Chinese Noodle Shop

?? I Can't Translate It, Manhattan, United States

This little tiny shop is a traditional noodle shop from the Fujiang Province (I believe so, anyway). The menu is small, and written in Chinese characters, and English is not really spoken beyond Hi, Beef, Pork, Fishball, and Thank You. The noodles are made by hand and to order and come in a bowl of rich broth, sometimes with pickled cabbage on top, hot sauce and cilantro leaves available on the side. The first time I went, and managed to figure out what they served, the owner was so pleased he ran out to the store and bought me a beer! It is great fun to crowd into the kitchen counter to watch the noodles being made. First a ball of dough is pounded, then stretched and swung, then quickly folded in half. Each time this is repeated the noodles double in length and get thinner, until there is an armful of noodles to toss into the pot. His arm muscles are pretty big from swinging all the dough, too.

experienced on March 2005 by Nmne