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| - I've lived in and traveled around China long enough to have developed a deep craving for beef noodle soup, and this place hits the spot. Amazingly delicious food can be found in the skeeziest looking shops over there. Most places, families live in the same run down shack as their "restaurant"; so you'll often find the owners' socks and undies drying in the bathroom. You'll be faced with a few basic tables with creaky little stools, a menu board on the wall, and not much else. It takes some getting used to, but I've now come to associate the dumpiest looking shacks with the promise of the most soulfoul food. Noodle Pot is not terribly dumpy, but it does have that basic noodle hut vibe. It's tiny and simple. The menu offerings are narrow. And the soup is hearty and plentiful. Eight bucks will get you a very substantial bowl of tender beef and noodles with the ubiquitous bok choy. Make sure to doctor it up with plenty of whatever is in the jars and bottles on the table (most likely dark vinegar, soy sauce, and chili paste). Then say so long, tuck in and disappear. The flavors are deep and satisfying, right on the money. One senses that many hours have gone into the rich broth and meltingly tender beef. The noodles don't appear to be hand made, as they lack the characteristic tenderness and touthsomeness. These are fine, but they don't make the dish which is all about the beef and the broth. Rather disappointing was the cold cucumber dish I ordered. In China the crushed cucumber dish is about as standard a way to begin a meal as the bread basket is in the west. Over there you will get fresh chunks of crunchy cukes dressed lightly with rice vinegar, and often accompanied by peanuts. Cold, crunchy, salty, a bit of sour--it's a freakishly addictive way to begin a meal. The one I received at Noodle Pot was a sad, pale version of the standard. The cucumbers were soft and wilted, with almost no crunch or flavor. They had clearly sat too long and should not have been served.
Service is a non-issue in a joint like this. The gals take your order, bring your food and largely ignore you unless you flag them down. This is the norm in China, where you have to shout at the servers to get their attention. It isn't considered rude for them to ignore you, or for you to holler across the room at them. It's all business here; you come in, sit down, order your dishes, and start slurping. The evening I came in plenty of folks were crowded around the tables, hunched over, slurping away. It's exactly how it should be in place like this, and its why I'll be back.
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