The Handpulled Noodle

Tremendous. My favorite is the traditional stir fry with ding noodles. Order extra spicy at your own risk.

Delighted to find this little gem between Harlem and Washington Heights! It’s a little cramped, so better for take outs but the handpulled noodles were de-​licious – very similar in taste to Korean sujebi (). Also, most restaurant broths will leave me feeling bloated and heavy but the soup here wasn’t too salty or overloaded with MSG so I felt great after.
Excited to come back!

No BS tasty food that’s crave worthy and not hard on the pocket. Beef/​Daikon Pork Chive are standout dumplings (careful though the chive is very pungent and not for the faint hearted, they don’t hold back).
Ding Ding is a fave and the teas are good too.
What else do you want really? No Brainer.

Really yummy noodles and delicious tea! Busy at lunchtime so go off-​peak for a leisurely late lunch.

On the recommendation from an insufferably opinionated foodie friend of mine, I made a side trip up to try out this place. My only other point of reference for a similar cuisine is Xi’an Famous foods and I much prefer what I had here. It was far less oily and just generally higher quality.
The dumplings were the real star though, they were big and juicy and packed a ton of flavor, I tried the Chicken Shiitake and the Pork & Chive (not for the faint hearted as the chives are super pungent which I love but some may not).
Was definitely worth the trip.
I imagine it gets busy during dinner time and the space is very small so def come for lunch if you don’t want a long wait time.

I’ve been wanting to try this place ever since I found out about it. Today I decided to do delivery. My god what a bad choice. I ordered around 8:30 and the food got here at 10:13. That is ridiculous ! The only reason this is 4 star review is because hands down this is some of the best food I’ve had from around the area in a while it’s soooo good! Absolutely delicious. Don’t get delivery do take-​out or dine in.

I came here with my fiancé after debating between this restaurant and Xi’an Famous Foods on 102^nd which is closer to where we live. We thought it better to skip Xi’an bc there’s always a crowd and their crowd meter said they were very busy tonight.
I am so glad that we checked this restaurant out. Everything was delicious! The restaurant is much cooler looking with great décor and cleaner spaces. The staff was really helpful and nice and brought our food out to us bc we were eating in the restaurant (yes, there was seating! It’s limited and I imagine a lot of people order delivery for this reason). Some people might think the food isn’t as great a deal bc it’s slightly more expensive than Xi’an but I think it’s negligible and the quality is great. High quality over quantity I say!
We ordered and shared the spicy tingling lamb soup with wide noodles (amazing), the scallion pancakes (solid and delicious with crispy exterior), pork and chives dumplings (pan fried but better than any of Xi’an’s dumplings) and my favorite thing ever – the stewed pork slider. Get it. You won’t be disappointed. My fiancé called it a winner.
I’m definitely coming back. A++

«I like my noodle pulled»
This place is my top five spots to go to when I need my noodle fix. This place is located on the west side of Harlem and this is the one of the many stores that is electrifying the area as well as changing the dynamic of Harlem as we speak! Literally when you walk in its a small store front with little seats but everyone welcomes you with a smile and you can smell and visually see the noodles being pulled, rubbed, and soaked on to give you that excellent taste in your mouth!
«Types of noodles»
Well the different types of noodles that they make are ribbon, lagman (my favorite), and rice ribbon there’s a few more but I’ll be sure to mention it in my revisited reviews. They all have different types of meat from beef, chicken, and if you are vegan they have plenty of vegan inspired dishes to choose from. They also have plenty of spices they do offer. Literally the very spiciest you can take can really blow your taste buds out the window if you are not prepared for that! So I recommend to try mild first and work your way up! (I usually order mine to the hottest spice possible for some reason I taste everything better.
«Overall»
Come here, with lots of friends, tell your family, maybe get some food here for your dog or cat because this place isn’t going anywhere! It might just become a landmark cause it’s that good!

