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The 8 Best Chinese Noodle Dishes In NYC

Rebecca Fishbein

Published Jan 22, 2015

Modified Jan 22, 2015

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Rebecca Fishbein

Published Jan 22, 2015

Modified Jan 22, 2015

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So far in this series, we've tackled our very favorite Chinese dishes and dumplings. Up next, we're diving into noodle dishes, ranging from pan-fried to cold-skinned to steeped in hot soup. Here are our favorites, all of which are guaranteed to keep you warm, full, and happy for the rest of this (disturbingly mild) winter; as always, leave yours in the comments.

(Yelp)

SPICY CUMIN LAMB WITH HAND-PULLED NOODLES AND LIANG PI COLD SKIN NOODLES AT XI'AN FAMOUS FOODS: Xi'an Famous Foods can't stop spreading its spicy magic all over this city, and that's a good thing. Almost everything this place makes is spectacular, so we're overloading the system with two top noodle dishes. First and foremost, the spicy cumin lamb with hand-pulled noodles requires a shout-out, with thick, flat noodle ribbons flecked with spice and chives and sitting in a warm bed of piquant lamb meat that'll stay with you all day.

For a chilled dish, the liang pi cold-skin noodles come with chunks of gluten cubes, vegetables and a dash of oil—the dish is fairly mild, so if you need something refreshing to even out spice, this baby will be your best friend.

Xi'an Famous Foods has a number of locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn & Queens, and it's steadily growing. Visit its website for details and prices.

(Yelp)

DAN DAN NOODLES AT GRAND SICHUAN HOUSE: This Bay Ridge joint's dan dan noodles are not for the faint of heart or tongue. But brave eaters will delight in this delicious $3.95 dish, made with a sichuan peppercorn that fills your mouth with a wonderfully vicious numbing heat. Slippery, oil-covered noodles sit under a bed of ground pork, chives and the aforementioned peppercorn, and you get to mix the whole shebang up yourself, which is helpful if you prefer to mete out your spice to your liking.

Grand Sichaun House is located at 8701 5th Avenue between 87th and 88th Streets in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn (718-680-8887).

Via Yelp

DRY NOODLE WITH MINCED PORK SAUCE: Lam Zhou gets a write-up in nearly every appropriate category, and for a damn good reason. You can opt for an array of meat based-broths—beef, brisket, tripe, tendon, oxtail, pork, porkbone, and a vegetable—which come thick with fresh, hand-pulled noodles. But if you go dry, you'll get $6 worth of those famed noodles slathered in a savory chopped pork sauce, an even more flavorful dish than the still stellar soups. Plus, you get to watch your noodles get pulled and prodded in front of you, which is always a fun time.

Lam Zhou is located at 144 East Broadway between Pike and Rutgers Streets on the Lower East Side (212-566-6933).

Via Yelp

SPICY VEGETABLE HUI MEI AT SPICY VILLAGE: Chris Robbins extolled this dish's virtues last year. Now, he's written a poem:

Spicy Vegetable Hui Mei

Put a price on toothsome comfort.
Broth like magic sludge comfort.
Then cut it in half. Divide it by a cold wait outside.
Bittman's Curse.
Break your worries against bits of cilantro
to be stacked like cordwood into tofu vessels
thrown down your happy incinerator.
Tip lavishly, toss the noodles around your neck
like some dead dowager's dead fox
that you paid $5.50 for.

Spicy Village is located at 68 Forsyth Street, Suite B, between Canal and Hester Streets on the Lower East Side (212-625-8299).

Via Yelp

PAN-FRIED NOODLES AT TASTY HAND-PULLED NOODLES: For a decadent noodle dish, this Chinatown spot serves up a spectacular plate of pan-fried noodles. Proteins run the gamut from vegetable to shrimp to roast duck to lamb, and the noodles come sprinkled with a light seasoning that's surprisingly flavor-filled. Though you may be drawn towards Tasty's namesake, they're also available with a thicker knife-peel if you're not drowning them in soup. Expect to be full for quite a few days.

Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles is located at 1 Doyers Street between the Bowery and Chatham Square in Chinatown (212-791-1817, tastyhandpullednoodlesnyc.com).

Courtesy Scoboco's flickr

DAN DAN NOODLES AT HAN DYNASTY: This East Village eatery is known for its dan dan noodles, and though Gothamist Food Editor Nell Casey prefers the aforementioned Grand Sichuan House feast, these still get a spot on the list. The $8 firm noodles come doused in a subtly spicy chili oil, with minced pork, scallions and greens that kick up the flavor just a notch. And though this dish is plenty spicy, it won't burn your tastebuds off if you're used to more mild mouth fever.

Han Dynasty is located at 90 3rd Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets in the East Village (212-390-8685, handynasty.net).

Via Yelp

CROSS-THE-BRIDGE NOODLES AT YUN NAN FLAVOR GARDEN: Cross-the-bridge noodles, or guòqiáo mĭxiàn, are rice noodles steeped in an oil-heavy soup, with raw vegetables and lightly-cooked meats stewing inside the broth. It's a noted dish in Yunnan cuisine, but it's not so easy to find in New York, apparently, and those seeking a taste would do best to head to this Sunset Park spot ASAP. Your best bet here is the lamb and beef offering ($11), which will afford you a massive pot and large bowl of noodles and ingredients. Your waiter will put all the ingredients in the broth pot for you, so no need to panic over getting burned—in the end, you'll be left with a delightfully flavorsome noodle soup that'll tide you over on the frostiest of days.

Yun Nan Flavor Garden is located at 5121 8th Avenue between 51st and 52nd Streets in Sunset Park, Brooklyn (718-633-3090).

Via Foursquare

NOODLE SOUP AT SUPER TASTE: We love the hand-pulled and knife-cut noodles over at this no-frills Chinatown hole-in-the-wall, and you can score soups full of the stuff for super cheap. Proteins include beef, duck, eel, pork bone and oxtail, though you can also opt for an all-veggie feast—almost everything costs $5 and under, not that they skimp on ingredients, flavor, or post-feast heft.

Super Taste is located at 26 Eldridge Street between Canal and Division Streets in Chinatown (212-625-1198).

Tagged

best chinese noodles

best of

best of gothamist

chinese noodles

grand sichuan house

lam zhou

noodles

sheng wang

tasty hand-pulled noodles

Xi'an Famous Foods

yun nan flavor garden

original

Rebecca Fishbein

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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