Hand pulled noodles

Hi,

How do you know you have been served them?

At Katy's their noodles have a nice chew and their noodles have a bit of a crinkle texture.

I was somewhere else claiming they offer hand pulled noodles. They had a nice uniform spaghetti shape to it and not especially chewy. I was skeptical, kept inquiring if I really had hand pulled noodles in my soup. I was assured these noodles were hand pulled. I had my doubts, though I didn't feel confident to suggest they were bluffing.

How do you know you have the real McCoy?

Regards,

I can't believe you haven't gotten a reply. Where are all the hand pulled Chinese noodle experts when you need them?

razbry wrote:I can't believe you haven't gotten a reply. Where are all the hand pulled Chinese noodle experts when you need them?

I think when I link a picture, the comments will flow. My query was a bit abstract without any picture to understand why I am dubious. Plus everyone, including myself, are a bit distracted with the holidays.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:How do you know you have been served them?

At Katy's their noodles have a nice chew and their noodles have a bit of a crinkle texture.

I was somewhere else claiming they offer hand pulled noodles. They had a nice uniform spaghetti shape to it and not especially chewy. I was skeptical, kept inquiring if I really had hand pulled noodles in my soup. I was assured these noodles were hand pulled. I had my doubts, though I didn't feel confident to suggest they were bluffing.

How do you know you have the real McCoy?

I would do the same as you: ask. If you expect all hand pulled noodles around Chicago to be the same as Katy's, you're going to be disappointed. Lu's in Glen Ellyn (it moved to Wheaton since my visit) is a case in point. They prominently mention hand pulled noodles in some of their soups (as I understand, zha jiang mian is the only other dish featuring hand pulled noodles).



Here are a couple shots of their noodles in niu rou mian (listed as Taiwan Style Beef Noodle Soup).





And here's the zha jiang mian (before mixing).



At a glance, these noodles could be mistaken for overcooked Creamette spaghetti. I thought they were quite good though, but not Katy's-good. I'd describe them as more springy than chewy like Katy's (many varieties of wheat noodles are found in China). Because of the striking uniformity of Lu's noodles, we asked our server if the noodles were indeed pulled by hand. She said yes without any hesitation and we believed her. I would recommend both dishes at Lu's, at least the versions I ate a year ago in Glen Ellyn.

Lu's Sushi and Chinese
was at:
579 Roosevelt Rd
Glen Ellyn IL
now at:
2001 S Naperville Rd
Wheaton IL
630-858-2006
http://lussushiandchinese.com/

Hi,

Low and behold, I was at Lu's new location in Wheaton. I ordered the Taiwan style Beef Noodle Soup as well. I probably asked several members of the staff, as they passed the table, if these were truly hand pulled noodles. They affirmed they were, though visually they did look like overcooked spaghetti. The texture was far better and more firm than cafeteria-style overcooked spaghetti.

I admit I am pleased you had a similar experience wondering if you had hand pulled noodles, too. My experience range with hand pulled noodles was Katy's and a few other places who made similar. It's cool to encounter a new variant, now I will appreciate it more on my next visit.

I made this video clip of a hand pulled noodle demonstration in Washington, D.C.



Thanks!

Regards,

I checked out Lu's Sushi and Chinese in strip mall Wheaton last week for a bowl of their Taiwanese beef noodle soup.

Rene G wrote:At a glance, these noodles could be mistaken for overcooked Creamette spaghetti.

Unfortunately on this visit, they had more than just a visual resemblance to over-cooked spaghetti.

I quite enjoyed the other components though. The broth was complex and rich, fortified with perhaps a bit of tomato. It had a slight sweet sour aspect as well as a "red cooked" note that must have been soy sauce and five spice. Abundant thick and tender chunks of brisket also had a red cooked character. This was the most vegetal-heavy bowl of beef noodle soup I've sampled as well, with lots of bok choy and two kinds of pickles.

In their marketing they use an image of a guy hand pulling noodles. They had an extruder-like quality to me. Maybe they were mis-managed (over cooked) in this bowl. It was a filling and tasty-enough lunch just around the corner from me, so I will be back.

Next stop, Naperville H-Mart.

Lu's Sushi and Chinese
2001 S Naperville Rd
Wheaton IL
630-858-2006

Ken Albala has book coming out in January called Noodle Soup: Recipes, Techniques, Obsession

Via his facebook page, he has been posting his noodle experiments leading up to this book. This is a video on homemade hand pulled noodles:



Regards,
Cathy2

Thanks Cathy. I really enjoyed the video. Watching his noodles effortlessly stretch was magical to me. I'm excited to try making my own noodles now.