Where for best cold noodle dishes?

[fkingford]

Nothing hits the spot in these dog days like some cold hand-made soba. What are your favorite cold noodle dishes? No holds barred; Japanese, Chinese, Thai,etc. And please give the name of the place that has the best version of your fave. August is almost upon us and man can't live by cold soba alone.

[ericyu711]

Noodle Nazi (Da Ho) in Temple City has some pretty good Taiwanese style cold noodles: sesame paste, shredded chicken, julienned vegetables, some soy and garlic. Portions are small, and it's pricey for what you get though.

Alternatively, Liang's Kitchen in San Gabriel also has pretty good Taiwanese cold noodles. Here, there's quite a bit more garlic, if you're into that. They also have a decent assortment of other Taiwanese style dishes.

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Dai Ho Restaurant
9148 Las Tunas Dr, Temple City, CA 91780

Liang's Kitchen
227 W Valley Blvd, San Gabriel, CA 91776

[fkingford]

Everything goes better with garlic as far as I'm concerned. What are the portions and prices like at Liang's?

[ericyu711]

I think it's $5 for the shredded chicken sesame paste cold noodles. A bit less without shredded chicken, but I think the textural component is worth it. Plates are ample, nothing gigantic, but definitely a good, full meal.

[pointone]

Santouka does cold noodles (hiyashi chuuka).

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Mitsuwa Marketplace
3760 S Centinela Ave, Los Angeles, CA

[fkingford]

But do you recommend it? I've had their ramen but not their cold noodles. Santouka's very convenient, just blocks from me.

[pointone]

It's a solid version of the dish (good but not the best ever), but usually when I'm at Santouka, it's hard for me to resist the siren call of the shio ramen, no matter how hot it is outside. So, I would recommend the cold noodles with the caveat that they suffer somewhat in comparison to the other things offered at Santouka. For you, it sounds like a good option if you don't feel like driving really far.

[fkingford]

You're right. Tried it yesterday and it sure hit the spot. The fact the place is so close to me wins it bonus points.

[heinous]

Sue's Kitchen is a little hole in the wall Chinese noodle joint in Torrance. They're mostly known as a beef noodle soup place, and they do a good job with that. They also have a great cold noodle dish - unfortunately, I'm not 100% sure what they call it in English. I think it's just Taiwan cold noodles or something, which makes it sound boring, but it's actually a really large portion of noodles in a really tasty sweet/tangy soy and sesame sauce with a powerful punch of garlic and a bit of spice. It's simply dressed with shredded cucumber and blanched bean sprouts. I love it all year long, but just had it the other day when the weather was hot - it was perfect. While you're there, pick up some of the cold side dishes too - they're laid out behind a window, and you get a mix of 3 for $3.50. My favorites are the spicy pig ears, spicy sliced beef and tendon, the shredded seaweed, and the garlic fried peanuts. Cash only, and they don't speak the best English, but they're friendly. :)

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Sue's Kitchen
23918 Crenshaw Blvd, Torrance, CA 90505

[fkingford]

Sounds like my kind of place. In my experience, if they do beef noodle soup well chances are other items on the menu will also be well worth a try. thanks

[wilafur]

their niu rou mien is decent. but is good considering it is in torrance.

[heinous]

I agree - their beef noodle soup isn't mind-blowing, but it is a good solid place - definitely the best in the South Bay. It's nice that you have a choice of noodles - wide, regular, or glass noodles. And they use good noodles. They don't make their own wide noodles, but they buy good handmade ones, so they're nicely chewy and irregular. Other good things on the menu are the "thousand layer" cake - a flaky, savory bread thing that's perfect to dip into the noodle soup or into the garlicky cold noodle sauce, the wontons in chili oil, and the fried fish rice plate. Yum.

By the way, the parking can kind of suck. I sometimes park in the next plaza over (with the liquor store). The access is way easier, and you can just stroll over. They don't mind. There are plenty of spots.

[peppermonkey]

chik mool neng myun - yuchun, i like it better than chilbo myunok, you should try both versions, the chik noodle is this black noodle, different
dong chi mi gook so at corner place- more tangy cold noodle soup, really refreshing, the one is cerritos is better but the ktown one is still good

[MeowMixx]

I second both recs :)

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Corner Place Restaurant
2819 James M Wood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90006

Yu Chun Chic Naeng Myun
3185 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90006

[Yes Please]

Woo Lae Oak on La Cienega a couple blocks north of Wilshire has this great cold noodle dish. Ultra thin buckwheat noodles in a cold beef consomme with cucumber, pear and maybe some other veggies. Lots of other great stuff there too!

EDIT: I looked at the menu and its Naeng Myun. So I think its what esquimeaux recommended as well!

[fkingford]

Never been to Woo Lae Oak. Always felt Ktown just a few miles east was the way to go. But now that you recommend this great sounding dish I'll have to reconsider.

