Provided by Yu’s Noodle Shop
Audio By Carbonatix
Hand-pulled Chinese noodles in Denver are having a moment.
While that sentence may evoke images of steamy noodle shops tucked into art-industrial neighborhoods deep in the city, some of the best noodles in Denver can be found in The Lincoln Commons at Ridgegate Shopping Center in Lone Tree.
When you walk into Yu’s Noodle Shop, the first thing you see is a window into the noodle-making room. The room itself is simple. Bright lights, white subway tile, a handwashing sink, a dough mixer, a sheeter, a small fan, and a steel work counter. In the room, the chef stands at the counter in front of a huge pile of dough.
There are four stools beneath the window where you can watch the chef hand-pull noodles while you eat. The process can be mesmerizing; the precise cat’s-cradle-style finger trick of doubling and stretching the dough. The precise sleight of hand at the end when the clump of dough with 32 dough strands is torn away and suddenly there are 64 noodles.
It’s not uncommon for children (and their parents from a more dignified distance) to come up to the window and watch the process, sometimes counting the noodles together — “2-4-8-16-32-64…”
There’s a shared joy when the chef slaps the noodles on the counter, makes another pull for an order of 128 thin noodles (for the beef jalapeno noodle), and then throws the twisted, arm-length pile of noodles over the half wall right into boiling water.
“All the kids love the experience of seeing their noodles being pulled,” says owner Christina Ludwick. “It’s an art. It’s magic.”
Since opening in January of last year, diners have been lining up to experience the magic of hand-pulled noodles and to taste (and retaste) the honest and authentic flavors Yu’s serves up by the handmade clay bowlful.
Lanzhou-style hand-pulled noodles are all about freshness. Less than three minutes pass between the chef chopping off a hunk of dough and the bowl being set streaming on your table.
Among the favorites are the Beef Noodles, a traditional Lanzhou noodle soup bowl that offers toothsome noodles, chunks of braised ribeye and vegetables in a consommé broth that crosses the bridge from uniquely flavorful to comforting.
For those who prefer noodles without broth, the Sauce Noodle and Chow Mein dishes capture the simple interplay among fresh vegetables, seasoned meats, delicious sauces, and handmade noodles.
The Dan-Dan pork noodles — topped with spicy, minced pork balanced with bright and crunchy preserved vegetables — and the Chicken Chow Mein — with fresh bok choi, carrots, and green onions — both highlight the signature noodles’ quality and freshness.
Beyond noodles, there are also dumplings. The Spicy Wontons arrive rich and chewy, served floating in a spicy, tangy sauce. The Xiao Long Bao, served in the steam basket, make perfect flavorful appetizers.
This kind of welcoming comfort can sneak up on you, set amid a Target shopping center surrounded by corporate chain restaurants. But the feeling you get inside Yu’s Noodle Shop is no accident.
“My husband and I both loved hand-pulled noodles back in China,” says Ludwick. “We noticed that in Denver, there wasn’t a good noodle restaurant, especially for hand-pulled noodles. … (So) we hired our chef from Lanzhou, China.”
What makes these noodle bowls special is not some closely guarded secret hidden deep within the kitchen. It’s the openness of the shop itself, the window into the kitchen, where everything happens right in front of you.
Yu’s Noodle Shop is located at 9220 Kimmer Drive, Lone Tree and is open 11 a.m to 9 p.m. daily. For more information visit yusnoodleshop.com.
