One of Brisbane's most talked-about noodle restaurants has crossed town, with Terrific Noodles now open at Westfield Chermside — bringing the hand-slapped, ribbony biang biang noodles that made its Sunnybank location a phenomenon to a whole new northside audience.
The restaurant is the passion project of couple Amy Huy and Boqiao Li, former residents of Xi'an, the ancient capital of China's Shaanxi province. Their first Brisbane outpost opened at Market Square in Sunnybank roughly three years ago and quickly became a hit, drawing queues of diners hungry for its generous portions and bold, traditional flavours. The Chermside location soft-launched in late September before officially opening in early October.
A City With 3,000 Years of History on a Plate
Huy is unapologetically proud of Xi'an — a city she says has more than 3,000 years of history, served as the origin of the Silk Road, and was home to 13 dynasties, compared to Beijing's five. That civic pride is woven into every corner of the new restaurant.
The Chermside venue features striking murals painted by a Xi'an-based artist and gallery owner known as Mr Ma, and a large front window designed specifically so that passers-by can watch chefs slapping thick biang biang noodle dough on the kitchen counter — a spectacle that doubles as the restaurant's best advertisement.
Li, who handles the cooking, has been firm about keeping the menu strictly traditional. "He said he wasn't going to adapt any flavours," Huy explains. "'I can introduce other flavours to suit people's expectations, but traditional is traditional.'" That commitment to authenticity has resonated — Huy says some customers have approached her speaking in the local Xi'an dialect, telling her they have never found anything this authentic in Brisbane.
Why Chermside, Not Garden City?
The expansion northside was a deliberate strategic choice. It is understood a Westfield leasing executive initially approached Huy and Li about a second store, but proposed Garden City as the location. Huy knocked it back, believing it sat too close to their existing Sunnybank base.
"I thought, 'if we're going to open a second store, it must be north'," she says. "We wanted to introduce our food to a new audience up here." The Chermside restaurant also features a larger internal dining room than the Sunnybank original, giving it more capacity to handle the demand that has already been building since its soft launch.
What's on the Menu
The Chermside menu mirrors the Sunnybank original, with portions described as consistently enormous. It is structured across several categories:
- Noodle soups — including a golden beef brisket and Chinese sauerkraut broth, a spicy and sour beef noodle soup, and a pork bone broth noodle soup
- Dry biang biang noodles — options include braised beef rib, sautéed chicken, mashed potato with pork mince and sauce, and chilli with pork mince
- Cold noodle dishes — featuring sesame sauce noodles, shredded chicken and cucumber in chilli and sesame sauce, and cold noodles with a special chilli oil
- Rou jia mo — the generously filled, super-flaky Chinese pork burgers that have become a signature draw across both locations
- Cold sides — a rotating selection to complement the mains
The wheat-based biang biang noodles remain the runaway favourite across the menu — thick, glossed in chilli oil, and made fresh by hand in the open kitchen.
Part of Chermside's Growing Food Ambitions
Terrific Noodles arrives as Westfield Chermside continues to build its reputation as a serious food destination. The centre has welcomed several notable dining additions over the past two years as part of what appears to be a broader push to attract food-focused tenants to the northside precinct.
For Huy and Li, the mission remains simple: share the food of their hometown with as many Brisbanites as possible — one hand-slapped noodle at a time.
