One thing I’ve learned from many years of eating (and eating and eating) in Fresno is to never judge a restaurant by its cover. I recently had one of the worst experiences I can remember at one of the prettiest restaurants I’ve seen in town (I won’t name names)! But conversely, some of the best food in the Valley comes from places that look like nothing special and some that can definitely be termed hole in the walls.
This seems to be especially true with ethnic restaurants. And the place I’m going to highlight this week is definitely NOT a hole in the wall by any means! But I don’t think I would have tried it if it weren’t for the recommendations from my immigrant parents and their fellow Chinese friends.
Noodle Q is located in a nondescript strip mall near a Dollar General on Ashlan and Fresno. It’s a no-frills, simple kind of place. With all of the restaurants I pass by on a daily basis while driving around town, I’m not sure this one would be jumped out at me. And had I not gone to dinner there with my parents, I would have really missed out.
Noodle Q makes fresh home-style noodles from scratch, something that to my knowledge no other Chinese restaurant in the area is doing. How fresh? So fresh that you can watch them do it through a window in the restaurant if you want!
Over the couple times that I’ve been to Noodle Q, I’ve tried four different noodle dishes, and they’ve all been really delicious. In addition to their freshly-made Chinese noodle soups (which are slow cooked for 36 hours), they got Indonesian style dry noodles and Japanese-inspired udon dishes. I recommend, in particular, the Q Style Lo Mein and the Q Style Udon Noodles.
Another very traditional Chinese dish made fresh daily at Noodle Q is the scallion pancake. (Think of it as a thick Chinese tortilla.) I like these so much that even though I hate scallions (aka green onions) with a passion, I will make an exception to eat these savory pancakes. (But a big shoutout to the kitchen for making them without scallions for me while they were whipping up a batch the first time I was there! Talk about good service!) Noodle Q ups the ante with their beef roll appetizer, which has braised beef, cilantro and cucumber wrapped with scallion pancakes. So good!
Speaking of rolls, Noodle Q recently branched out and began serving sushi. My sister and I tried some while we were there this last time, and we enjoyed it! The Tommy Roll was particularly unique, with shrimp tempura, avocado, crab salad and mango. It’s nice to know we have a good alternative if our parents want some dishes from their homeland and we’re just not feeling it that night!
So if you’re looking for something a little different next time you go out for dinner, I definitely think you should try Noodle Q! Find out more about them on their Facebook page. (And here’s a little extra pro-tip: a Noodle Q Groupon is available for a limited time here!)
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The groupon isnt available anymore 🙁
I will definitely go and check out those slow cooking soups – this sounds just delicious!