The food is amazing! It's a small place and gets very busy so be prepared to wait but it's worth it.

Very flavorful! The food is not spicy but it is very flavorful. We ordered 1. Pork 'zha jiang' noodle (yum yum yum!!!) 2. Pork dumplings in sauce (delicious!!) 3. Fish combo malatang ( did not like the fish but so flavorful) And chili oil for the malatang was soooo good! 4. Cucumber salad (complimentary and yumm) Great service even though we ordered for take out. Larry helped us pick our food:) Would definitely come back. read more

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The food and customer service was phenomenal! I came here with my best friend a little late, and we felt so bad that we were going to choose another place. I'm glad we didn't! They told us we could take as long as we needed. We ate outside, and the place was very clean and relaxing. The food portion was great as well--I got full just from eating the dumplings. I highly recommend! read more

Wild Ginger - D1. Pork Dumplings in Sauce - Chinese Near Me - Alameda, California

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Eating here, I felt like I was transported to China. I've never visited that country so I can't attest to the authenticity of that environment, but if I were to describe my experience, that's how I'd go about it. When I say that, I mean more than the food. The ambience, the servers/owners, and the no frills kind of spot that you could probably expect from a local mom & pop shop in the streets of the Sichuan Province. Let me begin... Bae and I enter. No tables at the moment so we head to the counter to check out the menu. Bae asked the female owner (my guess) a question about the dishes - no response. She then proceeds to ring up the patrons who are leaving and then goes to clear their table. We just stand there. Then she seats up and hands out menus. Bae asks how the noodles from the pork zha jiang in sauce (H2) differ from those of the pork zha jiang noodle (T1). She didn't give us the best answer, but we end up going with H2 since it's their housemade noodles. We ordered one bowl to split between us. I've never been to a restaurant where water is directly tied to the number of dishes that you order rather than the number of diners at the table. One bowl of noodles was accompanied by one glass of water and one set of utensils. We had to ask for another cup of water. When the food came out and the chef saw us struggle to share the meal, he brought us extra utensils and a bowl. He also gave each table a dish of cold spicy noodles on the house. He's definitely the reason the restaurant is doing well...his cooking skills are great and I enjoyed the noodles as they were uniquely chewy. He had a fun energy and it was apparent that he was passionate about his food. Bae liked the food, but we were both disappointed by the initial impression and the service from half of the restaurant. It's hard to enjoy the food when the service makes you feel like a burden. It's not my type of cuisine to begin with, but I'm glad I tried it. It's worth a shot, but be prepared for the whole experience. read more

Wild Ginger - One set for one person... - Chinese Near Me - Alameda, California

Wild Ginger, I love you! You give me hand-pulled noodles whenever I fancy some good comfort food. A little spicy, but not too much, a little chewy, but not too much. Everything just right and served with a smile! read more

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One of my favorite restaurants in Alameda~ My partner picked this place out and it is so delicious and fresh. I love all the noodle dishes and noodle soup dishes ~ read more

Friendly service, cozy interior, and complimentary noms! Their cucumber salad was on the house. Unfortunately however, I was not very impressed by the food. My family ordered the malatang spicy beef combo soup with the hand pulled noodles. While the food itself looks gorgeous and very appetizing, in the end, all there really is is maybe 4 strands of actual noodle and the rest of the soup's contents was an assortment of different veggies and a little beef. For a noodle soup, I would usually expect much more noodles, but I was pretty disappointed by what was actually in the bowl, and my family walked away not full from the meal either. Not to mention, the soup lacked depth of flavor. A soup that just has malatang spice in it but not much other flavor is how I would describe it, and it was just very mid. Maybe I ordered the wrong item, but I don't think I will be coming back unfortunately. read more

I was really excited to try this place as people raved about the hand pulled noodles. The praise is much deserved! The pork zha jiang was good, noodles were thick and chewy. My favorite, which I forgot to take a picture of, was the curry beef in sauce hand pulled noodles. It was delicious. It had lot a lot of robust flavors, a manageable spice level, tender potatoes and large cubes of beef. The beef was slightly over cooked for me but by no means did it ruin the dish. The noodles and sauces are the stars here. The pork dumplings with chili oil and vinegar are also fire. The cucumber salad was a nice side that's a good intermission between bites of your noodle. The tiger salad was good but maybe had a little too much cilantro for my taste. Overall, great place. It's a cozy spot so expect a wait if you're coming for dinner. Staff made great recommendations and service was also good! read more