Really similar to Xian in my opinion. I got the ribbon noodles in spicy cumin lamb ($ 10), Chrysantem tea ($ 3) and pork and chive dumpings ($ 5.5). The noodles had a good taste to it. It had a good amount of sauce and was covered with sliced cucumber, green onions and cilantro. I had ordered it in medium and initially thought it wasn’t spicy enough so had some of the chili added in. Basically, don’t be fooled it gets spicy the more you eat it. The noodles were delicious especially because I love the thick wide noodles. I also really liked the lamb in the noodle. The pork and chive dumpling was small but cooked well. It came with six dumplings in a serving but they were all perfectly fried and had some soup inside. The restaurant itself is small but comfortable.

Everyone is comparing this place to Xian’s Famous Food, and yes I can must also agree: it is closely comparable. Their spicy cumin lamb is full of flavor and the spice gives it the perfect kick. You have the choice of changing up the spice level so you can choose accordingly. Another plus here is the fact that they have different types of noodes you can choose: ding ding noodle, rice noodle or lagman noodle. Also for those of you who do not want any level of spicy, you have to try their beijing bolognese. It is fantastic. Do note this, their noodles do not taste the same when it’s delivered (it’s cold and stuck together, making it nearly impossible to mix). So please skip the delivery option if possible.

SO GOOD. Even better than Xi’an’s Famous Foods, I think. Portions are huge and noodles can definitely be shared. Be warned: spicy means spicy, so when they ask what level I want, I pick the lowest (still spicy enough for me). I had the spicy cumin lamb ribbon noodles and my roommate had the beef ribbon noodles. Finally, the pancake is delicious and makes a great starter, and again, is perfect to share. Cool little place to eat in, though seating is limited. Also, free cucumber water!
Edit ¹²⁄₂₀₁₅: returned and (smartly) shared noodles this time. Had the ribbon with chicken stir fry — I do prefer the lamb but this was awesome, too. I will say skip the dumplings — they’re average and not worth it. Stick to the noodles!

One of my friends highly recommended this place when we were thinking of places to eat in Harlem. I was immediately drawn in by the name as I love my asian noodles and I’m always down to try new asian restaurants!
We got there right smack at dinner time on a Saturday night. The place was packed! I didn’t expect it to be such a «hole in the wall» spot, and there were less than 10 seats in the store. Definitely not a place to go to with a larger group. Most people who came by got their orders to go.
When we got to the front of the line, the cashier told us that it was going to be a roughly 40 minute wait just to get our food (even if we were getting it to go). We told him that we were fine with that and that we would chill at the bar next door for 40 minutes while we waited for our food to be done. 30 minutes later, we were SO pleasantly surprised when the cashier actually came to the bar to inform us that our food was ready to be picked up. Talk about excellent service and initiative! Very impressive!
My favorite dish for the night was the traditional stir fry with seitan, medium spice. It was significantly more flavorful than the spicy cumin seitan. For the noodles, I liked the lagman noodles the best. I really did not enjoy the ding ding noodles as it was too chewy for my liking (however, you might like it if you like Korean rice cakes — they have the same consistency).
Overall, the food here is generally good (some dishes are better than others). I like the selection they have, especially in terms of being able to choose the type of noodles. It is also a plus that they are very vegetarian friendly and actually offer seitan as a choice of protein! I would say that this is a solid Chinese noodle restaurant. Even though I don’t live on the west side anymore, I would gladly make the crosstown trip and head uptown just to eat here again.

BEST.HANDPULLED.NOODLE EVER!!!
This place takes your typical Chinese take-​out place and hits it out of the park! And NO, it’s not ramen (*rolls eyes*)!! This is the traditional Chinese noodle that is hand pulled. ALL the noodle dishes are delicious here. They go pretty hardcore on the spicy, so consider yourselves being warned. The restaurant fits roughly 8 people at a time, but I never had to wait for a table since most people came in for take out. The portion size is generous for the price, and reheats beautifully in the good ol’ microwave. The only slightly annoying thing is that they don’t deliver over 10 blocks. Hopefully that’ll change soon. A solid 4.5 Star review!

