Eating La Mien in Guangzhou. . .So Yummy!

One of my husband's favorite things to do in Guangzhou is to meet me for lunch to "chīfàn"(eat) a hot bowl of delicious "La Mien" for lunch.  La Mien (or La Mian-- I've seen it both ways), are simply the most delicious hand pulled noodles you could hope to have.  These little restaurants are typically small, run by Muslims (not sure if exclusively), and often you can actually observe the noodles being pulled and rolled right in front of you.  It's so awesome.

Update:  I went to eat my favorite noodles and suddenly felt like I was in the twilight zone.  I knew I was in the right place, just couldn't find it.  So, I discovered that new management took over, and location is the same and the noodles still just as good.
I can't read Chinese very well, so I had to look this up on a map.  The name is Hualong Beef Stretched Noodles off of Mingyue 2nd Rd, in the Tienhe District near the Ramada Hotel.  If you just walk about 1/2 block West from Guanzhou Middle Ave, you should see it on the right.

This is the front of the restaurant -- it's the blue and green place.  In my opinion, it looks like a small hardware store or something.  Not much on the outside. . .or the inside either, but inside the bowl, there is magic.

Here my husband gleefully flips through the pages until he see's his favorite dish, egg with noodles.  In this picture you can see almost the entire restaurant.  I believe it has a total of six or seven tables.  It is not uncommon to have a total stranger come and sit down with you if there is an empty chair at your table and the others are full.

Here is a shot of the inside and behind that glass, they make those magical tasting noodles.  See the round hole cut out in the glass -- you can look through there and see them stretching the noodles out.  Hello and thank you Ms. noodle maker.

Steaming hot liquid gold.  All tables also usually have a little dish with a little tiny spoon that has red chili oil.  You can add this according to your spice tolerance.  My husband likes a lot and I tend to add about 1/2 - 1 measure of that little tiny spoon that is provided.  It gives it just the right amount of "kick."

 One taste, and you would be smiling too.  The noodles are fabulous and the broth is equally good -- they compete against each other to get eaten.  Personally, I like to slurp up every last drop of broth.  Each bowl is about 7 RMB or 8 RMB, which converts to about $1.25 per bowl.  It's one of the few things that is actually "Too good, and IS true."

After you finish the best-tasting bowl of noodles you ever had, you can walk on over to the front of the restaurant and take some of the fancy napkins they have in an ever so handy holder.  And if you think it looks a lot like a toilet paper roll, that might be because it is a toilet paper roll.  The use of napkins has not been a common thing in China and I think is only now beginning to make more of an appearance.  Trust me, if there is nothing else, you will be glad there is some toilet paper hanging there for your use.