Fast Food & Takeout
A wonton noodle and congee house on the Alexandra Road restaurant strip. Shrimp wontons in clear broth, beef brisket noodles and slow-cooked congee are the staples. Fast, inexpensive, and a reliable stop when you want something light and hot.
Shrimp wontons in a clear broth are the reason most people push through the door here, with beef brisket noodles and slow-cooked congee close behind. Max Noodle House works the light end of the Cantonese noodle trade on Alexandra Road, at the price bracket where you order, eat something hot and are out again without much ceremony. Nothing about it asks for an occasion.
The address is the tricky part. Alexandra Road runs east off No. 3 Road behind the big mall lots, and a single street number on that strip can hold a dozen kitchens behind one entrance. The 185 in front of 8291 means an interior unit rather than a lit sign facing the road, which is why first-timers routinely drive past it twice. Aberdeen station sits close enough that leaving the car at home is a reasonable plan on a busy evening.
Congee is the dish worth judging a shop on. Done properly it tastes like something that has been sitting over heat since morning rather than thickened to order in the time it takes to carry it out. Wonton wrappers get the same test. They should be thin enough to see light through.
This block is the densest concentration of restaurants in the city, and competition on it is unforgiving. Rooms open and close on Alexandra Road at a rate that would frighten a landlord anywhere else, so a small shop holding a unit here year after year is usually holding it for a reason.
In the Golden Village neighbourhood of Richmond.
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Other fast food and takeout restaurants and nearby businesses in the Richmond directory.
A tiny Cantonese barbecue counter in the Superstore plaza on No. 3 Road, long regarded as one of the best in the region. Char siu, crackling-skin roast pork and soy chicken are chopped to order over rice. Small space, quick queue, and it sells out early.
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A small Malaysian takeout on No. 3 Road turning out laksa, nasi lemak, chicken rice and roti. It runs mainly on pickup and delivery with limited seating. Portions are generous, prices are low, and the sambal carries real heat.
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A quick-service bowl shop in the McClelland Road towers doing grain bowls, salads and cold-pressed juice. You order at the counter and it is out in a few minutes. A lighter option in an area otherwise dominated by hot pot and barbecue.
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A Vietnamese counter off McClelland Road baking its own baguettes for banh mi, with pho simmered from beef bones, ginger and toasted onion. Sandwiches are made to order and cheap; the pho and French pastries make it worth sitting down for.
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A Korean noodle and dumpling shop on Westminster Highway that makes its own mandu and sells them frozen by the bag. Bibimbap, japchae and kimchi stew round out a short menu. Small, cheap and fast, with a steady weekday lunch crowd.
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A Hong Kong-style noodle shop in the strip mall across from Richmond Public Market. Wonton soup, beef brisket noodles and congee arrive fast and cost little. Plain room, quick turnover, and a long-standing local pick for a solo lunch.
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