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Will definitely be making a return trip soon! I really enjoyed all the appetizers! The cold cucumber salad was nice and vinegary, the pork wontons were AMAZING, and the sesame cold needle dish was out of this world! I ordered the mild fish hand-pulled noodles for my main, suuuuper tasty! (especially the noodz) What would I change next time? Maybe building my own. Noodles, veggies, fish. Not so much into the seaweed, potatoes, or bean curd skin- its a bit execessive. read more

Nice local Xian restaurant with hand pulled noodles. The noodles were chewy and there was a good solid amount. Hubby ordered the spicy cumin lamb and I had the pork with cucumber. Friendly husband and wife team that was quick with service. We also tried the pork sandwich. This was probably my favorite. Bread was crispy but still soft. Plenty of stuffing, equal mix of meat and vegetables. Owner kindly gifted me the cold liangpi noodles which I ate later that night. read more

Wild Ginger - Outside of restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Alameda, California

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Was a bit worried about trying this spot, not the biggest fan of Mala spice. That's the whole numb your tongue peppercorn thingie. So why the heck would I try a malatang place? Well.. apparently the Pho place around the corner is closed on Wednesdays. This was a pleasant surprise though. Nice, perfectly textured hand stretched noodles. Great flavorful broth. And plenty of options sans mala! read more

Bomb.com High carb diets rejoice here. Authentic, delicious Xian style Chinese food with biang biang noodles (wide handmade noodles) with spicy sauce. They include a good amount of veggies in the vegetarian noodles, which is really nice. The spinach dumplings are also great, with a nice vinegar sauce (sauce version is better than soup version, according to the server). We also got the "tiger salad" which is a small salad with a "bite", with cilantro, green onion, pepper, cucumber, nice appetizer. They have mala (numbing spice) hot pot with ingredients that you can choose, would love to try it next time (including the option for adding the thick noodles). Don't hesitate to come here! read more

Wild Ginger - Spinach dumplings in sauce - Chinese Near Me - Alameda, California

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OMG I love this little place obscurely tucked away on Park St. in Alameda. Their handmade chili noodles are addictive. Evidently they sell this "crack" chili oil in bottles. They also have a cucumber salad with the oil. My daughter ordered the lamb noodles which weren't as tasty and savory as the chili noodles so I'm sticking with that. You gotta try this place! read more

The best bands down, snd the family that runs this place are amazing The noodles where so good, the spices and lamb bits made it even better. read more

Wild Ginger is so good! The husband-and-wife team that run this place are so friendly. I ordered a beef soup noodle and cumin lamb noodle, and the husband gave me a complimentary order of zha jiang mian - he said he was confident based on my order that I would like it. He was right - it turned out to be the best of the three dishes, even though it was quite far from what I expected (which was Beijing- or Northeast-style dark black bean zha jiang mian). This one was spicier and meatier, more like a cross between zha jiang mian and dandan mian. In any case, it was delicious. The cumin lamb noodle is pretty similar to what you'd find at Terracotta Warrior in SF or Xian Famous Foods in NYC, all in all very solid. Beef soup noodles were probably the weakest one but still a nice option and overall quite tasty. read more

