Two Treasures Hand Pulled Noodles in Cambridge on Regent Street are serving up bowls of Hand Pulled Noodles exactly what they say on the shop sign
We passed this place on the bus and once I read that name you just know I was going to be all over this place coming back later on to check them out
Inside there is a small counter, behind which you can watch the man at work pulling and stretching out the dough to make the noodles for each customer to order
Having seen that while perusing the menu I knew instantly that there was only going to be one dish that was going to be on my mind and that was to be a bowl of Lanzhou Style Beef Brisket Ramen for £12.80 with some of those freshly pulled noodles
The menu description implores you to;
“Delight in our hand-pulled noodles, served in a savory, robust beef broth. Topped with succulent, slow cooked beef brisket, soft daikon, fresh spring onions, and fragrant coriander, this ramen offers a comforting and heart meal“
I ordered a bowlful and sat back waiting to be delighted 😎
LANZHOU STYLE BEEF BRISKET RAMEN
There was a lot of ‘greenage’ floating about on the surface of the broth. Finely sliced scallions and coriander leaf took over a third of the bowl.
A little too much for me as it go stuck in my teeth too easily, I would have liked more chunky slices of the spring onion. There was a good textural crunch bite from the sliced daikon radish which almost made up for it.
A generous pile of beef brisket chunks and a sea of chilli oil filled the rest of the surface layer
Initially the chilli oil worried me but despite first impressions of the broth was not too spicy and I did end up adding extra condiments from the table to liven things up a little for my taste buds
Underneath those hand pulled noodles were to be found, great long strands almost spaghetti like were filling up the bowl. The first few bites were good, slightly chewy with a gentle pull to the bite.
Once I left them to ‘steep’ in the broth they got even better as they soaked up the juices, swelled a little and got a little softer.
There really was a lot of noodles in this bowl and I admit I was almost struggling to finish the bowl. No spoiler alert needed as I hoovered them up with much gusto, slurping each strand up with aplomb
A special mention must be given for the chunks of meat. sure they were fatty and they were ragged to look at, but they were also soft and tender like a well cooked beef casserole.
All the meaty flavours permeate the broth and I love the little flakes of meat that have fallen of the bones and the chunks mixing into that beefy soup
It was an almost faultless bowl of noodles, rustic and authentic and certainly not designed to charm a passing westerner like myself, I know I am not the target audience and so I reserve judgement or rather decline to attempt a worthy one. I just know that I really liked it
There was plenty of options on the menu, almost too many to take in when trying to quickly order. Now sitting here reading I spot the note about saying if you don’t want spicy, coriander or spring onion, which I note for next time 🤣🧐🧐
Interesting ramen soup options also included bowls with Pickled cabbage which I imagine adds a bit more tanginess to the broth. I also liked the sound of the Chonqqing Zhajiang Chickpea noodles which I initially thought was the vegetarian option until I read the description and saw that it was a minced pork sauce made with sweet and spicy chili bean paste topped with chickpeas. Now that does sound good
Other menu items I really fancied were the Big Plate Chicken noodles which is a non soup bowl and is made with big plate noodles and topped with lots of chopped up chicken on the bone.
I have had similar dishes back in my home town of Nottingham at Lanzhou Noodles (read more here)
They also do the beef brisket noodles with a whole beef rib on the bone which does feel a little bit like overkill but I would not turn my nose up at it and would certainly give it a go!
There is so much to choose from here and I just know that I would be a regular if I was a local!
Two Treasure hand pulled noodle bar are located at 85 Regent St, Cambridge CB2 1AW
There are a lot of Asian restaurant’s on the street so a lot to choose form but I would recommend checking this place out
It might not look much from the outside but inside it it pure noodle joy and magic. I was happy to see that there had been recognised by The Observer who listed them in ‘The best places in Britain to eat noodles’ this year. Reading that article I recognised many noodle joints I have visited and loved across the country so it was good to see them on that list
