Your favorite asian soup or noodle soup

[olivexjina]

Looking for some excellent asian soups or noodle soup recommendations. What's your favorite and from where? (no pho, tried heavy noodling- not a fan, shinsengumi for ramen was just okay,planning on trying daikokuya soon- I know this messageboard loves the place...oh and preferrably in the L.A. area please...thank you in advance!)

[marlie202]

Thai tom yum gai--chicken, chilis,lemongrass and coconut milk--I'm here on the East Coast--but am sure if you ask for it at a Thai restaurant you will be able to locate it..if not have it here if you travel here for any reason-

[rameniac]

are we talking ramen or japanese udon/soba here? =P

if not, i do like:

pho (add beef balls) at golden deli

pho with golden brisket (add beef balls) at pho 79 on garfield in alhambra

the good old standby sam woo wonton roast duck noodles at their location on valley in alhambra

the beef and beef ball soup with pho noodles at the chiu chow fish ball place in chinatown (forget the name)

beef ball soup with flat noodles at sanamluang in hollywood

moral of the story:

i guess i just like beef balls lol...

[MeowMixx]

lol. I always add the beef balls to my pho. I thought I was the only one who liked them. Good to know!

[ladius]

try yook gae jang, it's the other spicy Korean soup (of many) besides soon doo boo. it's got shredded beef, green onions, egg and glass noodles. usually, you dump some rice in it and eat it all together.

one place that served this dish well was Woo Lae Oak in K-town on Western just north of Wilshire. Unfortunately, that place is closed due to the owners building a mixed-use development on that site. but there are plenty of good restaurants around that offer it. on a cold day, it hits the spot.

[bulavinaka]

Just read a blog about the closing of Kuala Lumpur in Old Town Pasadena... Any curry laksa and won ton min from the hawker stalls in Kuala Lumpur...

[Neta]

Kingkong, are you talking about the Sam Woo on Valley Blvd. in Alhambra? I've never been there but always thought it was strictly take out. Is it also dine in? Thanx

[kingkong5]

My favorite noodle soup is the Shui Kao noodle soup from Sam Woo. They also make won tons, but the shui kao are so much better! Shui kao includes shrimp, mushrooms and some sesame oil. A big bowl of 5 or 6 shui kao and noodles w/broth cost $3.75, which is an amazing bargain for lunch. Whenever you get the choice between won tons and shui kao, I say go for the shui kao.

[Reeter1]

Oh God, YES, I second this! That soup is divine. It's my old aunties' favorite too.

And for Neta, yes you can eat there. It's a small restaurant -- maybe only 12 tables -- just a neighborhood joint, very casual. Get some duck to take home at the deli counter!

[judge dee]

Wonton noodle soup with beef and beef tendon at Sam Woo in SGV.

[judge dee]

Clarification. I've tried wonton noodle at several Sam Woo BBQ (not Sam Woo Seafood) locations - Garvey in Montery Park, Valley in Alhambra, and Broadway in Chinatown, but the dish at Sam Woo in the San Gabriel Square is the best by far.

[Xericx]

had some awesome abalone congee at Sam Woo's today.

[monku]

Call me old fashion...I appreciate the Wor Wonton soup(load it up with those crispy chow mein noodles) at Paul's Kitchen in downton LA.

When you go to Daikokuya make sure you order your ramen "kotteri" style which is the extra rich pork broth.

http://www.daikoku-ten.com/

[Jerome]

I guess we're talking EAST Asian here...
lately, my faves have been two soups at Happy Family Vegetarian, recently moved to Monterey park from two blocks away in Alhambra.
1. The Monkey head mushroom soup (on chalk board, not the menu - houtougu tang). A tureen for the table costs $20.

2. The lily flower/enoki mushroom (jinzhengu tang) soup. Same place. Pure deliciousness.

Other soups -
101 noodle express has a tasty soup that no one gets because everything else there is so good. I think it's the only soup on the menu.

I love the straight Ma Lan lamb soup w noodles, but more for the noodles than anything else - hacienda bvld, hacienda heights.

If you're in for the mother of all soups (thank you saddam), pre-order the WHOLE WINTER MELON soup at Empress pavilion. Will feed eight easily. Served in a flash gordon spaceship tureen with the whole winter melon. Very lightand tasty. Worth the price - about $60.

For the ur-grandmother of all soup/stews, pre-order the Buddha Jumps the Wall at Foochow restaurant in Chinatown. Feeds 10. Three days needed for preparation. Costs about $350. Not to everyone's taste.

Fora cheaper special experience, go to 888 seafood in rosemead for dinner. Get the individual servings of the 24 hour cooked medicinal herb soups, turtle, black-bone chicken (wugu ji) etc. One serving per person. Loaded with ginseng and astragalus and gouqizi (fructus lycii) and chinese angelica (danggui?) and stuff. Stay with the broth. Eat the meat sparingly and if you have a sensitive stomach, don't eat the herbs; realize that most of the benefit of the herbs will be in the broth.

have fun.

[manders]

The Pho at the Place just off the 5 at El Toro is amazing, but try to avoid the lunch rush.

[JAB]

Please elaborate on this place. Name, address directions?

[manders]

JAB,If you are asking me about the Pho off the 5 at El toro, I don't know the name, but take the LAKE FOREST Exit (Sorry wrong exit in last post.) and it is in the shopping center Where, dare I say it the "Black Angus" is. It is right next door to the Gold's Gym. There is a wierd night club in there called I think Koloa's or something. You can't miss it. It is the end suite. But worth the search. I think I called 411 once for it and just asked for "Pho" on Lake Forest. Sorry I can't be of more help. If you were asking me. I am going next week and will post the address and info then.