First and Foremost, i LOVE their Zha Jiang Noodles. Hubby and i went there back in Nov last year and i have been thinking about it since. The restaurant itself is small, i can just imagine the wait time during peak lunch hours. Luckily we got there a little after 1:30pm and there were few tables open. But it turned full house within minutes. The lady(possibly owner) gave us menus and a dry erase marker to mark our options. Simple enough, checked off Zha Jiang noodles(thin noodles) and hubby went for Beef noodle soup like he always does. While we waited for our noodles, you can hear the chef talking and working/slamming the dough. Food came out fairly quickly. At first glance, i thought the portion was small but as i ate on savoring every bite, it was the perfect portion for me and no ingredients were left behind..... My "simple" dish was packed with flavor. The pork very well marinaded, cucumber/bean sprouts fresh & crunchy plus the noodle texture had a perfect chewiness(Q) to it. I loved it! That was probably the best Zha Jiang Noodles i've ever had. Hubby also enjoyed his beef noodle soup, he said it was very flavorful, although it didnt have the cut of meat he was expecting but it was good regardless. Service friendly, Food Great so I look forward to my next trip there soon.. hopefully we have better luck in finding parking.. read more

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The is a Chinese street food needle In a haystack, big bold flavors I got medium spice I with for more than medium spicy next time wider noodle than you will use to. The beef is tender and has depths of flavor. Each spoonful is hearty and refreshing. It was worth the 15 minute wait and it was made to order. I also got pork dumpling soup I thought it was and add on it was another bowl of soup. Also great flavor to pork with that special memory of dumpling deliciousness and it made me smile. Get wild with ginger. I recommend this experience highly. Parking sign said no payment required on March 23 2021 read more

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My friends and I were hanging out in Alameda and one of them suggested this place and raved about the food. I'm all for hand pulled noodles so I was excited to try their dishes. Spicy & Tingly Beef in Sauce (5/5): The hand pulled noodles were amazing, THICC, and saucy! They were chewy and soaked up the delicious sauce perfectly. In my opinion, the dish wasn't actually spicy. The beef was tender and the bok choy helped with the balance of flavors. The portion was pretty big and I definitely had help finishing this dish. Pork Dumplings (5/5): These were so flavorful and tasted so yummy with the chili oil sauce. Nothing special, but still tasted really good. Lamb Dumplings (5/5): This was probably the first time that I've had lamb dumplings and it did not disappoint. If you don't like the gamey flavor, then maybe it isn't for you. It wasn't too overwhelming and came in the same sauce as the pork dumplings. Definitely different, but I do recommend giving it a try! We're not in Alameda often, but regardless, check this place out because you will not regret it! read more

I am so glad I finally tried their hand-pulled noodles! I ordered the spicy cumin lamb soup with hand-pulled noodles. The broth is light, but hearty and warming with the cumin and chiles. The Hand-pulled noodles melt in your mouth. The flavor of it all is really wonderful, but I was disappointed in the lamb. It was either overcooked to rubber or the tendony/fatty bits that weren't chewable either. Otherwise I would give this 5 stars. Also, I was very skeptical of putting wilted romaine lettuce in a soup. It felt like filler. But I tried a bit with it all and it does add a nice contrast of texture with the crunch. I added the rest in half way through. I look forward to trying the dumplings and other noodle dishes! read more

Wild Ginger - Spicy lamb cumin soup - Chinese Near Me - Alameda, California

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This place is awesome! We had lunch with friends here. The pork dumplings with sauce, pork jha zhiang noodles, spicy beef curry, and the spicy dan dan noodles were amazing. We had some cold noodles as an appetizer that were really good. The owner really took care of us! I'm coming back! read more

Kinda sad to give it such a low rating but it is not because of the service because it was good and the location was cute. But the food was disappointing, I normally eat malatang but this one had no flavor and barely any noodles, i got the spicy flavor but it was not spicy at all and my friend got mild and it just tasted like water. Not to mention the prices were not that cheap, the spinach dumplings were ok and again the sauce was very bland. If you want more flavor chose another place, there could be better places. read more

Wild Ginger - D3. Spinach Dumplings in Sauce - Chinese Near Me - Alameda, California

I had heard so many great things about wild ginger and have been waiting to finally give it a go. I was disappointed because the flavor was all there. But, the texture was just off for me especially since that was supposed to be the highlight (they've been featured in an article before). You can tell from the photo that the noodles were really thickly cut and not thin. This makes it so that over time it gets really doughy and it felt like I was just chewing consistently and working out my teeth and jaws. I have had hand pulled noodles before and they were not thick cut like this. You can see in one photo in the takeout plastic cup that it's extremely doughy and just sticks together. I would have really enjoyed this meal if the hand pulled noodles had been more finely cut and not so thick since the flavor was already there. We couldn't even finish it because it was just disappointing and lost our appetite as it reminded us of just eating dough midway through our meal. Hopefully they can improve the cut of their noodle so that it is more finely pulled. read more

