Noodles Fresh in El Cerrito

Four photos from a recent visit. Above: a regional Green Tea, with an incredible depth and complexity.

Jiangxi Noodle Salad.

New Lamb dish, essentially spiced tender lamb sauteed with onion, petter and cabbage. Outstanding dish.

BBQ Pork. Tender & perfectly cooked. Pickled cabbage and carrot at left a suitable complement.

Sichuan Dan-Dan Noodles.

Had no idea this place existed, even though my commute takes me right past it (or a few blocks east or west) almost every day. This is one of the top tier Chinese restaurants in the Bay Area.

In addition to being a superb restaurant, Noodles Fresh also has a top-notch selection of teas. Here, you can see we're letting our Green Tea steep. 

Chile oil.

Garlic Cucumbers. Perfect prelude, especially when doused with Chile Oil.

Sichuan Dan-Dan Noodles: ramen wheat noodle, ground pork, Sichuan chili sauce, peanut, sesame, bok choy, scallion, bean sprout. Here's how it's served, but best to mix it up, as you can see below.

The Sichuan chili sauce tingled tongues and lips, as we wondered how the ground pork was not greasy and had such a nice chewey texture.

Xinjiang Lamb. Rice noodle, lamb, ginger, daikon, goji berry, scallion & cilantro, according to the menu. I believe there were some other ingredients, like Star Anise or other five spice blend usual suspects? The broth was like spun gold, with the sweet tangy essence of Chinese aromatics and the solid umami of the lamb. Everthing was so perfect and exalted.

http://www.noodlesfresh.com