[peppermonkey]

don't go to woo lae oak unless you want americanized korean food

[Yes Please]

It is a great place and I do recommend it! And really excellent service as well. I know peppermonkey mentioned it being americanized but google the menu, its maybe not as authentic as some other places in Ktown but still very true to the original cuisine.

[wilafur]

much like pf chang's is an accurate representation of chinese cuisine. ha.

[Yes Please]

But back to the original question... the cold noodles there are still good!

[peppermonkey]

why would you want to go somewhere that doesn't taste as good for double the price??

[esquimeaux]

mool nengmyun at chilbo myunok! chewy noodles in a yummy, slushy soup. comes with unlimited mugs of the hot base broth, which is nice when you start to get brain freeze. two orders of nengmyun and some dumplings or the mung bean pancake makes a perfect lunch on a hot day with a friend. sometimes the soup isn't as slushy though, which saddens me.

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Chilbo Myunok
3680 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90020

[fkingford]

I've never had this dish and it sounds great. Will definitely put it on my list for later this week when I'm in that part of town. Thanks.

[Professor Salt]

Sandra W took me to Kobawoo for the cold acorn noodles yesterday. My first time at Kobawoo, and first time eating the dish. I thought it was excellent - a mix of fresh veggies and noodles.

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Kobawoo Restaurant
698 S Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90005

[Clinton]

Hakata Ramen for Japanese handmade ramen and Old Town Noodle House for Korean hot or cold noodles. Both in Gardena.

[fkingford]

They both sound great. I'm in Culver City and not too far . Gardena has become a real noodle hotspot, hasn't it?

[Clinton]

During the recent years, Gardena has had an influx of new Korean stores and restaurants. Many of the old timers have either retired or moved on. Some of the older places like Umemura's on Redondo Beach Blvd. is still operating at the same location. Places that I've actually tried for various noodles are Hakata Ramen, Shinsengumi, Azuma's (Japanese), Little China (Chinese/Korean), Umemura (Japanese), Old Town Noodle House (Korean), etc.

[mrhooks]

AFAIK Hakata Ramen IS Shin-Sen-Gumi.

[Professor Salt]

Sort of true, and I'm guessing Clinton meant to say that they're one and the same. SSG calls their ramen stores Shin Sen Gumi Hakata Ramen, after the namesake city. But other places (like Ebisu in Fountain Valley) also claim to serve a Hakata style ramen, no doubt to ride the coattails of SSG's success.

[Clinton]

There are several in the chain. The one I'm referring to is Hakata Ramen on Redondo Beach Blvd. near Gramercy which specializes in handmade noodles. The other Shinsengumi is located on Artesia (next to the Albertson's) which is know for their shabu shabu. Was just there a few days ago for lunch. Their lunch special for shabu shabu was $11.95.

[vegasmuse]

If you're in/near the Southbay, I highly recommend Otafuku in Gardena. They make their own noodles, and all that I've tried have been fantastic. My fave is the Seiro soba, which is white and quite smooth. Not exactly the cheapest noodle house, but worth it IMO!

[fkingford]

I've been to Otafuku at least once a week for three weeks running. Their soba, as you say, is fantastic. It'd be great to have something different but just as good. Sesame paste noodle at Old Country Safe sounds great. And also couple of the Japanese summer noodle specials.

[revets2]

their summer special of soba (we like the seiro or kikouchi) with ume...man, i could live on that cold soba dish alone all summer long.

[nomnomnoms]

Kairaku-tei in Tustin serves Hiyashi Chuuka (cold ramen noodles with eggs, hams, cucumbers, and sesame sauce) during the summer.
And Fukada in Irvine has a whole array of hand made soba and udon noodles, both hot and cold.

[groover808]

Agreed with Fukada, looove their cold udon. I still haven't found a place that sells decent cold sesame noodles.

[J.L.]

Chabuya on Sawtelle serves Japanese style "Summer noodles", with peanut sauce, chashu, boiled egg, scallions, cucumber, and radishes. Yum.

You can add extras, too (chashu chicken, or broccoli, or menma, etc.)

[mrhooks]

Gardena Ramen serves hiyashi ramen during the summer months.

[ipsedixit]

Old Country Cafe - Chicken with sesame paste noodles

[TonyC]

+2, 3, and 4.

Taiwanese style cold sesame paste noodles with shredded chicken. Beats Ichimann's fancy soba for sure. And costs 1/2 as much.

[ipsedixit]

And use the money you save on some shaved ice ...

[mollyomormon]

Sounds you're looking for broader than soba, but Ichimann's soba is amazing:
http://manbitesworld.com/articles/69/...

[noahbites]

They even have a handmade cold udon dish now, which is really, really good.

[Salty_Loves_Sweet]

There is a place in Tustin called Ono Ono Hawaiian. This is not a part of a similarily named chain restaurant. It is owned by a very nice couple and since the wife is Korean, they also have Korean dishes on the menu. I love their Macadamian Nut Cold Noodles.