Amazing treasure of a spot in Harlem! It’s a tiny spot, with some stool seating. But the interior decorations are trendy, clean, and comfortable. Just don’t expect to bring your posse of 6 friends and all get guaranteed seating.
We got the Lagman noodles with beef stirfry and veggies, which the nice register lady recommended. SUPER delicious, huge portions, and they actually know how to make things spicy! You can choose between Mild, Medium, and Hot.
Can’t wait to come back and try the dumplings and scallion pancake. It’s awesome that this place is open late as well.
1 portion of the $ 10 noodles is a great deal, perfect for a huge appetite or to share/​save leftovers.

Disappointing.
Finding ourselves on this side of Harlem, and lured by the high rating on Unilocal,we had lunch here on a Halloween Saturday.
Tucked inside a former barbershop, this place doesn’t have much going on for décor and ambiance, but who cares when this is probably your only option for hand-​pulled noodles in Harlem, right?
We tried a fews dishes:
— The beef and daikon dumplings are ok. Also, at $ 5 for 6, they’re kind of pricey.
— The pork belly baozi were the best dish we had: nice and fluffy, tasty, and a reasonable $ 4 for 2.
— The ribbon noodle with cumin lamb was a disappointment. The lamb seemed more like an afterthought than anything else, since the bits of lamb were rather sparse. The noodles themselves were simply bad: not chewy at all, they soon clumped together and broke into little pieces.
— The Dapanji ribbon noodles with chicken suffered from the same issues; the potato pieces were what I liked the most of this dish.
All ingredients in the noodle dishes were certainly very fresh, but neither dish had much flavor. At $ 10, these noodle dishes just don’t cut it. To put things in perspective: Xi’an Famous Foods serves similar dishes that pack flavor and cost around $ 7.5. Many places in Chinatown will serve you a much better hand-​pulled noodle dish at around $ 6−7[1]. Also, since this place is rather bare and dishes are served in plastic takeout containers, it’s not that you’re paying extra for décor: you’re just paying more for sub-​par food.
Service is fine; there appears to be only one person who works the counter and brings dishes to seating customers[2]. I like the fact that you can recycle all the plastic.
Sorry, Handpulled Noodle; I really wanted to like you. You’re like a date your friends really recommended: you’re all pumped-​up for the date, and it ends up being a disappointment. Let’s just shake hands and go our separate ways.
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[1] Here’s a list:
[2] In other words: be patient.

Came by for a quick brunch before my boyfriend headed off to work today!
This little noodle place is easily missed since the area outdoor is very rustic on simple on the outside!
We were somewhat in a rush, so I only got a glance at the menu. From that glance it appears that they have 3 types of traditional Chinese noodles. Ding ding (from my Chinese knowledge I think is dough shaved with knives), Ribbon Noodles — Ribbon shaped noodles, and Lagman which is basic regular noodles.
They also have a 3 types of dumplings that look interesting because I never seen beef and daikon dumplings before, but I might try it another day.
The Order
— Ribbon Noodle with Traditional Lamb
— Lagman Noodle with Traditional Beef Stew
— Lychee Pekoe Black Tea
— Scallion Pancake
— Pork and Chive Dumplings
The food is served in plastic togo containers which was perfect for us since we were not able to finish the food. Pop the plastic top on ask for a bag and your ready to go!
My boyfriend really enjoyed his Traditional Lamb which came with a bunch of veggies mixed into it.
The traditional beef soup was yummy too! Although I would have liked more salt in mine, it has the flavors of the peppers and the spiciness from the peppers. The beef was delicious and tender.
Dumplings were pan fried. Not my favorite thing at the moment, but it was good.
Scallion pancake I didn’t try it yet because it was on the other side of the table (my boyfriend literally picked it up and took it with him when we switched chairs). However it smelled and looked good.
The Lychee Pekoe Black Tea is interesting. It is served in a sealed cup chilled with no ice, so no worries about it being watered down. When you sip the tea the lychee flavor hits you without too much sweetness however it ends with a very mild subtle after taste. On the label of the drink it says they use Ceylon Orange Pekoe Tea. Orange Pekoe refers to the grade of the black tea, not the flavor, so it wont taste like oranges (I looked it up because I was curious!). Ceylon is a very light and crisp black tea. I can’t decide if I like it or not.
If you had to compare, it is definitely similar to Xian’s but with a hipper joint, bigger portions, and slightly high prices.
Overall the food is delicious and we had a great time. We felt great after our tasty meal without feeling unhealthy or food coma! We definitely will be coming back to try other items. This will probably be my new stop for my local spicy noodle grubbing needs!