[JAB]

Yes, thank you for the clarification. I couldn't for the life of me think of anyplace off of El Toro. I will have to try the place that you mention off of Lake Forest. It would be great to have good Pho so close.

[JAB]

I finally tried this place today and was more than pleased considering how close it is to home.

[kingkong5]

The place is called Pho Bo Vang, and is indeed across the parking lot from the Black Angus. When I lived in Laguna Hills it was a good place to go if you wanted to avoid the long drive to Little Saigon. But if driving distance wasn't a concern, I would rather get it from the Westminster area.

Also try their Pho Ap Chao (stir fried rice noodles with meat and vegetables) as a tasty alternative to the soup. It's quite good there.

[JAB]

I didn't see Pho Ap Chao on the menu. Is this something that you ordered off of the menu?

[manders]

I am thrilled you liked it. I am going to head there today as it's been a while!

[wilp]

A great hot and sour soup at Chens on Broadway and Cherry in Long Beach.

[slacker]

Spicey Beef Stew Noodle Soup at Mandarin Deli. The broth is rich and flavorful, just the right amount of fat noodles (you can get it with bean thread instead), and fall apart beef stew.

[ipsedixit]

The "sea turtle" soup at SEAFOOD HARBOUR

Fishball soup at DUMPLING 10053

[willtravel4food]

My favorite is Tom Yung Kung. There are two mom and pop Thai restaurants that I thought had excellent food. I always forget names but remember locations.

The first is on Glendale Blvd. just south of Temple near downtown L.A. I think it's called Bangkok Express. There is a Thai spa across the street.

The second is on the corner of Western and Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood. It used to be a hot dog stand and still has a hot dog ornament on the roof. I recently discovered that there were hiking trails in Griffith park just about 1/2 mile north of this restaurant. I've gone hiking in the morning (seeing incredible views of the entire L.A. basin and on a clear day you can see the ocean as well). After hiking down, we would stop at this Thai restaurant for their $4.95 lunch specials.

[broncosaurus]

Boat noodles at Sapp Coffeehouse.

[WildSwede]

Agreed! Just make sure that you order the one with the fillings you want - or you can be surprised!

[slacker]

I don't get those boat noodles nor Sapp. That broth is so oversalted you can't taste any other flavor. And Sapp is one sad little place.

[sel]

Been a couple of times and boat noodle soup was not salty at all. It was however, packed with a lot of delicious flavor!

[WBGuy]

Ord Noodle has a better version of boat noodles. I used to go to Sapp for boat noodles, but now I will go to Ord. Moreover this place stays open until 11pm, and they also serve their noodles in a SMALL size, which is closer to the size of the portions I used to get in Thailand.

[Bon Vivant]

My favorite at this time is the stewed pork soup noodles at Luscioud Dumpling. The beef tendon with hot & sour sauce is good too. See pix below:

http://myculinaryadventures.blogspot....

[chica]

I like Korean tofu soups. Steamy, filled with your choice of meats and vegetables, and other pickled foods on the side. Koreatown, SGV, Arcadia have several places that serve them. In Arcadia, there is one on Baldwin and Huntington, and in SGV, there is one in the albertsons plaza off Las Tunas.

People also flock to that noodle place in front of Focus Plaza on Valley. Is it called Ajisen Ramen? There's an Ajisen Ramen on Las Tunas between Baldwin and Rosemead.

[MeowMixx]

Best korean tofu soup is at So Kong Dong on Olympic and Vermont, or at Beverly Soon Tofu which is right across the street

[sunmi]

i third the suggestion for korean soon doo boo.. i mean soon tofu! hmmm, meowmixx, i've never been to these locations. will have to try them when i get my next craving! olivexjina, you may also want to try bcd tofu house, they have 2 locations in koreatown, both with parking lots. i like the one on wilshire at kingsley.

[wilafur]

mmm. soondubu at beverly sure hits the spot on a cold raining day/night.

[estone888]

I like the Shanghai style soups, in particular the pork and preserved vegetable noodle soup, at J&J and Mei Long Village. I even think they're pretty good at Dumpling Master or the Mandarin Noodle House. There's a huge variety of soups, some really good, some pretty dull, to be found at Noodle Planet, Noodle World, I think there might be a Noodle Universe too - all along Valley Blvd. just west of Garfield on the south side of the street.

There used to be a great wonton noodle soup place just east of Garfield on the north side of Valley, but it seems to have disappeared.

[illewminator]

the wonton noodle soup place is called won ton time and it's still there, exactly where you said. i love it, but it's definitely a limited menu that's all about the won tons: huge won tons crammed w/ shrimp which you order w/ or w/o noodles (thin egg or thicker rice noodles), handmade fish balls (quite good), and/or negligible beef slices. you can get it in soup form or separated from the broth (which i've never quite understood the appeal... ) and add a side order of veggies. oh, and don't forget the chili oil!

[David Kahn]

My current favorite is the lamb hot pot at China Islamic (7727 Garvey Ave., Rosemead, [phone]). Tender chunks of lamb, hunks creamy tofu, and the wonderful anise/chili spice flavor are really addictive. (Plus, that bread!)

I also like the beef noodle soup at 101 Noodle Express (1408 E. Valley Blvd., Alhambra, [phone]).

[olivexjina]

Does the beef noodle soup at 101 Noodle Express have a broth similar to pho or heavy noodling? thanks for the recs!