Mak’s Noodle in Hong Kong: Beef Brisket Wonton Noodle Soup

Mak’s Noodle located on Wellington Street on Hong Kong Island

Mak’s Noodle is an institution in Hong Kong. This no-frills restaurant is one of the most popular spots in the city for wonton noodles. Did I mention the restaurant even has its own Wikipedia page?

In Hong Kong, wonton noodles are simple. At their most basic, they consist of a bowl of piping hot and savory broth filled with chewy yet firm egg noodles and delicate shrimp dumplings. You can add meat or vegetables.

While Mak’s Noodle is famous, it’s not without controversy. People either love or hate Mak’s Noodle. Foodies, locals, tourists, business people, and everyone in Hong Kong argue over the serving size of the wonton noodles at Mak’s Noodle. They say it’s too small, overpriced, or the wontons are tiny.

I’m not here to argue about who is right or wrong. Are the serving sizes small? Possibly. I’m only here to tell you about my visit to Mak’s Noodle and how the food tasted. Whether you love or hate Mak’s Noodle is up to you.

Table of Contents

Interior of Mak’s Noodle

As mentioned before, Mak’s Noodle is famous. During lunch hours and on weekends, expect to wait for an open seat, which might be next to a stranger. Rest assured, wait times are rarely long as many people in Hong Kong sit down, eat, pay, and move on.

Fortunately, I immediately snagged a seat during my visit between lunch and dinner.

If you value a restaurant’s decor, you should turn around at the front door. Mak’s Noodle was a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that reminded me of an American fast-food chain from the 1990s.

The small open dining room was busy with simple circular tables paired with even smaller stools. Lining the off-white walls were lime green painted booths, barely large enough to fit four grown adults.

Though the restaurant’s interior was simple, it was clean, which was more important than fancy decor.

Open Kitchen of Mak’s Noodle

Small kitchen at Mak's Noodle facing out towards the street — Small kitchen at Mak’s Noodle facing out towards the street

One of the best parts about Mak’s Noodle was the small open kitchen visible from inside and outside the restaurant. If you peek inside, you can watch the chefs preparing soup bowls and rolling freshly made noodles into bundles just before boiling.

Mak’s Noodle Menu

The main menu of Mak’s Noodle, Hong Kong — The main menu of Mak’s Noodle

Many restaurants in Hong Kong specialize in one item only. For how small the restaurant was, I was expecting this. I was surprised when I saw the menu at Mak’s Noodle. The menu had many more options than I expected.

On the left side of the menu were noodles in soup with options including shrimp wonton, pork dumpling, beef brisket, and beef tendon. The menu also offered options without noodles.

The right side had similar dishes such as tossed noodles, vegetables with oyster sauce, and beef brisket or beef tendon by itself.

As for drinks, your only options were distilled water or soft drinks.

The second part of the menu featured sets for groups of two and four people. If you are dining with other people and can’t decide what to order, these sets, which range from HKD 151 to HKD 378, might be a great choice.

Most options included a bowl of noodles in soup or tossed noodles and appetizer.

Beef Brisket Wonton Noodles

I ordered the Beef Brisket Wonton Noodles (HKD 57 or about $7.28). Sure, the price was steep compared to other spots in Hong Kong, but look at that delicious bowl of soup. I am okay with spending a little extra for quality.

The prawn-based broth was delicious. It was complex yet simple, with multiple layers of flavors. Each sip of the deep brown broth, both salty and rich, was packed with meaty flavors from the tender and fatty beef brisket.

The noodles were fantastic. They were savory and delicious on their own. Each noodle had a great texture, firmness, and bite. The only thing I had trouble with was controlling the slippery noodles with my chopsticks. Using my chopsticks with a spoon helped fix this problem.

Large chunks of beef brisket floated in the broth. The beef tasted meaty yet slightly sweet. Each bite, especially the fatty pieces, was unbelievably tender and melted in my mouth.

Hidden underneath the noodles and meat were a few hand-wrapped wontons packed with prawns. These wontons were a thing of beauty. The skin was just right, not too thick or thin.

Inside the light skin was a big piece of tender, salty, sweet shrimp that seemed to soak up all the beef brisket and prawn broth flavors. It doesn’t get any better.

Finally, the chives elevated the dish by adding a fresh, crisp bite.

I enjoyed the layers of flavors and textures of this bowl of beef brisket wonton noodles. The salty, savory, and meaty flavors were well-balanced, leaving me wanting more.

Service

The servers at Mak’s Noodle were friendly but to the point. They only came by to take my order and deliver my food. And I paid my bill with the cashier in front.

The servers appreciated if guests ordered promptly, ate quickly, and moved on, ensuring they could accommodate as many guests as possible.

While this might seem rude to some guests, this type of service is standard in Hong Kong.

Conclusion

On my recent visit to Hong Kong, Mak’s Noodle was my only wonton noodle experience. Therefore, I can’t say if this is or isn’t the best wonton noodles in Hong Kong.

Though many complain that the portions are small, I can’t complain about the quality. For the price, the bowl was more than filling for a quick lunch.

The quality of the broth, noodles, and wontons was exceptional, and they tasted delicious. Just thinking about it makes me hungry.

Now, it all makes sense. People are only upset about small portions because they want more of this delicious soup.

If there are better wonton noodles spots than Mak’s Noodle, I will count down the days until my next trip to Hong Kong.