Oodles of Noodles

1949′s got a lot of people talking about their newest additions: Club Décolleté and Club Glen (replacing 1/5 Taverna’s previous bar).  Club Décolleté is a dazzling new champagne bar with beautiful sparkling cocktails and fresh sparkling daiquiris where Club Glen is a member’s only lounge featuring premium whisky and cigars. Both venues providing a nice balance for both lovely ladies and gentlemen in each respective venue.

Aside from these two new additions, 1949-The Hidden City is also home to eateries such as 1/5 Taverna, Duck de Chine, Sugar Bar, and the quaint and cozy Noodle Bar, the smallest of 1949′s venues. With only 12 seats around the noodle station, guests quickly come and go for delicious bowls of noodles with high-quality ingredients and kung-fu chefs hand-pulling wheat noodles in front of you.

The Noodle Bar concept is quite direct – a concise menu with simple dishes, clearly specializing in big bowls of beef noodle soup (with beef brisket, beef tendon, or beef tripe), veggie dishes, and about 5 cold appetizer dishes. I recommend ordering the set menu for RMB 42 (bowl of beef brisket, tendon and tripe noodles with a small appetizer and Oolong Tea). With only 12 seats in total, this is a great spot for a quick, casual lunch with a friend or two (not more considering the limited seats).  It’s small and cozy rather than intimate and romantic. It’s not pretentious or aiming to be anything more than simply what it is: A Noodle Bar.

Noodle Bar Review: At 1949- The Hidden City. Courtyard 4, Gong Ti Bei Lu, Chaoyang District, Sanlitun. Opposite Pacific Century Place South gate. Tel: 6501-1949

Best Part:

• Delicious bowls of beef noodle soup
• Nice Set Lunch Option for RMB 42 (Combo of Beef noodles, small appetizer and tea)
• Wait isn’t long (people come, eat, and leave rather quickly)
• Cozy setting and casual atmosphere with chefs hand-pulling noodles in front of you

Comments:

• There are only 12 seats, so it’s a bit complicated to arrive with more than 2 other people and expect to sit together.
• Not really a place to sit and chat and hang out (there’s more of an ‘eat-and-leave’ mentality)

I recommend this venue as a quick, casual lunch destination for people who love oodles of noodles for a reasonable price.