The Maltese Bacon

Eating in Brooklyn: Lan Zhou Hand Pull Noodles

It's amazing that you can still eat handmade noodles for $6. But that's the Chinatown Paradox isn't it? As the zig zag of inflation and deflation confuse food costs all across the board, Chinatown prices manage to stay compelling. I am referring to the noodles at the Sunset Park branch of Lan Zhou Hand Pull Noodles, a couple blocks off the N stop at 8th Avenue and 62nd St.

The Mixed Beef Noodles comes with tripe, gelatinous cuts, and sliced beef. The broth was not as tasty as I would have liked, but there are plenty of condiments to spruce it up. The Duck Noodle Soup broth was more flavorful. They do not skimp on the fresh noodles, and for once I had trouble finishing them. Afterward, we went to the new giant supermarket one block southwest of the train stop. The condiments section alone is to die for, not to mention the wide variety of fresh vegetables.

 Lan Zhou Hand Pull Noodles
 5924 8th Ave
 Brooklyn, NY 11220
 (718) 492-7568‎
 For photos of the noodles at Lan Zhou click here.

 Lan Zhou Handmade Noodles (This is a Manhattan location of hand pulled noodles, but I'm not sure if it is the same owner as the one I went to above.)
144 E. Broadway (b/w East Broadway & Pike St.)
New York, NY 10002
(212)566-6933

Eating in Brooklyn: Yun Nan Flavor Snack

Levity and warmth for a cold winter night from a hole in the wall in Sunset Park. That is what I wanted. I had read about every imaginable description of Yun Nan Flavor Snack and spent all of Saturday craving its spicy soups, which I had not tried yet. I bullied Brian into not cooking and taking the D train with me.

The food comes from Yunnan province, one of the most ethnically diverse regions in China and therefore hard to generalize. We had the pork dumplings swimming in a hot and sour broth - GAD. They were the perfect anti-freeze for the bones ($4.25). The rice noodle soup with a spicy meat sauce had Sichuan peppercorns and cilantro garnish and was also very good. Is there a better feeling than walking out of a restaurant with a burned tongue, tingling lips and MSG thirst? No, sir.

For more Yunnan info, Francis Lam from Gourmet has a travel diary here.

 

Yun Nan Flavor Snack
774 49th St. @ 8th Ave  ( D or M to Fort Hamilton Pkwy.)
Brooklyn, NY 11220
718-633-3090