30 bucks for a bowl of noodles? Getting scammed once these days is enough, no wonder they went out of business soon after.

These days, there are quite a few people used to opening noodle shops. Recently, a new noodle shop opened nearby, and I just realized that, I don’t know since when, there are already four noodle shops downstairs on the pedestrian street. Although they all focus on different regional noodles, in the eyes of Guangdong people, they are pretty much the same, just with different flavors.

Not long ago, a newly opened noodle shop downstairs did a pretty aggressive promotion, inviting many people to try the place. I often saw their videos, and from their store’s decor and dishes, it looked quite high in appearance. It’s a noodle shop that also serves visually appealing drinks. Honestly, after seeing so many noodle shops, those that combine snacks or drinks are quite rare.

Later, a colleague said they wanted to eat noodles, so I thought about trying this one to see if it could become a regular spot. The location is pretty good, right at the intersection, with a lot of foot traffic. Their signboard is very prominent, giving the impression that it’s run by an experienced restaurateur.

Since the shop just opened recently, their promotional efforts seem to be working, and the seating rate is quite high—almost full most of the time. After sitting down, I looked at the menu. Wow, this noodle shop’s prices are not cheap. Their signature dish is a beef noodle with a very long name, with lots of descriptions about how meticulous their broth is, how particular they are about the flour for the noodles, and so on.

A bowl costs 30 yuan, with the cheapest being 28. Thinking of trying their signature dish, I ordered a beef noodle with that long name. The noodles arrived quickly, and they looked quite good, with the beef carefully plated and garnished with quite a few toppings, but there wasn’t much beef. After tasting the broth and the noodles, it wasn’t as delicious as I imagined.

The menu says it’s a creation by their chef, but it just feels like a different version of Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles. Charging 30 yuan for this, it doesn’t seem very cost-effective. Other noodle shops around here also serve beef noodles for about 15 yuan a bowl, with plenty of meat, and the taste isn’t much different.

I can only say that their shop’s decor and environment are a bit better, and that’s probably where the premium is. I didn’t go back to that shop again. Later, I found out it closed suddenly when a colleague mentioned it. It seems that these days, with such prices, it’s not very sustainable. Once or twice is enough to be fooled. If they want customers to come back regularly, that’s basically impossible. What do you think?