If we are craving handmade, doughy, chewy noodles, this is our go to place. It is a bit of a hidden gem and run down in here, but it hasn’t disappointed us yet! The only annoying part is that parking is hard to find around this area, unless you’re willing to walk a few blocks from the free parking lots on before 41st avenue.

I've only tried their food via takeout, so I can't comment on service/ambience. For my particular visit, I got their Fried Cutting Noodle, Steamed Seafood Dumplings, Stir-fried Fresh Shrimp, Sweet Soy Glazed Spare Ribs and (lamb) Kebab.

Lamb Kebab ($2.5): 4.5/5; This was probably the biggest surprise of the bunch. I typically don't like lamb since I'm worried about the "gamey" that they often have, but the kebab here was super fragrant and did not have any gamey flavour whatsoever. In fact I almost wonder if it was indeed lamb. It was super flavourful and had a nice head that I liked.

Stir-fried Fresh Shrimp ($17.50): 4/5; The shrimp was well seasoned, and seemed quite fresh with a nice, bouncy texture. Moreover, there was actually a large amount of shrimp (and not much "filler" vegetables).

Sweet Soy Glazed Spare Ribs ($15.50): 4/5; The meat had a fantastic crispy exterior and a tender juicy interior, and was covered in a delicious sweet and sticky sauce. There was quite a bit of cartilage however. Also, I think the price is pretty steep (although the portion is decent and the meat quality is probably better than your typical average Manchu Wok).

Fried Cutting Noodles with BBQ Pork ($12.95): 2/5; This turned out to be the biggest disappointment, which is a bit surprising since it's supposed to be their speciality. Maybe it's because of the takeout packaging, but a lot of the noodles were stuck together, forming a large clump. Moreover, it was quite underseasoned and bland. On the positive side, the noodles (once I managed to untangle them) did have a good bouncy texture.

Steamed Seafood Dumplings ($12.50): 4/5;  The wrapper was nice and bouncy (I think that they're probably also made in house like their noodles) and the filling was aromatic and flavourful. I'd pick these over the noodles.

While the noodles at Yu Xian Yuan turned out to be a dud (although I might be a bit unfair in my assessment since it was crammed into a takeout box), their other dishes certainly made up for it. This will certainly be one of my go-to places for Chinese food (that's different from the kind I eat at home).