We’d been hearing lots of buzz about this new “hand-pulled” noodle spot on Buford Highway for awhile. I go back to our Bangkok, Thailand food tour and remember the “kitchen” of a restaurant that was back in an alley with the cooks tossing noodles in woks over garbage barrels and the little Thai women sitting nearby, pulling the noodles.

Lan Zhou Ramen’s hand-pulled noodle experience isn’t quite that epic but it is still pretty good. We didn’t have the regular noodles, but I hear those are good as well.The inside is pretty basic and in-line with most Buford Highway spots.

There is a large viewing window at the back where you can watch them work with the noodles which is very cool!

We started with the scallion pancake which had great flavor but was a tad greasy. They served it with a little vinegar that cut through the grease and added some tangy-ness. 

The standout was the Duck Soup with the hand-pulled noodles. Incredibly rich but not overwhelming broth, great noodles and perfectly cooked duck with skin still on. YUM! I would definitely get this again and bring others here to try this.

The hand-pulled noodle stir-fry tasted more like regular Chinese food that often tastes like the wok or the grill. Did not care for the flavor, but others at our table liked it.

We ordered the Chinese green beans and like the flavor but they were slightly overcooked. Would be willing to try this again and is a good option for vegetarians!

The soup dumplings were very disappointing. I’d read that this was an item to order but they arrived without ANY soup inside. When we mentioned this to the waiter he just shrugged and informed us it must have seeped out into the pan. He didn’t offer to take it off the bill or bring us a new order of them. This would usually be reason enough for me to NOT return to a restaurant or recommend it, but the place is still new so I’ll let it go. But I cannot recommend the soup dumplings, unfortunately.

And there you have it – overall, the good things here are what you’d expect with the noodle soups so stick to those and slurp away!