Street Eats: Hearty Hong Kong-Style Cart Noodles at Nerdy Noodles in Sanlitun's 3.3 Mall
The 3.3 mall remains Sanlitun's black sheep for dining, and not somewhere we would usually include on our list of lunch spots. However, if you take time to explore its nooks and crannies, you'll be surprised to find that it is home to some of the best noodle restaurants in the area, now bolstered by the warming bowls of soupy "cart noodles," or chezai mian (车仔面) from Nerdy Noodles. Cart noodles, as you may imagine, were originally served by hawkers from carts and became a particularly popular cheap street-side snack in 1950s Hong Kong.
Nerdy Noodles has all the necessary elements of a popular Cantonese eatery – noisy Cantonese pop songs, indifferent staff, narrow gaps between tables, dim neon lights, loud soap operas, and office workers complaining about their day. Sounds less than appetizing? Fear not, as these hearty noodle soup noodles will help melt all of your apprehensions away.
Nerdy Noodles has a bewildering array of options squeezed onto their one-page menu. It’s easy to order your noodle soup following three steps. Firstly, pick your noodle type out of seven options (RMB 10-12), including thick noodles, rice noodles, oil noodles and instant noodles. You then choose the broth out of five options (RMB 6-8), we recommend the signature beef brisket soup or signature spicy curry soup. Finally, you choose the toppings from a whopping 30 options (RMB 5-13), ranging from classic choices like daikon, shiitake mushroom and egg to the more adventurous pig intestine, trotters, and duck blood. The endless options make overordering a serious risk, so just sticking to the recommended (marked with a thumbs up) additions will ensure you don't go overboard.
The bowl of beef brisket soup with oil noodles was equal amounts spicy and sweet and topped with tender, flavorful beef that oozed flavors that can only be achieved through hours of simmering.
The signature curry platter (RMB 25) with tripe, fish balls, cuttlefish, and wheat gluten is another must-try. The curry sauce had a spicy kick, and the cuttlefish had a crunchy bite, although our favorite of the lot were the fish balls. If this sounds too meaty for you, add a plate of steamed vegetables with fermented bean curd (RMB 18) for a healthy alternative.
Nerdy Noodles didn’t fail to meet our expectations of the Cantonese classic, although the price is much higher than it's hole-in-the-wall siblings back in Hong Kong. However, being potentially the only restaurant to specialize in cart noodles in Beijing, we'll take the small price hike for an authentic taste of the South.
Nerdy Noodles
Daily 11am-9.30pm. 5/F, 5027, 3.3 Shopping Mall, 33 Sanlitun, Chaoyang District (5136 5168)
四眼仔车仔面：朝阳区三里屯路33号3.3大厦5层5027
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Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Tracy Wang