What the hell ya’ll.
I kind of get it. I used to live on 135^th St. and it’s sort of a wasteland for good Asian food and possibly good food in general but 4 stars? I don’t see it.
It’s pretty cutely decorated and the service is very friendly (though a little slow with just one person acting as front of house) but the food is atrocious!
I’d like to think I’m kind of a hand pulled noodle aficionado given my peoples invented these suckers and you can find me most weekends (and even weekdays) with a steaming bowl of noodles of some sort in front of me. These noodles were B. A. D.
«What’s wrong with them?» you ask.
1. Mushy. Eating them was like trying to eat that paste they gave you in film canisters when you were in elementary school*. Either they were overcooked or this was some sort of disturbing gluten-​free version of hand pulled noodles. Regardless, total yuck.
2. Flavor. The Hubs got the cumin lamb noodles (medium spicy) and I got the Dapanji^ (high spicy). Both smelled and looked a lot better than they tasted. I did like the potatoes in my dish.
3. Meat. I think there was supposed to be more than a speckling of it. Seemed more like a seasoning in the lamb dish than an actual ingredient. My chicken dish was mostly bones. I don’t mind bones but I would also like some actual meat.
4. Presentation. Look, I get having actual bowls requires washing and all that but I hate how wasteful we have become with all this plastic.º Yes, more expensive but that takes me to #5.
5. Price. $ 10 for noodles is pretty steep. I regularly go to Xian Famous Food in Midtown and their noodles are cheaper (and better). I’m also fairly certain their rent is more expensive and they have actual room for eating.
6. Comfort. Yes, it would be nice not to be elbowed continuously while I eat because we needed to cram 12 people in a room made for 8. Consider making this take out only?
Other things we tried:
— Beef & Daikon Dumplings ($ 5 for 6). They were quite small and did not taste at all of daikon. Every single one was ruptured and the juices had leaked out. Not sure how these won that «best dumplings» award in the photos… bribery, corruption, and crime run rampant in NYC, I guess. Also, $ 5 for 6? Have you heard of Vanessa’s Dumplings? Go there instead.
— Beer Belly Baozi ($ 4 for 2). These were possibly the best thing ordered.
So, in the course of this review, I have mentioned at least 3 places that are better than here. There is absolutely no reason to make the shlep up to Harlem just for these mediocre noodles but if you’re a drunken Ivy League college kid (still not sure why you’d be up in Harlem), I guess they’ll do.
Maybe.
Really drunk.
— — –
* Totally just dated myself. The 80’s were great, damnit.
^ Big Tray of Chicken for you Spicy Village lovers. Go there instead.
º Yes, I have heard the debate about washing vs. disposable. I side with washing.

I like my noodle pulled just like any other Tom, Dick and Harry so I was surprised to find this little gem in my neighborhood. I almost ding dang my pants (ding dang is a noodle).
Right of the bat I knew this place would be a hit, since it’s located right next to two local and happening bars! Major points!
I almost always get the scallion pancakes (vegan fyi), and they are always perfect every time. It has the right amounts of crispy, flavor and enough sodium for my buds!
Now my favorite noodles are the ribbon site fry with veggies and seitan. As others have noted they can adjust the heat. I would come up with a scale of hotness but I don’t want to offend anyone here!
Overall although your dish takes some time in the back, it is worth the weight! I mean wait. One order is enough for two people but it doesn’t stop me from eating it all.
Thanks for pulling my noodle the right way :)

