The Cheapest Thing on the Menu- Biang Biang  

Cost: $12.50

Location: Shop 39/1 Dixon St, Haymarket 

Biang Biang is definitely one of our go-to restaurants, located on the upper end of Dixon Street Chinatown, it’s this little restaurant known for their thick hand-made noodles and ‘Chinese sandwiches’. And let me try to describe their noodles, picture Fettuccine pasta, but make it twice as wide and twice as thick! And there you have it, the drawcard of Biang Biang!

So, when running our eye down the menu to locate the cheapest item, the non-meat options were of course the lowest cost items (egg and tomato, and egg and eggplant served on-top of their signature noodles), while the most economical meat option was egg and tomato in a meat sauce. And although I had previously outlined the criteria of my ‘Cheapest Thing on the Menu’ challenge, be that if the cheapest item was the veg option, I’ll choose the cheapest meat option, however  I couldn’t get over the egg and tomato option (as I was all too familiar with the meat sauce version, as that’s my usual go to dish). So, 2 weeks into the challenge, and I’ve already broken my own rule, and ordered the non-meat option (was about to call it the vegetarian option, but you can’t eat eggs if you’re a vego?).

Portioning: The size of the cheapest dish on their menu is the same size as all their other noodle options, so the lower price does not equate to a smaller portion. The takeaway tub the food came in was generously sized, and I was completely satisfied at the end of the meal.

Tastiness: Well, if you come to Biang Biang, you’re pretty much just coming for their thick hand made noodles (although they have now introduced other noodle options- but why would you!). So, because of that, I think the choice of topping is less important here. Although the egg and tomato were tasty enough, not huge in flavour, but it is what it is- egg and tomato.

Quality: Well, it’s not like the cheapest item on the menu only consisted of cheap ingredients (wheat noodles, egg, tomato, bok choy and some spring onions), but it’s obvious that there isn’t anything premium in it either. On the whole, the food was a simple affair, the Egg cooked like an omelette and cut into bite sized pieces, and the tomato was more like a tomato sauce rather than actual chunks of tomato.  

Value for money: This one’s tough. On one hand, you’re getting a pretty filling/satisfying lunch for $12.50, which is very reasonable for this day and age. But on the other hand, we’re talking about egg and tomato here! Probably the total cost of ingredients is under $4. But in the end, I got my thick hand-made noodle fix, and that is all that matters!

Hey in conclusion, 2 weeks into my challenge of only eating the cheapest thing on the menu, it’s going ok! I found that what I actually wanted to eat that day, was the options at the thrifty end of the menu spectrum. And a couple weeks in I’m still enjoying eating out, although if I had to be honest with you, we’ve probably only saved like $2.80 over 2 weeks! Haaha.