Emilia reviews a Chinese eatery in Preston that feels like a time capsule

Click PLAY to hear Emilia Fuller’s full review on 3AW Breakfast 

One Noodle Friendship has got the charm of ‘a face only a mum could love’, maybe more ‘a face locals can love’. I only say that because when you walk in they have bags of flour piled up, supplies stacked up above head-height and as many fridges full of their fresh dumplings as you can fit in a 2 x 2 corridor. It was the perfect embodiment of ‘if you know you know’. When you walk toward One Noodle Friendship, in a small 70’s style arcade between Preston Market and High Street, it feels like a time capsule. Their stickered windows have pictures of menu items and you naturally find yourself peering in to get a glimpse at the full tables of Chinese food. 

I spoke to owner Bill Feng after iconic Melbourne chef Shannon Martinez raved about the love and care he puts into his handmade noodles at One Noodle Friendship. 

Bill says he and his staff get in at 8am to start hand rolling, pulling and cutting their thick noodles that they make fresh daily before frying them at service time. That explains the supplies littered through the doorway, it takes a lot of space to make enough every day. Those noodles are only two-ingredient noodles, he says it’s “flour and water- that’s it, no chemicals, no preservatives”. When I asked him if he makes the dumpling wrappers fresh too he looked at me like I had two heads, “oh yes, of course we do”. He playfully reminds me that labour is expensive. Despite labour being the highest cost for hospitality he thinks it’s important to keep the quality high for locals. 

You sit down to tea from a thermos and a double sided menu. So, let me help you order. You obviously are going to get the noodles and the dumplings, that’s a given. 

I got the fried noodle with beef where the beef was slow cooked, brisket and $18.90 for a mountain of noodles. As you can imagine, the noodles were bouncy and light, their varied sizes reminded you of their conception at the front of the store. The sauce was minimal but flavoursome to allow the noodles to shine. It’s worth noting here; if you don’t like bean shoots (I know they’re very divisive) either ask for this dish without them or get your noodle fix elsewhere because they stir fry bean shoots through. 

If you want to try the noodles but rather a soup, get their speciality Lanzhou beef soup which is a fragrant, tangy braised beef soup obviously complimented by their noodles, you’ll find it on the menu as stewed beef noodle soup. Or, if you’re not feeling adventurous get the plain noodle soup which is a pho-style broth; simple and heartwarming and a huge bowl for under $13.

There is a deeper meaning to the restaurant name, One Noodle Friendship. The words for “face” and “noodle” are both pronounced “mian” in Chinese and Bill’s philosophy is all about noodles having the power to unite people, drawing them closer together in this cosy diner.

We tried the pork and prawn dumplings steamed and chicken dumplings fried. You could see the prawn pieces and of course, the freshness of the dumpling skins is unparalleled – not too thick, not too thin…juuuuust right.

Apart from those things we were led by our server who recommended the Spring onion pancake – which is a crumbly fried, savoury pancake cut into bite sized strips. For greens amongst all this beige, the spicy cucumber salad and chinese broccoli with oyster sauce are required. Lastly, I could hardly see dim sims on the menu and not compare them to a South Melbourne Market dimmy. The fried kind is as big as a fist with the ultimate crunchy outside, I will not be blasphemous to say it’s overall better but the skin’s crunch got them pretty close. They’ll cost you just over $10 for 4, depending on whether you want fried or steamed.

There’s no alcohol served but you’re tucked away from a whole strip of bars on High Street Preston that will be able to fill that void once you’ve rolled out of there. You can also order frozen dumplings for home as you leave – $25 for 25 or $43 for 50, stock up and try to recreate the experience at home. They’re open from 10am to 9pm Monday to Saturday

One Noodle Friendship

417-419 High St, Preston