Cute storefront restaurant offering fresh Chinese noodle and dumpling dishes.
Vegetarian friendly! I ordered their spicy cumin seitan with lagman noodle. Usually I can handle spice well, but their «medium» was way too hot for me (thankfully the tasty chrysanthemum tea I ordered helped cool me off). The noodles had a beautiful texture and the cumin and fresh herb sauce was amazing, but next time I go I will definitely be choosing mild!
A heads up: there’s only a handful of stools if you’re planning on sitting. Their menu is as petite as their dining area in that they pretty much only offer noodles, salad and dumplings. However, the unique combination of the ingredients in their dishes will make ordering a hard decision.
I have never seen a Chinese restaurant with a menu such as theirs, so that alone makes it totally worth visiting. But paired with the incentive of 10% off with a check-​in, now you know you gotta try it!

One of the benefits about having Unilocal friends is seeing their check-​ins and knowing which place they frequent. (The downside is that they can pay you a «surprise visit» which may come off as creepy. …yea, no thanks) Anywhoo, while creepin on Michael W’s check-​ins, I noticed that at least once a week, if not more, he’ll check-​in to The Handpulled Noodle spot. I was curious to see the location and saw that it was quite a trek, I’ll never be in that area anyways. Turns out, I was wrong.
A few Unilocalers and I, had a SundayFunday outing, doing various activities including dining at The Handpulled Noodle. I was glad that I was able to try this spot because I didn’t know how long we were going to be hanging in the area.
I shared the spicy cumin lamb with the ribbon noodle dish. I was concerned about the spiciness because my eating partner isn’t too fond of spicy foods. The cashier said we were able to adjust the spiciness. I asked for it to be light to medium. It was very tasty and the level of spiciness was perfect. The noodles had a nice chewy, tender bite to it. The lamb didn’t have that pungent lamb taste. I was actually sad that this place was soo far away. They also have a self-​serve cooler filled with water and cucumbers. Well, I couldn’t see any cucumbers but I definitely tasted it in the water which is different. Not many establishments, if any, serve cucumber steeped water.
Overall, I wouldn’t mind making that 1.25 hr trek from bk to get some fresh handpulled noodles.

Mientras pasaba para recoger una pizza, de repente encontraba este restaurante diciendo en chino «pasta Lanzhou.» El día siguiente con mi amigo fuimos a ver.
El restaurante es pequeño pero lleno de un rico olor chino. Hay sillas y en las paredes hay banquetes. Algunas decoraciones chinas (periódicos en la pared derecha) y la insignia del restaurante (en la pared izquierda). Puedes ver la cocina: todo limpiecito.
En China los chefs tienen un calderón de metal con alta flama, un caldo hirviendo. Mientras hierva el caldo los chefs jalan la masa para formar los noodles, y luego los echan por unos minutos en el caldo. Al salir del caldo al plato, son bien tiernitos y suavecitos. ¡Su sabor es genial!
Los noodles aquí son un poquito más gruesos que otros (como el chow mein) y son típicos de la provincia noroeste Xinjiang. Pero ya sea en un caldo o en un plato, sabor es excelente. Puedes pedir picante o no, eliges tu carne (pollo, res, borrego), y si lo quieres en un caldo o no. Estos son los típicos noodles Lanzhou.
Hay otros platos como Liang Pi (noodles fríos), boloñesa pekinés, dumplings, o hotcake de cebolleta. Y si estás en el restaurante hay salsa picante, palillos, y agua de pepino gratuita…
Un consejo: no te los lleves a casa. Salen directamente del calderón y luego si están en recipientes luego se pegan después de algunos minutos y pierden un poco de sabor. ¡Cómetelos allá!
Con certeza sé que es comida auténtica china. ¡No se confundan que hay americanos cocinando! Ellos han sido entrenados por el dueño, un chef chino. Mi segunda vez llevé mi amiga china aquí y me dijo que sí la comida es auténtica. Les prometo que sí van a volver aquí a The Hand-​Pulled Noodle. Yo sí volví. No te preguntes: ¡vuelve y/​o ve a comer!