Dish guide · 2026-08-19

Pancit Bihon, Canton, Malabon: Which Is Which

Pancit means Filipino noodles, and the word after it names the noodle. Bihon, canton, malabon and lomi explained, with live prices, in Al Barsha, Dubai.

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Pancit is the Filipino word for noodles, and the word that follows it tells you which noodle you are getting. Bihon is thin rice vermicelli, canton is thick wheat noodle, malabon is a fat rice noodle under a thick orange sauce, and lomi is an egg noodle sitting in gravy. Same family, four completely different plates, and fifteen of our Google reviewers name a pancit when they write about us.

Where the word comes from

Pancit entered Filipino from Hokkien, where the phrase meant something along the lines of food cooked quickly. Chinese traders brought the noodles, Filipino kitchens kept them and rebuilt them around local ingredients: calamansi instead of vinegar at the table, patis instead of soy in the pot, whatever vegetable the market had that morning. The result is not Chinese food and does not pretend to be.

Why pancit turns up at every birthday

Long noodles are meant to mean long life, so pancit appears at birthdays, at anniversaries and at any celebration where somebody older is in the room. The superstition has a rule attached: do not cut the noodles. Serve them long, eat them long, and let the person whose birthday it is take the first plate. If you are handed pancit at a Filipino party in Dubai, that is what is being wished on you.

The four on our menu

Prices come off the menu live, so what you see below is what the kitchen is charging today. Pancit Bihon and Pancit Malabon both carry best seller marks on the printed menu.

How to tell them apart

• Bihon: thin, translucent rice noodles, dry rather than saucy, tossed with vegetables and meat. The everyday pancit and the one to order first.
• Malabon: thick rice noodles under a heavy orange sauce built on shrimp, finished with crushed chicharon and boiled egg. It comes from the town of Malabon and it eats like a full meal.
• Canton: thick wheat noodles, closer to a stir fry, usually cooked with more soy and more bite. Our supplier for it has not been replaced yet, so the card above asks you to check with us before ordering rather than pretending it is on.
• Lomi: not dry at all. Thick egg noodles in a starchy gravy with egg stirred through, eaten with a spoon as much as a fork, and the closest thing on this menu to a noodle soup.

How a good pancit is cooked

The noodles go in last and barely cook. Aromatics first, then the meat, then the vegetables in order of hardness, then stock, and only then the noodles, which finish by absorbing what is already in the pan rather than by boiling. That is why pancit tastes of the whole pan rather than of sauce poured over noodles, and it is why a pancit that has been sitting is never as good as one that has just been tossed.

Ordering pancit for a group

One pancit feeds two to three people as part of a shared table, and it is the dish most often ordered to sit in the middle while everyone else picks a main. For a birthday, order it alongside something grilled and something sour: if you want the whole table handled in one decision instead, the boodle fight does that for four or six people.

What goes in besides the noodles

Carrot, cabbage, snake beans and celery in most versions, chicken or beef shredded rather than cubed, and sometimes a handful of prawns. The vegetables are cut thin so they cook in the time the noodles need, and they are meant to stay crisp. Calamansi is squeezed over at the table rather than in the pan, because acid added during cooking flattens out and acid added at the end lifts everything.

Pancit as merienda, not dinner

At home, pancit is as likely to be eaten at four in the afternoon as at eight in the evening. Merienda is a real meal in Filipino households, and a plate of noodles is its centre of gravity. That is worth knowing if you are ordering for an office or a family in Dubai: pancit lands better mid-afternoon than most things on the menu, and it holds its temperature long enough to survive the trip.

Pancit questions we get asked

We are opposite Dubai International Academy in Al Barsha 1, open 8:00 AM to 1:00 AM every day, rated 4.5 on Google. Order the bihon if it is your first, and do not let anyone cut the noodles.