broth. Each bowl has plenty of noodles- in fact too many noodles. One bowl of soup is definitely a cheap and filling meal. But it all adds up to a meal that feels rather unbalanced. Where are the veggies? The appetizers we tried, such as the pancakes, were also rather doughy. Sha Lin delivers what it promises, but our dough for main dish soup entrees will go to restaurants whose soups have a larger variety of ingredients, e.g Vietnamese pho.