Review: Splendid Noodle in Stony Brook

It’s always a splendid occasion when there’s a chef twisting, pounding and swinging ropes of wheat noodles in the air. The most sought-after Chinese noodle houses have an open kitchen where the acrobatics are on display. And Splendid Noodle is as serious as they get, a fine tribute to the Chinese art of hand-pulled lamian.

The Stony Brook shop offers this wavy noodle — a precursor to Japanese ramen — in savory, cartilaginous soups as well as a couple cold noodle dishes in light sesame sauce or a dollop of minced pork, garnished with cilantro and cucumber to cut the richness.

Standing facing the diners, the chef folds, twists and stretches a salami-thick rope of dough to develop a sinewy, elastic texture. Holding his arms far apart, he bangs the dough on the counter and repeats the process. When the dough is sufficiently supple, it's divided into ever-thinner filaments, then tossed into a vat of boiling water.

So silky and regular, it’s hard to believe the noodles aren't mechanically extruded through a die like spaghetti. They are so long (five feet) that sharing a bowl of them is almost impossible. The only way to eat them is to slurp until you reach the end.

The knife-cut noodles are also extraordinary, thin and tapered at the ends with just enough chew that the potent broth clings to them. Adventurous eaters should go straight for the guts. Beef tendon, cut into small chunks, is somehow crisp and gummy at the same time, with a wonderful beefy flavor. Pale and sheathed in a delicate skin, the pork intestines are a treat for offal aficionados. But with these beautifully doughy noodles, even the basic beef flank soup becomes an extraordinary testament to the comfort foods of the world. 

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By Andi Berlin

andi.berlin@newsday.comAndiBerlin

Andi Berlin is from Arizona and does not know where she is going. But when she gets there, she’ll find something beautiful and delicious that the world needs to taste.