O'Pasta Brings Noodles From All Over the World Under One Roof

With O'Steak having made a name of itself as one of the best places to get, you guessed it, steak in Beijing, hopes are high for O'Pasta, its younger sibling and almost-neighbor on Xingfucun Zhonglu. First impressions upon walking in are that the restaurant is well lit, with plenty of tables and staff who obviously know what they are doing.

The menu is all-encompassing, with stringy noodles from every country you can think of, including those you didn't even know had pasta. 

We were determined to pick a range of dishes that would put the offerings to the test, so we went with three dishes: Chinese youpo mian (RMB 28, seeing that since our favorite noodle shop on Chunxiu Lu's future is still in limbo); the cheesemaker gratin (RMB 78 for small, RMB 98 for large); and Italian-style pesto'e pollo (RMB 38 for small, RMB 58 for large).

The yopo mian's thick hand-pulled noodles were sufficiently long, chewy and there was no shortage of chili powder hiding in their many twists. As is usual, they were laid on a bed of crunchy beansprouts and leek, and doused in vinegar. While not necessarily better than local noodle joints' noodles, the all-encompassing menu means that you can go here with friends if you just can't decide on the Western versus Chinese debate.

In a completely different vein, we chose the cheesegratin, a beast of a dish that satisfied our cheese cravings and then some, and instant hit with this writer as there is just no such thing as too much cheese for a Dutch passport holder. We zoomed in on the cheese, because, cheeeeeeese ...

Our only issue was with the pesto'e pollo, where there wasn't enough pesto. In fact we weren't really sure if there was any pesto at all. While the dish itself was not bad, it wasn't like its the mouthwatering the description. More pesto, please!

With prices at such good value, O'Pasta is a great place to grab a bite to eat, whether for a quick bite by yourself, or with friends. Other menu items that will lure me back include the North Korean mul-naengmyeon (RMB 38), a cold noodle soup with boiled egg, pork, shiitake mushrooms, and pears, as well as the Filipino pancit canton, fried egg noodles with pork and shrimp, snow peas, carrots, and Chinese cabbage.

O'Pasta
Daily 11am-late. 55 Xingfucun Zhonglu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区幸福村中路55号

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Photos: Margaux Schreurs