For those of you who may be interested in how I am nourishing myself...
Found this restaurant in That's Beijing, winning a 'Best Value' award in their annual round-up. There are two locations in Beijing and don't ask me how or why, but I have already been to both. The major Noodle Loft draw is the fact that you can go and watch the Shanxi chefs make the noodles right in front of you. They are stretching it, rolling it and beating it at the bar which makes for great entertainment as you await your noodles.
The menu is nice in that it has photos. The appetizers are extensive and I especially enjoyed the cold spicy noodles and the cold carrot shavings. The sliced beef wasn't bad, but nothing special. As for the noodles themselves, they are nice and chewy, and come in a variety of shapes/forms. The "you mein" come in a dim sum dish and are shaped like little cones - you dip the noodles into three different sauces provided. The 'you mein' was neat to experience but I don't think the sauces provided enough bang.
The beef brisket and noodle soup was good, though the broth could have used a bit more flavour. Finally, the chow mein was very nice, being not too oily.
If you have to pick a location, go to the one by Soho New Town since you can actually sit and dine at the noodle bar.
Overall, a great place to take guests and friends to have an inexpensive meal in a nice environment and built-in entertainment. Just make sure you go around peek times or just before peek times to catch all the noodle-making.
Let's try a rating system out of 5...
Food: 3.5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 4.5 (when the chefs are making their noodles)
Value: 4
Noodle Loft Daily 11am-10pm 3 Heping Xijie (in a back alley just after exit E at Hepingxiqiao metro stop) Chaoyang District (5130 9655) 20 Xi Dawang Lu Chaoyang North East (6774 9950/5372)
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