Noodles Fresh
| Cuisine | Chinese |
|---|---|
| Price | $ (under 15) |
| Rating | 3/10 |
| Last Visit | April 9, 2022 |
| Location | SFBA: Berkeley + Oakland |
General Notes
A mediocre Chinese restaurant featuring noodle dishes from all across China, from Xinjiang lamb to Sichuan chili fish. VERY affordable food, though unfortunately the food doesn't really deliver. It's okay as a cheap, simple option, but I wouldn't recommend this place in general.
Positives
> Their food is VERY reasonably priced. Especially if you come for lunch -- they have a $8.95 lunch special.
> Their tea setup is pretty aesthetic -- try it for yourself. The restaurant is technically also a tea house.
Negatives
> Most of their noodle dishes feature thin rice noodles. A few use thick rice noodles or ramen wheat noodles, but they are far and in between. I definitely prefer the texture of Chinese wheat noodles over rice noodles, in most cases.
Dishes Tasted
- ★☆☆☆ 湖南酸辣粉 -- thick rice noodle with tofu puff, minced pork, pickled string bean and mustard, spicy chili, and scallion. The flavor of the broth is OK but not my favorite (though I'm slightly biased against hot/sour soup in general). My main complaint is that the noodles have absolutely no resistance / chewiness.
- ★★☆☆ Rose Tea -- Their rose tea is non-caffeinated! The aroma is lovely (relatively strong), though the tea itself is relatively bland and doesn't have that much taste.
- ☆☆☆☆ 北京炸酱面 -- ramen wheat noodle with minced pork in black bean sauce, cucumber, bean sprout. The black bean sauce was way too strong -- too salty, too sweet, and too much of that fermented acrid taste. The sauce was too viscous, overall a bit cold, and not at all savory.
- ★★★☆ Sesame Balls -- Freshly fried, nicely crispy on the exterior, perfect bite-size, and just the right ratio of red bean to everything else. I would like it to be a bit more chewy. $6 for 6 is pretty solid too.
北京炸酱面
