Noodle Loft is one of those talked-about restaurants in Beijing. It’s posh, it has good food, and best of all, it has theatrics. I had seen a clip of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations segment on Noodle Loft, in which an army of chefs worked their magic turning lumps of dough into beautiful Shanxi-style noodles. I had been meaning to try the restaurant for a while, but the original Noodle Loft in CBD always seemed far away when I had noodle cravings. Fortunately I discovered that the newer branch is at Hepingxiqiao, 1 subway stop from my apartment.
Given that we got to the restaurant after prime dinner time, there was much less fury of noodle-making activity than Anthony saw. Still, chefs in the open kitchen were still working their magic by stretching, shaping, swinging, and shaving noodles into vats of boiling water.
To start, we got a cold dish of spinach and thick vermicelli in vinegar and some stir-fried greens. For the noodles, I ordered the knife-cut version that is prepared pretty much like in this hutong noodle video, except in a snazzy open kitchen by a tall guy in starchy chef’s whites. The texture of the noodles was equally thick, chewy, and delectable. Other noodle options included "cat’s ears" gnocchi-type noodles, hand-pulled noodles, and "noodles made with one single chopstick."
After getting our hot noodles brought by the chefs themselves, we went to the dressing bar and loaded up on different condiments. I tried the aged vinegar and the stir-fried pork sauce; both were very good, though I prefered the smokey crispiness of the latter. Jacob tried the tomato and fried egg (rather bland) and the garlic broth (okay, except that a chef put out a fresh hot bowl right after J spooned the older broth over his noodles.)
I also had a drink that I now want to try making at home: hot pear cider with fresh pears cubes and tremella. Tremella, otherwise known as snow fungus, is often used in Chinese soups. And unlike mushrooms, another type of fungus, tremella’s subtle sweet flavor makes it good for drinks. So even though I won’t be able to swing or shave my own noodles at home, a skill that takes years to learn well, I am now inspired to experiment with various ingredients that can go into pear cider.
Noodle Loft
20 Xi Dawang Lu
CBD, Chaoyang District, Beijing
朝阳区西大望路南20号
3 Heping Xijie (THIS LOCATION NOW CLOSED, ACCORDING TO A COMMENTER)
Chaoyang District, Beijing
朝阳区和平西街3号
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I will be in Beijing late next month and staying at the Shangri La hotel at No 1 Jianguomenwai Avenue. Are either of the Noodle Loft locations close to this hotel? And would an English-only speaker have a hard time ordering here?
Thanks!
Rob – You would be pretty close to the Noodle Loft at 20 Xi Dawanglu. It’s not a short walking distance, but close by Beijing standards, about 3 subway stops on the 1 line. If you take a cab here’s the Chinese address you can show the driver:
西大望路南20号
京港国际中心对面
Hope that helps.
are the noodles made with rice or wheat? My daughter is allergic to wheat
Most restaurants in Northern China make noodles out of wheat. Your best best for rice noodles in Beijing is at a Cantonese or Yunnan restaurant. I list a few in my "Restaurants by City" page under Beijing.
Went to The Noodle Loft on Heping Xijie. Neither location was nowhere near my hotel, but it was well worth the taxi ride. Cat’s ears are my favorite!
Is there a US location for Noodle Loft? Or, does anyone know of something similar in New York City?
my boyfriend and i went to the 3 Heping Xijie location, and it was closed/abandoned. furnishings were gone, and sign was starting to fall apart. we went to 20 Xi Dawang Lu back in november, so hopefully that location is still open.
We tried to go today but even with the address the cab driver could not find it. We asked 5 people and nobody could find the building #
Any tips?
fyi, I am talking about the one still opened @ 20 Xi Dawang Lu
Hi there! This is a lovely post and I wish I had read it before I got to China because I couldn’t access your lovely blog while in China (damn firewalls). I missed out on potential open kitchen action!
In any case, here’s my take on the place if interested http://bit.ly/bSy6TP. I went to a different (new?) branch, about 15-20 min walk from Wanjing West metro, in the Fairmont office tower.
My wife and I tried going to the 20 Xi Dawang Lu location, and unfortunately it’s closed/ torn down now. Bummer.