Noodles Squared: Sanlitun Noodle Bar's New Branch in 3.3

The first Sanlitun Noodle Bar location on Sanlitun Bar Street was one of the worst kept secrets in Beijing – it was almost always packed. They've done us all the favor of opening up a second location at the 3.3 Mall, so we can look forward to keeping the noodles flowing.

The new-dles are up on the fifth floor, so they'll make a terrific repast after fighting over designer shoes at nearby Huge Wave.

The new Sanlitun Noodle Bar's menu is virtually the same as the original location. It even comes on the same music sheet notebook paper. It does seem, though, that the family is fleshing out its brand as it goes along, so you can expect a few tweaks. For instance, when I couldn't find the cherry pork that I've come to love over at their Bar Street branch, they told me to try the red braised pork (lele hongshao rou, 乐乐红烧肉, RMB 58) instead.

One of the most popular dishes is the eggplant and meat noodles (qiezi rouding banmian, 茄子肉丁拌面, RMB 30). We usually pay the RMB 5 extra to have them throw a fried egg on top. Glistening gems of eggplant slicked with an unctuous sauce combined with the resistive bite of hand-pulled noodles make this a winner. It might be more than some people are used to paying for homestyle noodles, but I'm convinced that we're paying for higher-quality ingredients here.

I'm also a new convert of the dingding rousi jidan banmian (丁丁肉丝鸡蛋拌面, RMB 38), where the eggplant has been swapped out for chillis. It's got quite the zing to it, so don't be ashamed to leave a few peppers at the bottom of your bowl.

Portions are fairly big. You could get away with splitting a bowl of noodles and a dish of stir-fried greens or an appetizer if you and your friend have average appetites. You might want to just get two bowls, though, to avoid any conflict over who gets the last bite.

I'd recommend two of the vegetable dishes, as I rarely see them on the menu at other places around town. One is Chinese broccoli sprouts (jielan miao, 芥兰苗) and the other is cucumber sprouts (huanggua miao, 黄瓜苗). Not sure how these guys get their vegetables so green and flavorful, but I'm happy to remain sated and ignorant.

With 40 or so seats, this second location has plenty more room than its older brother, but I wouldn't be surprised if it started seeing lines of its own. If that does happen, at least you'll be able to do some shopping while you wait.

Sanlitun Noodle Bar 三里屯面馆
Mon 5.30-10.30pm, Tue-Sun 11am-2.30pm, 5.30-10.30pm. 5007, 3.3 Shopping Mall, 33 Sanlitun Beijie, Chaoyang District (5136 5108)
朝阳区三里屯北街33号3.3服饰大厦5层5007室

Photos: Josh Ong, Marilyn Mai