Taeki Chan Our first day in Hat Yai was all about exploring beyond the city. Instead of taking a car or joining a tour, we decided to rent a motorbike and make our own way from Hat Yai to Songkhla for a day trip.
But before starting our journey, there was one important thing we needed to take care of — breakfast!
After collecting our rental bike, we headed to Nanyuan Noodle restaurant, a Chinese-style noodle restaurant in Hat Yai that kept appearing in our online searches when we were looking for places to eat.
Why Is Nanyuan Noodle Restaurant So Popular?
Nanyuan is particularly well known for its noodles, wantons, roasted duck and roasted pork. Looking through the reviews online, many diners mention the springy noodles, generous portions, reasonable prices and roasted meats as some of the reasons they enjoyed coming here.
The restaurant has quite a wide selection too, so it isn’t really just a place for a simple bowl of noodles.
There are different types of noodle dishes, including dry noodles and soup noodles, along with toppings such as roasted duck, roasted pork and wantons. There are also rice dishes, dumplings, wantons and various Chinese-style dishes that are suitable for sharing.
This was actually one of the things I liked about the menu. If you’re travelling with a few people, there are plenty of options to choose from instead of everyone having to order the same type of noodles.
And Of Course… I Needed My Coke!
Before getting into the food, I had to get my favourite drink — Coke!
I don’t know what it is, but somehow Coke in Thailand always seems to taste a little different to me compared with the Coke I normally drink back home in Malaysia.
After riding around in the Hat Yai heat, I was already feeling thirsty. That first sip of ice-cold Coke was incredibly refreshing.
It honestly felt like a little reset button for my body.
Suddenly, I felt more refreshed and awake — almost like my body had come alive again!
Mixed Meat Dry Noodles
For our breakfast, we ordered the mixed meat dry noodles.
This came with a combination of roasted pork, wantons and vegetables, so it was a nice choice if you wanted to try several things in one bowl.
The roasted pork gave the noodles a savoury and meaty flavour, while the wantons added another texture. The vegetables also helped to balance the dish and made the bowl feel less heavy.
I enjoyed the combination because you get a little bit of everything in one serving.
Duck Meat Dry Noodles
Of course, the other dish we had to try was the duck meat dry noodles.
Nanyuan is known for its duck dishes, so this was actually the one I was most curious about.
The noodles themselves were quite nice. I liked the texture — they were springy and had a pleasant bite to them.
The duck meat was also good. It was tender and flavourful, and importantly for me, there wasn’t any unpleasant ducky smell.
Would I Recommend Nanyuan?
Overall, Nanyuan Noodle Restaurant was a good and convenient place to start our day.
The restaurant has a fairly extensive menu, the portions are reasonably generous, and there are plenty of choices ranging from noodles and rice to wantons, dumplings and roasted meats. Online reviews are generally very positive, particularly when it comes to the noodles, duck and roasted meats.
For me, the noodles were probably the highlight. The duck was nice, but I wouldn’t personally describe the duck dry noodles as one of the best I’ve ever eaten.
Still, it was a satisfying breakfast before our road trip.
With our stomachs filled, my thirst taken care of with a cold Coke, and our motorbike waiting outside, it was finally time to continue our journey.
Next stop — Songkhla!
