The best hand pulled noodles in nyc in 2025
Today we get to talk about hand-pulled noodles, known as Lamian. These noodles are, unsurprisingly, pulled by hand and take an impressive amount of work to get them from the kitchen to your plate.
The importance of noodles in Chinese culture cannot be understated. There are proverbs extolling their virtues, there are restaurants that inspire culinary pilgrimages, their consumption goes as far back as 4,000 years, and hand pulled noodles specifically were first mentioned as early as 1504. Taking a bite out of noodles is taking a bite out of history and, in many ways, China itself.
The process to make hand-pulled noodles looks more like a session of schoolyard jump rope, as skilled noodle makers stretch soft wheat dough and fold it over repeatedly until the single strand of dough turns into what looks like a set of harpsichord strings. Put two cans at the end of noodles and you’ve got yourself an edible telephone.
Hand pulled noodles come in a variety of styles – whether long and narrow or short and fat – and can come with a variety of toppings, sides, and sauces.
These are 3 of our favorite places in the heart of Chinatown.
But there are plenty more options to choose from outside of Chinatown, and we’ve done the leg work for you:
1915 Lanzhou Hand Pulled Noodles and Dumplings
Bouncy, chewy noodles served in rich broths exploding with umami flavors, steamed bok choy, spring onion, and cilantro. Order noodles thin or fat, and watch as the experts slap that dough around like a mob boss slaps around an insubordinate. The signature dish at 1915 Lanzhou is made with beef and bones simmered for 8 hours. Decadence at its finest.
The Handpulled Noodle
Noodles here are made with a focus on the rustic. Noodle thickness and consistency varies in every bite, giving the impression that you’re eating at a countryside stall in the Xinjiang region. But customization is encouraged here, resulting in a noodle dish that is 100% yours. Try the spicy cumin lamb with lagman noodles.
Lan Zhou Ramen
If you’re looking for a break from traditional northern Chinese dishes, you can also try Lan Zhou Ramen, which takes the amazing, chewy density of hand pulled noodles and tosses them in ramen-style soups.
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There is something special about products that are made by hand. We have compound hyphenated words in the English language that elicit feelings of nostalgia and romanticism just by reading or hearing them.
Hand-made.
Hand-pulled.
Hand-sewn.
Hand-assembled.
Hand-drawn.
Many of you have probably read childhood fables about proletariat heroes like Paul Bunyan, who resisted unchecked technological advancement by chopping down trees to prove the power of humankind against a mindless, heartless ax-wielding robot. If anyone is going to tear down our old growth forests, it’s going to be us, damnit. Not some machine. And that’s how I feel about my noodles.
While many of our iconic industries have been off-shored, our noodles are still hand-pulled right here in the U.S. of A., which is especially true in New York City’s Chinatown.
In many ways, hand pulled noodles are one of the few examples left that we, the people, still own the means of production. And, luckily, the means of consumption. Eat that, Karl Marx.
Best to get out there and support the local economy and your local workers.
If you’re questioning the importance of noodles in Chinese culture, check out this noodle exchange between father and son in the extremely accurate and realistic biography Kung Fu Panda.
“My son, finally having the noodle dream.”
Finally? I dream about noodles every day. And you can make your dreams a reality when you take a tour of Chinatown.
While these noods may look hot, wait until you see what we’ve got cooking next…