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Wild ginger is delicious and authentic. It seems to be run by a small family who works really fast to ensure your experience is the best! The food is made right there and the place overall feels homey. It's a great place to try especially with the cold and gloomy weather. read more

Wild Ginger - Hs1. Spicy Cumin Lamb in Soup - Chinese Near Me - Alameda, California

This has been around for quite some time, but it is my first time here. My husband and teenager has been here a couple times, mostly take out, and rave about their noodles and dumplings. So... Rainy Sunday... My husband and I decided to come for lunch. We arrived around 12:30PM, and was able to get a window table (bench seating) immediately. PSA: now that I sat there, I prob would not sit at the bench again. It's too high for the height of the table. We placed our order within 10 minutes of sitting down. Immediately got our water and utensils. Fast forward 30 minutes later, first dish arrives. I think that is a really long wait... although there are only 2 cooks and one lady taking orders and bussing tables. We ordered: D1 Pork dumplings in sauce H2 Pork Zha Jiang in sauce (hand pulled noodles) T3 Beef noodles in soup (hand pulled noodles) We love noodles, and my husband has not had any carbs in the last month, he has been looking forward to this meal! The hand pulled noodles has a good bite to it. You will hear a noise from the kitchen that sounds like the chef is banging or pounding on something- yep, that is him cutting the noodles by hand! Hence, all the noodles are not uniformly cut. Some are thicker and some are longer than others. The broth of the beef noodle soup is very flavorful. The beef was very tender, and the veggies (Cabbage) in the soup was not soggy... still has a nice crunch to it. Pork Zha Jiang might be our favorite here. This simple dish is full of flavor! The pork very well marinated, and the veggies: cucumber, bean sprouts - were so fresh, plus the noodle texture had a perfect bite. (QQ!!) As for the dumplings... it can look deceivingly spicy but it is not. Aiyah, just try it! I would have given this place 5 stars but we waited for our food for a while. It took 30 minutes for the first dish to come out; and when you're hungry, that feels like an eternity. Service overall is good, just the kitchen is slow. read more

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Don't know how I haven't reviewed this gem of a place, but Wild Ginger is my go-to with friends. We've been going long before COVID, but happy to see that they've opened dine-in again. My favorite dish from this place is the dan dan noodles with a combo of pork dumplings. Holy cow, it is absolutely flavorful with that kick of spiciness, and is just overall comfort food for the soul. I can absolutely never finish the dan dan noodles in one sitting--- that's how generous they are with their own noodles! But I can eat two servings of dumplings if given the opportunity. There's something that's perfectly... al dente (?) about their dumplings. It's not too soft and not too chewy, but almost melts in your mouth after the first couple of chews. The sauce that comes with it is absolutely a divine pair-- in fact, you can buy the sauce separately in its own jar to take home, which I've done! The sauce pairs well with anything, rice, noodles, dumplings, you name it. Definitely would recommend this place if you're looking to show a friend around Alameda, or even the bay area. Take note, Sichuan lovers, spiciness level here might not cut it completely for you, if you're the type to like to skirt death levels, but I'm sure you'll at least enjoy the food. :) read more

Wild Ginger - Dan dan noodles and pork dumplings! - Chinese Near Me - Alameda, California

