I like a lot of things about King of Noodles, the little Chinese noodle shop that opened recently near my apartment. The noodles, for one — they’re about three feet long and handmade, served in what might be the finest broth on earth. I like that the owners barely know a word of English but are so proud of said handmade noodles that they halting insist new customers watch the tiny woman in the back as she pulls and stretch the dough by hand. I like that the fried tofu is utterly amazing, if a bit heavy on the salt. But I think my favorite thing is that the menu — with the usual inexpert English translation serving more as a general guide to the printed hanzi than as a source of information about the food itself — lists the appetizers section as “freshest little dishes.” This, of course, conjures up the image of a plate of dumplings making lascivious comments to passersby.
Needless to say, this place is quickly becoming my favorite hole in the wall.
Oh snap crackers.
I’ve seen this place while driving by. Since I live in the area, I appreciate these kinds of posts. I will stop by here next time I’m in the area!
It’s 12:30 am and I could just about drown a puppy for some quality noodles and broth right now. Thanks a *lot*, Jeremy.
Haha, I haven’t heard anyone use “freshest” in that manner in a while. Sounds like an awesome place to stop for a meal.
I have a similar place I like to frequent, but it is a sushi restaurant.
But speaking of noodles, I was thinking about this the other day. What exactly differentiates noodles and pasta? It seems like pasta is heavier generally, but ingredients-wise I think they are pretty similar. Anyone?
I think the difference between noodles and pasta is similar to the difference between manga and comics — same creature, different origins.
is it just noodles in broth? or other noodle things?
I went there last month! Good stuff.
When I was living in Shanghai, every night I went down to the school canteen (not my university, one that I lived near) and ordered their freshly strung noodles. Our anecdotes are the same really; freshly made, super cheap, long noodles, strong broth and big smiles by the chef. What you want to say to them Jeremy is 拉面 lāmiàn which is a request to string the noodles. If you say that to them, I’m sure they’ll be very pleased. ^_^
See, I get an image of the dishes as little mid-to-late ’80s rappers made out of tofu, etc.