Omni Palace, a Chinese noodle house that specializes in traditional hand-pulled Lanzhou noodle dishes and other Halal delicacies, has created an innovative mixed-noodle menu for its latest outpost in North York’s Sheppard Yonge Centre.
Omni Palace has more than 500 locations worldwide, including a restaurant in Toronto that opened three years ago. The new location officially opened on Oct. 22. On the menu, you’ll find hand-pulled noodle soups and hand-pulled mixed noodle dishes, with plenty of vegetarian options available. All of the noodles are made using a centuries-old recipe, and the sauces are key – 28 ingredients have been kept a secret since Omni Palaces’ inception.
“I can talk with friends for three days but no one can get a word about our recipe from me. My uncle inherited this recipe from my grandpa and now I am the third inheritor,” said Ma Jun, Omni Palace incumbent owner. “Based on the traditional Lanzhou beef noodles style, I innovated noodles on the menu to cater to Toronto’s diverse tastes.”
Diners can choose from nine different kinds of noodles that vary in thickness, from angel hair [which you could thread through a needle] to wide flat. Extra toppings, like bok choy, fried egg, and braised beef can all be added to the noodle soups or noodle dishes for an additional charge. If it’s spice you’re after, try the house-made chilli sauce.
Omni Palace also offers a selection of appetizers and salads, side dishes, and non-alcoholic beverages.
The Food
The house special is known as the Scallion Oil Shrimp Noodle. The scallion sauce itself is made of three different types of scallions, creating a balanced rather than heavy and overpowering taste commonly associated with the green onion. The noodles are freshly hand-pulled and after being boiled, are rinsed in cold water to create a chewy, bouncy texture. The combination of hand-pulled noodles with Yang’s unique sauces produces a whole new sensory experience while still paying tribute to the dish’s roots.
Each bowl of noodles, both with soup or mixed noodles, is made in under five minutes. It takes around ten seconds to pull the noodles from the dough and fifteen to thirty seconds for them to boil, depending on the selection. In comparison, machine-made noodles like ramen can take up to two minutes just to cook.
At Omni Palace, hand-pulled noodle chefs are fully skilled and have more than 20 years of stretched noodle experience which involves the art of pulling the noodles very quickly and consistently.
Omni Palace is located at 4841 Yonge St. Unit 118A and is open Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.