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Dang, Wild Ginger is so good. Wild Ginger is located next to Mama Lithuania, near Julie's and Jack in the Box. It used to be a Korean Market a while back. Finally glad I got to try it on Wednesday at noon. The dishes that stood out to me were the Pork Bun and the Pork Zha Jiang. I ordered the Pork Zha Jiang ($6.99) while my friend ordered the Wild Ginger ($6.99). Pork Zha Jiang contains warm white ramen noodles that have a light spice, topped with small pork pieces, and cucumber slices. Wild Ginger has cold fat Chow Mein noodles with cucumber slices and (is that tofu? not sure). I like the Wild Ginger, but I really really like the Pork Zha Jiang. The spices make it unboring with each bite. The Pork Zha Jiang's noodles have a spicy aftertaste, with the noodles containing a smidge of fish oil. I just like how different these dishes are, and its part of the appeal of Wild Ginger, the restaurant, for me. Its different, and exotic. Ordering is a bit unconventional though, They give you markers to write on their menu, you then give it to the cashier, who then brings your food out. It is a sit-down restaurant, and they do refill your water. You pay up at the cashier as well. Place was pretty crowded for a noon lunch. I think all the tables were filled expect the counter by the cashier. read more

Wild Ginger - Pork Zha Jiang - Chinese Near Me - Alameda, California

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Great hand pulled noodles. The dumplings are amazing. Service is always great in this little spot. read more

Wild Ginger - Dumplings!! - Chinese Near Me - Alameda, California

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The food is good, the portions are kind of small, and the place is definitely small. They do mainly noodles and dumplings. If you don't want to go too far for this kind of food, you would come here if you live in the area. read more

This place has the rudest hostess ever. I came in at lunchtime and passed an empty outdoor table on the way in. I asked the woman at the register if I could sit outside. She said no and told me the table needed to be cleaned. I saw that the busser had cleaned the table, so I let her know it was clean. Again, she told me I couldn't sit out there, shooed me away, and began helping the person behind me in line. At this point, my jaw was on the floor. I would have left except I was meeting a friend at this place. I went back up to her again and asked for a table. She told me she was very upset. Then she brusquely walked me to a table in the back of the restaurant and seated me. The food was great, per usual, but the hostess... unbelievably rude, just awful. read more

The options of food here are very good and fresh but the main reason that this place is so good is the spice. They have incredible spicy options and their chili oil is some of the best that I have ever had. I am someone who has incredibly high standards for spicy foods and I very much enjoyed my meal. read more

Wild Ginger has amazing Chinese noodles! The pork zha jiang hand-pulled noodles were delicious. I loved the zha jiang sauce because it was very flavorful and full of umami from the fermented bean paste, pork, and mushroom. The chopped cucumber with the noodles also helped balance out the flavors and gave it some freshness - a great combo! The hand-pulled noodles are wide and soaked up the sauce pretty well, but you can also order regular noodles which are thinner instead of the hand-pulled noodles. I ordered on the phone and my food was ready in 15-20 minutes. Pick up was super easy and they had a table to pick up and pay set up near the door. read more

Wild Ginger - Pork zha jiang hand pulled noodles ($9.99) - delicious and highly recommend! - Chinese Near Me - Alameda, California

Wild Ginger was first introduced to me from a college friend who lived in the area and ever since, I have been back a few times! My go to is the Pork Zha Jiang Noodles which are slightly spicy (take it from a girl that can not eat anything spicy to save her life) but mostly just packed with flavors that compliment the hand-pulled noodles really well! My only two comments are that the sauce is a little bit oily and usually ends up pooling at the bottom of the bowl and that the menu can be a little confusing since they sell both the biang biang noodles and ramen style noodles! read more

Wild Ginger - Pork Zha Jiang Noodle | Follow my food adventures and reviews @kristeatsfood on Instagram - Chinese Near Me - Alameda, California

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Food is not bad but it took way too long (45+ mins) to be ready for a order of two noodles and a simple slider (literally just some minced pork in a bun) We came at 7:15 pm and the restaurant was full house but just only ONE person was working in the kitchen, who also had to take care of many to-go orders. Completely disorganized and mismanaged and the poor waiters had to deal with a few angry customers. They gave me a side dish for free but the owner never came to any grumpy customers to explain or apologize. I guess if you are hungry and want a satisfying dining experience here, don't come at peak hours. read more

