Liukoushui Chongqing Noodles restaurant review: An authentic Chinese touch
Szechuan cuisine is given an expert showcase in Glasgow
While Glasgow’s Chinatown may semi-officially be the shopping and dining complex at Cowcaddens, its decline over the years has seen Partick emerge as the city’s de facto carrier of that title. The area around the junction of Byres Road and Dumbarton Road buzzes with shops and restaurants that are well patronised by local Asian students and residents. Such is the abundance that, even further out towards Thornwood, you’ll find enjoyable specialists like this noodle diner serving dishes from the city of Chongqing where the food is a subsection of Szechuan cuisine.
There’s a canteen-like ambience to the long, narrow venue, yet a smart shopfront and branded bowls, spoons and even tables hint at a wider operation, confirmed by photos of sister venues in Europe, America and China. The laminated menu has English one side, Chinese the other, with dish pictures and a QR code ordering-system smoothing out the language barrier. There’s not much to frighten Scottish palates (beyond perhaps pig intestines) while chilli symbols indicate heat levels and sections separate spicy from non-spicy for the wary.
Along with snacks such as super-crisp wontons or spring rolls, mini hot pots and a dozen or so noodle and rice options, the signature here is ‘hot pot noodles’, combining Chongqing-style noodles (meat and veggies in spicy bone broth) with a customisable hot pot element. Served in a huge bowl, there are choices of broth including triple-chilli mala, fresh tomato, pork bone or the Guizhou option: a bright red soup made with fermented tomatoes and chillis, hits of sweet-sour flavours and tingling spicing which proves addictive. Wheat noodles can be swapped out, but those big, pale, springy numbers are great, jostling with tender beef slices, crisp greens, spring onions and a big omelette roll for a hugely comforting and satisfying taste of regional China.
Liukoushui Chongqing Noodles, 562 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow; average price £17 for two courses.