Noodle & Bun: The theater of hand-pulled noodles

Noodle & Bun (770 4th Avenue) in the Gaslamp Quarter is my new favorite obsession. I love eating noodles, and now I love watching them being artfully made. Who doesn’t like dinner theater? I love learning as much as I can about food from different cultures, and noodles are my jam. Japanese ramen and Vietnamese pho are staples in my regular rotation, so when I discovered a traditional Chinese spot that serves Lanzhou Beef Noodle Soup, I was eager to give it a try. Lanzhou Beef Noodle Soup is a Chinese dish that the Japanese adapted and made their own, known as ramen. Noodle & Bun features hand-pulled noodles made to order, and I had the chance to delve into the origins of my beloved ramen – sign me up. 

The menu at Noodle & Bun offers noodles three ways, a good sign as the noodles are obviously the star of the show. The first noodle option is hand-pulled. These noodles are chewy and freshly pulled, resulting in a delicate texture. The hand-pulling is the big show you will see behind the glass when you dine at Noodle & Bun. The next option is knife-shaved. These thick, hearty noodles are hand-shaved for a rustic bite. The cooks take a block of noodle dough and shave long, thin slivers directly into boiling water. This process is impressive to watch as well. Last but not least are the wide noodles: These broad, flat noodles are perfect for soaking up rich flavors. They remind me of Italian pappardelle noodles. 

My daughter Sasha and I each ordered the hand-pulled noodles, as neither of us had experienced them before. Sasha had the Lanzhou Beef Noodle Soup, a dish originating from Lanzhou, the capital of China’s Gansu province. The soup, a significant cultural staple in the region, consists of a clear, flavorful beef broth chock-full of tender braised beef shank, vegetables, onions, cilantro, and a house-made sauce. Both Sasha and I are die-hard ramen heads, and we could both see how our beloved ramen had its origins in this traditional Chinese soup. 

I ordered the Dan Dan Noodles, a famous street food from the Sichuan province of China. The name has a fun origin story, as “dan” is the Chinese word for pole. Traditionally, street vendors used a long bamboo pole with baskets tied to each end. One basket contained the noodles while the other had sauces and toppings. The dish took on the name of the pole that transported it. The cooks topped my hand-pulled noodles with the traditional dan dan ingredients of minced pork, fresh cucumber, crushed peanuts, onions, spicy soy sauce, and Sichuan pepper, which provided a numbing kick that I could feel on my lips as I slurped them down. To be clear, the Sichuan pepper actually numbs rather than burns, which is a crazy sensation. 

We both shared the cucumber salad and the wontons in a spicy sauce. Both dishes exceeded our expectations. Sasha has asked me to figure out how to make the cucumber salad at home so she can have me pack it in her school lunches. A far cry from the PB&J I used to take to school. Sorry, Mom, no one loved your cooking more than I did, but I don’t remember exotic school lunches. I hope you choose to have an adventure and give Noodle & Bun a try. Parking downtown is terrible on a good day, and we got caught up in the new, higher meter prices due to a Padres day game. $10 an hour for a meter is insane. We discovered that Noodle & Bun has an agreement with ABM Parking Services, located right next door, offering a flat $12 rate for 3 hours.