Worth the drive to Alameda for sure! Was craving homemade noodles and this did not disappoint. Honestly the heaviest hand pulled noodles I've ever had, in the best way. I had never had this style of noodles and I'm obsessed. I got the cumin lamb soup and the broth was incredible. The way the greens soak up the broth as you eat is something else. The lamb was cooked and seasoned perfectly, and I loved the Chinese street food style - usually I find lamb at Mediterranean or Mexican restaurants and had not had this style before. You have to walk through the kitchen to get to the restrooms and the smell of the lamb in the kitchen is to die for. I will definitely be back. read more

Wild Ginger - T4. Spicy Cumin Lamb Noodles in Soup - Chinese Near Me - Alameda, California

I've been meaning to try this place for awhile and since I really wanted saucy noodles, I decided to order take out from Wild Ginger. I pretty much ordered a third of the entire menu and almost all noodles with a few doubled up. I wanted to try the different varieties they had. While I was picking my order up, the chef/owner of the restaurant told me they gave me a freebie vegetarian saucy noodles to try. I automatically had a good impression of this spot as soon as I walked out the door. I don't remember everything that I had ordered so I'll write about the dishes that I do remember. The pork zha jiang in noodle and pork zha jiang in sauce to me were the best dishes I've had here. The sauce was sweet and the noodles were al dente. The pork zha jiang in sauce were wide Biang Biang hand pulled noodles while the pork zha jiang noodles were the thinner ones. One thing that I noticed while eating the wider noodles, it tasted like the skin of a boiled dumpling and had a similar texture and consistency as well. The pork was really tender and juicy even after a 18 minute car ride. The beef and fish malatang combos I thoroughly enjoyed. The soup was perfectly spicy and made well. There were dried tofu skins, seaweed, wood ear, beef chunks for the beef combo, fish fillets and fish balls and fish cake in the fish combo as well as rice cakes in both. All the ingredients in the malatong absorbed the broth so every bite of seaweed, rice cake, tofu skin I bit into, soup flavor would be gushing out and each item was a mini pack of flavor just waiting to explode. All in all, Wild Ginger is a solid spot if you need to satisfy your noodle craving or just want something spicy on your palate. read more

Their cold noodle and spicy cucumber is so good! There soups are very warming as well.

I've eaten in restaurant here twice (pre-covid) and twice to-go during covid and it has been DELICIOUS every time. My bfs favorite is the Liang Pi which is a cold noodle dish that comes with a trio of sauces to mix to taste (ginger, vinegar, and chili oil) and tofu (which honestly looks kinda weird to me but is SO SO good after it's soaked up the vinegary spicy sauce goodness). My favorite go to here is definitely the hand pulled Zha Jiang noodle with pork in sauce. The minced meat in sauce is so flavorful and it pairs perfectly with the chewy hand pulled noodles! If you're also looking for a great side to share the pork dumplings in sauce are a great side too. Highly recommend and will definitely be coming back! read more

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This tiny hole in the wall has been a takeout spot I've been wanting to try for years and it didn't disappoint. I got the spicy lamb cumin noodles, li piang noodles, and spicy cucumber salad. It wasn't too spicy and very delicious. read more

Interesting cuisine but not very piquant. The noodles are rather bland except for the dumplings. Rather cramped and noisy atmosphere, But cozy if you like that environment. Lots of semi spicy foods which will double your pleasure on a cold day or add to your misery on a hot one. The service was very courteous and prompt. read more

I was completely surprised by this adorable and quaint restaurant in Alameda. Szechuan spicy street food is something I've never tried but have been very intrigued by. When we first walked into the restaurant we were greeted and seated right away. They asked if it was our first time at Wild Ginger and when we said yes they helped us with the menu. I felt like I knew what might satisfy my taste buds by their recommendations and direction in the menu. My friend can't eat very spicy food and they were very easily able to accommodate her needs as well. When the food came out my smile widened as I could see just how fresh and steaming hot it was! My hand ripped zha jiang was beautiful! Minced pork with these thick fresh noodles in a beautiful oil based bright goodness sat before me and I surely didn't leave one bite. My friends vermicelli lamb soup was hearty, broth deep and flavorful, and just the right amount of noodles for slurpage. I will definitely be coming back to this little treasure. The whole staff was so kind and warm. So thankful for them sharing this cuisine with us. read more

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