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| - While ramen is still all the rage these days lest one forget; noodles originated from China. One of the newest contenders to join the battle of the noodles is Noodle Face Co., located on Baldwin Street, a bold move considering Kinton Ramen is just a few doors down.
We arrived on a Thursday night around 8:30PM and the place was not super busy. They definitely didn't spend much on decor as it is quite minimalist to the point of functional, save for the large painted mural that invokes images circa the Mao Zedong era.
"Tea" is provided, (if you can consider the barely pale yellow and flavorless liquid that graces your mug that).
The menu consists of noodles, rice dishes, salads, buns and pancake rolls and on the back is a guide (with names of places in China) as to what level of spiciness you should opt for. We went for level 3 - Wuhan. I'm surprised Szechuan was nowhere to be found on the spiciness scale.
Old Beijing Style Zhajiang Mian, ??? - $9.90. Handmade noodles, shredded carrots, shredded cabbage, diced celery, diced cucumber with pork soybean paste.
While I know that the bean paste is supposed to be salty - this was way too salty. The noodles had a good texture to them but the overall dish was one-dimensional in terms of flavor (read, it was salty, the end).
Dan Dan Mian (???), $8. Noodles with ground pork, yacai, bok choy, grated garlic, bean sprout in spicy pork bone based broth with sesame sauce.
This dish originates from Szechuan, so it was no surprise that this was going to pack on some heat (but again, you can choose your level of heat). We chose level 3 (out of 5), and we thought we could've gone spicier - that was, until the spice snuck up on you after a 3 second delay and smacked you in the face. It was definitely a pleasant kind of spicy, with a bit of tang to it. The flavors reminded me of hot and sour soup. The noodles were much more al dente and the minced pork was also delicious. I preferred this to the zhajiangmian as it was more aromatic and there were many more flavors coming together. The bean sprouts were crunchy and fresh which are an added bonus. The only thing that might throw people off are the random chunks of star anise that dominate the palate as it kind of obliterates any other flavor. I would say the experience is akin to Harry Potter eating an unexpected flavored jelly bean, though star anise isn't as gross as earwax or farm dirt.
Signature Beef Pancake Roll, $8. Homemade pancake, spiced beef shank, green onion, cucumber with (choice of) hoisin sauce or mayo.
This was actually my favorite dish of the night, granted it's not exactly what you'd call a traditional beef pancake roll. The "pancake" itself wasn't even a tad chewy, but starchier like a crispy paratha (less the grease). It was stuffed full of the same vegetables that seem to be recycled in every dish (shredded cabbage, shredded carrot, diced cucumber, diced celery) and we were just served the creamy mayo sauce. It would be a refreshing wrap to go on a summer's day and there would definitely be enough for leftovers. The size compares to that of a Burrito Boyz burrito, minus the hangover.
Beef Mo, $3.50. Homemade roast bun with spiced beef shank and mayo.
In hindsight, we shouldn't have ordered this dish. It was basically the signature beef pancake, but instead of being rolled into a pancake wrap, came in the form of a bun. But it was still infinitely better than....
Rou-Jia-Mo, $3. Homemade roast bun with chopped pork, green pepper & scallions.
This was borderline inedible. The pork was so dry and had the texture akin to canned tuna. Compared to the beef mo, this one had zero fixings in the filling and zero flavor. Anything, even mayo would've helped. We all took one bite and abandoned it back to its plate.
Pork Belly on Rice, $8.50. Yacai, pickled daikon and soy sauce braised egg.
Sadly, the dish I was most looking forward to but it really disappointed (read, how do you screw up pork belly?!). This was more like bacon (though even just frying up regular strips of bacon has more flavor) marinated in Asian sauce. It was extremely greasy (which would normally be worth it if it were flavorful); though the egg was tasty and the rice was its saving grace. It's not your typical white rice, but a shorter grain rice which was more similar to the kind that would cushion the sashimi in a bowl of chirashi.
All in all, the damage was about $50 and we were stuffed. There were some real hits and some real misses. When I think of the overwhelming choices of places to get a bowl of noodles in the area, I think to myself - I probably won't be back. But then my thoughts start wandering to the delicious beef pancake roll and I think - well, maybe just for takeout.
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