For months we’ve had our vegan friends tell us about a hidden gem tucked away in the basement of a commercial building on Bronson Avenue.

As we tend to focus on strip malls in far-flung suburbs, Wei's Noodle House managed to slip under our radar for months. But it’s always been intriguing to us. We’ve intended to go since we started hearing about their excellent chili garlic tofu, delicious noodles, steaming stir-fries and expansive vegan options.

We’re happy to say we finally made our way on Thursday to the predominantly takeout joint located in the basement of the RE/MAX building. Yes, Wei’s is the very definition of a hidden gem. When you walk through the building doors, the first thing you’re greeted by is the scent of frying shallots and garlic, a scent synonymous—to me in any case—with my grandmother’s cooking. Downstairs there’s a little dining area with green walls and the kitchen is located behind a literal hole in the wall. This is exactly the kind of spot that Eat the Strip loves to chronicle.

Wei’s staffer took a pause form dealing with the constant stream of delivery drivers picking up their orders by asking us about our takeout order. She located our chili garlic tofu and tonkotsu ramen, for which we paid a total of around $35.

Wei’s opened in 2013 at their original location in Chinatown. They’ve been in the RE/MAX building since the Covid pandemic. In an online post on Facebook, the husband-and-wife duo that owns the restaurant said they have plans to eventually buy their own property to find a permanent home for their restaurant.

We got back home and immediately tucked into our ramen. The pork belly was full of flavour and had soaked up the delicious broth. The mushrooms were a great addition and we appreciated that the restaurant provided the broth in a separate container to keep everything fresh. The chili garlic tofu was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. It was served with noodles, julienned vegetables and, you guessed it, lots of garlic. While we enjoyed the tofu, we feasted on the ramen. It was bursting with flavour and matched a lot of the good ramen we have enjoyed in the city.

We’re excited to go back to try their pad thai and Singapore noodles.