Eatwell Vietnam Noodle Soup

We were in Coquitlam looking for a quick eat - I am not really familiar with Coquitlam, and M is even worse (there was that one time that he was picking up a car from Coquitlam and was going to meet me in Burnaby...I got home from *Maple Ridge* and found out that he had gone east along Lougheed instead of west - and was *finally* on the Mary Hill Bypass driving to Burnaby. omg!).

So it was no surprise how we ended up at Eatwell Vietnam Noodle Soup Restaurant when we were looking for Hopewell Chinese Kitchen. Ehhh...it was in the same area. (As in, either area could be described as being "close to Coquitlam Center Mall"...)

On a side note, when we pulled up to Eatwell, we commented on how they may be affiliated with Hopewell (does anyone know?). Anyways, it could just be the direct translation of their Chinese name, "Mei Mei".

We actually ate here on Halloween. Why do I remember this? We saw Captain Sparrow on the way in! :) Apparently, the guy dressed up (convincingly!) as Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean had just finished lunch at Eatwell...and a pair of groupie teenagers were asking him if they could take his photo. haha!



Let's start with Ms meal - grilled lemongrass chicken and pork atop rice noodle. At $6.50, he was pleasantly surprised with his meal. The pork and chicken were juicy and tender. He didn't share much. The portion was meatier than other Vietnamese restaurants. Although there were less char marks from the pan fry / grilling, and subsequently less flavour, it was an economical lunch choice.

I ordered the same as everyone else, beef noodle soup! At the time we dined at Eatwell, there was a separate menu with three tantalizing options: 1) a large noodle soup (your choice) with your choice of spring roll or bubble tea for $7.95, 2) a small noodle soup (vous choisez!) with your choice of spring roll or bubble tea, $6.95, or a student special (available Monday through Friday) for something ridiculous like $5.50 or something.



Of course, being on the bubble tea binge that I was on for the week, I ordered a "small" beef steak and tripe noodle soup. I have to say, the portion was extremely generous for the price. The soup didn't have enough salt, but that was remedied easily enough with a light sprinkling of salt. I liked that there was the option of steak and tripe, instead of steak, tendon, and tripe. I always feel so wasteful when I order a "#5" noodle anywhere in Vancouver and have to leave behind the tendon because I'm simply not such a big fan of it. So Eatwell gets a thumbs up from me on that point!



The bubble tea? I ordered a mango milk tea. It was made from a powder and it was just average. It made me wish that I'd ordered the spring roll to go with my meal instead, because I could smell them wafting through the restaurant.

Eatwell is a small place run by Chinese and it has a nice family atmosphere (as opposed to a seedier, neon-light atmosphere). They also offer other options like curry rice, banh mi, and "specialty" dishes like pork trotter noodle soup, or seafood soup.

Nice find for the Tricities!

Eatwell Vietnam Noodle Soup

#315 - 1196 Lansdowne Drive
Coquitlam BC
P: 604-945-8276