Hao Noodle, NYC's taste of China, comes home
Locals in the know were excited when Hao Noodle finally opened an outlet in China, after its success in New York City in the cool, stylish districts of West Village and Chelsea.
The modern day “noodle house” chose a flashy shopping mall on Century Avenue in Pudong New Area for its first Chinese venture. A slightly different venue from its original roadside locations in the Big Apple but the buzzing vibe and its easy access has made it “the” place to go for neighborhood diners.
“Hao” literally means “good” in Chinese and that reflects the restaurant’s constant devotion to authenticity and high quality.
The carefully curated menu features house-made noodles and authentic Chinese recipes steeped in thousands of years of tradition. However, the presentations and modern outlook ensures comfortable meals at any time of the day for today’s discerning guests — Chinese or non-Chinese.
Hao Noodle has a fun, relaxed interior to dine in.
As the team believes food appreciation is the most important ingredient in intimate connection, tables are placed for both intimate eating or social dining, giving a casual, interactive vibe.
The menu has some minor changes compared to its New York City version due to the different food supply. However the signatures are well carried here including the New York best-seller — Dandan noodles.
This dry mixed noodle (18 yuan) is no stranger to Chinese diners as it is one of the most popular daily snacks in Sichuan Province. The sauce is made from a mixture of ingredients from Sichuan, including peppercorn, scallion, crushed peanuts and pickled vegetables.
You can add some stewed soybean (5 yuan) and minced pork (8 yuan) on top of it, giving it more complicated textures and flavors.
Hotpot beef noodle soup
We also chose the signature hotpot beef noodle soup (58 yuan) to share. It’s inspired by the Chongqing hotpot famous for rich, spicy and numbing soup with beef tallow. They use traditional hotpot ingredients and roasted cow bones to make the soup base. The tender beef is braised in the soup base and the wide noodles are well made — one of my favorites at the restaurant.
We also ordered a few dishes to share with a glass of wine besides the noodles. Hao green salad, Hao fried pork dumpling with chicken soup marinated fillings, clay pot braised pork intestines, black pepper braised razor clams with vermicelli are all flavorsome, presenting various tastes of Chinese cooking without complications or pretentiousness.
Don’t forget to taste its popular soy milk pudding with black sesame ice cream or Osmanthus-flavored peach gum and gorgon fruit soup as a sweet ending to wrap up the nice dinner.
Info
Opening hours: 11am-2:30pm, 5pm-10pm
Tel: 5856-8616
Address: 5/F, 1192 Century Avenue, Pudong New Area
Average price: 88 yuan
