Let’s Noodle: 10 Most Popular Chinese Noodle Shops in NYC

Auntie Approved: a filling, good-value lunch on the Upper East Side.

The chain that taught New York to eat Xi’an food started as a stall in Flushing and now has 15 shops. The noodles are broad and chewy, tossed with plenty of cumin, chili oil and lamb. You order at a kiosk and pick your spice level. Mild already has a good kick, and regular can bring tears. Service is quick, but the Upper East Side room is small: good for a fast lunch, not a long catch-up.

Smaller budget? Stir-fried liang pi cold skin noodles, $9.35.

• Most locations 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Woodside: weekday lunch only

Auntie Approved: generous portions and a good deal for Midtown.

This is the uptown answer to the Chinatown noodle line, and a solid meal before a Broadway show. You pick the noodle shape, the protein and the heat, and the staff walk you through it. There are gluten-free noodles too.

Sharing? Dapan niu (big plate beef) with ribbon noodles, $17, probably enough for two. Still hungry? Add a side.

• Open daily, roughly 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Auntie Approved: fresh Lanzhou noodles at a fair price.

Dunhuang is an old Silk Road oasis town in Gansu province, and the kitchen’s roots are in Lanzhou, the city famous for hand-pulled beef noodle soup. You choose from five noodle thicknesses, from thin as string to wide as a belt. The signature soup keeps it simple: sliced beef, white radish, bok choy and cilantro in a savory broth, with chili oil on top. The Flushing room is roomy enough for a proper sit-down lunch, and the Sunset Park branch is an optional stop on our Sunset Park Food Crawl.

Also order: roujiamo (Chinese burger), $6.50.

Auntie Approved: the best value on the list.

Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian province, and this counter serves its everyday food: wheat noodles in a creamy peanut sauce, plus pork and chive dumplings. Add a spoonful of chili sauce to the noodles. Tables are shared and space is tight, so eat and move on. Frozen dumplings come in bags to take home.

Add: pork and chive dumplings, 10 for $5.50.

• Cash only
• Open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Why Not 100? Classic wonton noodles and roast meats at a fair price. Service is fast and no-frills.

A Cantonese noodle shop that also runs one of Chinatown’s busiest roast meat counters. Want both in one bowl? Get the roast duck noodle soup. Staff work fast and keep it short. A party of two may end up at a round table with six strangers. That’s the seating plan.

• Cash only
• Opens 9 a.m. daily, until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays

Why Not 100? Freshly pulled noodles you can watch being made. It’s pricier than most Chinatown noodle shops, and the room is small.

The classic Lanzhou bowl: clear beef broth, thin hand-pulled noodles, chili oil and herbs. For something richer, get the braised beef version. The noodle maker works behind a kitchen window, so the wait comes with a show. The Mott Street shop opens at 10:30 a.m. and doesn’t close until 5 a.m. Your late-night decisions just got better.

• Closed Tuesdays (both locations)
• Queue at Mott Street
• Kips Bay closes at 9 p.m.

Auntie Approved: broad, fresh noodles with real cumin and Sichuan peppercorn. Pricey for a counter lunch.

The counter where you watch the noodles get pulled while you wait. The tingly cumin bowl is the one most people order. Get it dry if you want the flavor packed onto the noodles, in soup if you want to slurp. Seating is Chelsea Market’s shared tables. Of all ten, this bowl is the most generous with cilantro. Not a fan? Ask for none.

• Queue at lunch, but it moves fast
• Open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily

Auntie Approved: a loaded bowl, and fair value for what’s in it.

The only rice noodle chain on the list. The fish maw chicken soup comes loaded with chicken, mushrooms, corn and tofu puffs. The bowl arrives still boiling. Let it win the first five minutes. Service is attentive, but the Flushing room is small and fills fast.

Smaller budget or less adventurous? Original broth beef rice noodles, $14.

• Also at 87 Chrystie St (Manhattan) and 5216 8th Ave (Sunset Park)

Why Not 100? The knife-cut noodles are the star. Extra plates add up fast, and the room is cramped and loud.

Despite the “ramen” in the name, this is a Chinese kitchen: hand-pulled and knife-cut noodles, plus soup dumplings (xiaolongbao). It sits a short walk from the Broadway theaters, which explains the pre-show line. Also good: the spicy beef noodles and the beef scallion pancake, which comes sliced for sharing. Treat it as a quick dinner, not a place to linger.

Add: soup dumplings (xiaolongbao), 6 for $11.95.

• Open until 10:30 p.m., 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays

Why Not 100? Plump wontons and attentive service. Evening queues and packed tables make dinner hectic.

Cantonese wonton noodles and congee, now in a bigger room on Mott Street. The wontons are the reason to come: plump, packed with shrimp and pork, and served in a clear broth over thin, springy egg noodles.

For a heartier bowl, get the beef brisket noodles, which arrive with a tangle of gai lan on top. Prices are fair for a sit-down meal with table service, and staff keep the tea topped up. Lunch is the calmer bet.

• Closed Wednesdays
• Open 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays

This is Mei Lai Wah’s noodle shop, from the 1968 bakery on our Manhattan Chinatown Food Crawl. Thin egg noodles, plump shrimp and pork wontons, and a spoonful of house chili sauce: that’s the bowl. The XO sauce is sold by the jar for $15 if you want it at home. Gratuity is added automatically, so check the bill before you tip.

• Open from 10:30 a.m. daily

Hui mei is Henan-style braised noodles: wide, hand-pulled, served in a thick broth. Bringing friends? Share the big tray chicken, $22, with hand-pulled noodles added to soak up the sauce: bone-in chicken and potatoes, heavily seasoned, and a good deal split a few ways. The room is cramped and basic, so keep the group small.

• Cash only
• Closed Sundays