Very Fresh Noodles
“We're also planning a trip to Chelsea Market just to eat at this place, definitely destination worthy.”
“Even though the noodles here are Taiwanese style, I would say the flavoring is pretty similar to the flavors of the noodles at Xian famous foods: heavy and spicy.”
“Went during its soft opening and ordered the la mei beef noodle soup and the tingly cumin lamb.”
Very Fresh Noodles
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I have incredibly, incredibly high standards when it comes to Taiwanese beef noodle soup. Conversely, I also came to Very Fresh Noodles with very low expectations, but was still curious to see if the quality and taste could at least compel me to make a return trip. The stand is located way in the back corner of the clustered section of Chelsea Market, and it's easy to miss on your first go. There's no seating, although you can probably loiter around the neighboring windowsill.
The broth of the beef noodle soup was pretty flavorful, although a little too greasy for my tastes. There's not really any nuance to the addition of chili oil, and they're a little too generous with it during preparation. The noodles are freshly pulled, and while I typically like my noodles this way, the pulls are very uneven, resulting in some really, really overly dense chews. There just needs to be a little more uniformity. The pickled greens were delicious, and add that little bit of sourness that really made the richness of the beef and broth a bit more tolerable. The beef was fine, although it was probably cooked a little too long, and became more like shredded beef than the chunks that I'm normally used to. I understand I'm being very nitpicky with everything, but for me, it is a matter of pride and deep nostalgia.
Service was pretty quick and helpful. They even fulfilled all my little requests, like more pickled veggies and less cilantro, which was quite unexpected, but very welcomed. However, the bowl was very expensive at $15, including tax and tip. Not something I could go for everyday or even monthly. The quality is slightly higher than what you would find in Chinatown, but not double the quality. Yikes.
Would I come back? Yes, but only because it's less than a 5 minute walk away, and perhaps only when I REALLY feel nostalgic. Not a bad place for some good, fresh biang biang noodles, but be prepared to pay a premium for it. I'm more inclined though to make the trek down to Xi'an FF for some pulled noodles, and Flushing for Taiwanese beef noodle soup.
Even though the noodles here are Taiwanese style, I would say the flavoring is pretty similar to the flavors of the noodles at Xian famous foods: heavy and spicy. I tried the beef noodle soup and found the broth to be much richer in flavor than I remember the dish to be at other Taiwanese joints. Even the mild contained a good amount of cumin. I personally found the broth to be too heavy to drink.
The noodles on the other hand were great! They were very thick and wide, thus absorbed the heavy broth very well. Also, the chef literally pulls and cooks them right in front of you, so it is very fun to watch!
There was also a very generous portion of braised beef shank in the soup. The beef was incredibly flavorful and tender. While I probably would have preferred to have more noodles and less meat, I can't complain given how tasty the beef was!
I'd definitely recommend if you're looking for a more heavy option in Chelsea market.
Had the cumin lamb noodles. (I am not a noodle person but ever since I came across this dish, have been craving it about once a week! Also good enough that I never felt the desire to actually try anything else on the menu).
It's pretty heavy on the seasoning (reminds me of Xi'an Famous Foods which always makes me queasy after for ingesting so much oil/sodium) but the saving grace here is the very freshly hand made, satisfyingly al dente, wide noodles, that perfectly counter the seasoning.
Dry and soupy versions both good.
FYI there is no phone number for the place, so you just have to come in and order in person. I guess it's by design, so you can enjoy the true freshness of their namesake noodles.
I love walking through Chelsea market, especially love the different food vendors that are stationed there. This last time I decided to give Very Fresh Noodles a try.
I was very happy to see their signature dish "biangbiang" with vegan noodles, mock duck, bok choy and shiitake mushrooms in a rich mushroom broth seasoned with shaoxing wine, black vinegar, cumin, sichuan peppercorns, chili oil, celery, pickled mustard greens and fresh herbs.
I actually added extra chili powder and was informed by the cook that it was pretty hot already but I just love spicy food and have a high tolerance for it. I was lucky enough to find a seat in the immediate area, and I went in devouring this delicious dry noodle dish until my belly smiled up at me and was filled joy LOL. I'll definitely be coming here again and try the soup.
Never has a restaurant had a more accurate name.
Very Fresh Noodles is what you expect when you go into this cramped kitchen space located in Chelsea Market. As you read through the menu and wait on line, a chef will make the noodles right in front of you, the very noodles you'll be chowing down on moments later. The noodles themselves are thicker than you'd expect, but soft and readily absorbs the flavors of the broth. Very Fresh Noodles' bowls are loaded with meat and will fill you up with tangy Taiwanese flavors.
Get the freshest noodles of your life without breaking your bank!
3.5 stars, but I'm rounding up. I actually didn't have high expectations, but their food was surprisingly pretty good. Much better than Berlin Currywurst which also newly opened at Chelsea Market. I had high expectations for that and was somewhat disappointed.
The first time I tried this place, I came with a group at night. I got the Tingly Cumin Beef (Dry) because they were out of lamb. The cumin flavor was delicious and I loved how much pickled mustard greens they put in the noodles. The beef was tender, but they use shredded beef instead of chunks. The Tingly Cumin Beef tastes better dry than in soup. I tasted my friend's soup version and it did nothing for the noodles except make it too soft.
I got a taste of my friend's Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup and wow, it was actually really good. It was a bit redder and oilier than regular Taiwanese beef noodle soup, but the flavor was spot on. Some place make it too sweet, but their version was nice and spicy. I also love how much pickled mustard greens they put into this as well. It really makes it taste so much better.
Instead of chunks of beef, all the noodles used shredded beef. We weren't sure if it was because the beef stewed so long (since we came at night) that it fell apart or they did it on purpose. I came back during lunch another day to see and it was also shredded beef. For lunch I got the mild version, which still has a decent kick to it. For some reason, the soup base didn't taste as good as the first time I had it. It was less beefy and more just spicy. I would have liked some nice chunks of beef shank instead, as Taiwanese beef noodle soup is supposed to have.
It's cool that they pull the noodles for every order. You get a show along with your food. It didn't take too long either. The noodles are way too thick and doughy though. It's fine if you eat it dry, but when sitting in the soup for a while, they get pretty unappetizing.
It's only their soft opening now. I wish they were able to have their full menu before my last day of class, since they supposedly had on the menu something called a broke college student combo. Once they have their full menu, I'll be back to try their non-noodle dishes.
A good alternative to Xi'ans famous foods.
We were just leaving los tacos #1 when i saw this sign in the main hallway.
We went to the back of the food area looking for this stall and it was a tiny hole in the wall.
There really isn't any seating here at all. The prices are way more expensive than xff ($12 for a bowl of noodles), but you're in Chelsea market, so even for that hole in the wall the rent is probably ridiculous and they don't have the volume to make up for it either.
They have been here for about 5 months and are still using the soft opening menu. We had the Taiwanese beef noodle soup bowl and it was pretty good. The broth was good and the noodles were nice and chewy as well. There was a good amount of beef in it too.
I'd love to see them expand to a real shop. It was pretty uncomfortable sitting on that window ledge while slurping hot noodles.
I was really excited for a traditional bowl of Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, but what I ended up getting was like a Xi-an Foods style bowl of noodles and it ended up being so disappointing. I'm not saying it was bad, the beef noodle soup here was actually tasty, but as I said, it is seriously not Taiwanese, and I hate that it was labeled as such. For that, I have to give this place a thumbs down for setting my expectations for one thing and delivering something so different.