Chinese noodles: Seeking advice

I'm working on a story for Chinese New Year's about Chinese noodles - the lore, the varieties, how to eat them, recipes, where to buy, etc., and was hoping some of you LTHF'ers could help guide me through it here in the Chicago area. I am particularly interested in interviewing someone who makes hand-pulled noodles, but anyone else with good noodle dishes would be welcome, too. Please let me know if you have any ideas beyond what's been posted on the boards.

Many thanks in advance,
Bill Daley
Chicago Tribune

Katy's Dumpling House
665 N. Cass Avenue
Westmont, IL 60559

Excellent hand-pulled noodles in soup, and stirfried preparations. Also, Katy's is an LTH GNR.

Flip

Just a suggestion:
I'm a big hound for Chow Fun noodles. The super thick ones that I can't find in any Asian grocers. I think I may have heard or read somewhere, that these are always hand made, but I just don't buy it - seeing as how many of the Chinese resto's use so many shortcuts when it comes to ingredients. I also have a Chinese resto I go to for these things, and they always seem to be far too uniform in size to be hand made. So anyway, I guess I'd suggest a portion of your story on Chow Fun noodles. They are on pretty much every menu, but some use the thin broad noodles, while others use the ones I'm talking about - the super thick and chewy ones.

P.S. Lo Mein noodles are my second favorite - if that matters.

Seebee, did you check the markets on Argyle. I'm certain I've seen thick chow fun noodles there, some plain and some studded with minced scallion?
thank you both for weighing in.
Bill Daley
Chicago Tribune

I'll second Flip's recommendation for Katy's in Westmont. As far as I know, they are the only place hand making noodles in Chicagoland. There may be a bit of a language barrier, but it's a great place to check out and one of the owners (Katy) actually does speak English, although she's not around very much during the day.

Just to throw my two cents in, a couple of spots I love for Chinese noodles are: 1) Sun Wah, and 2) "Little" Three Happiness. I'll refer to G Wiv's beautiful pictures of these dishes.

Here's a picture (scroll down a bit) of the pan fried noodles at Sun Wah, which are very thin and I particularly love them crispy, with some nice charred spots for a toasty flavor.

And here's a picture of the pan fried noodles (pictured plain here) at "Little" Three Happiness, which when ordered crispy are one of the best treats in town.