For a foodie family such as mine, Benavidez Street in Downtown Manila is proving to be a haven. The original Masuki (Ma Mon Luk) is located there, as well as Wai Ying and Sushi Yum (affordable Japanese – will blog about it soon).
Our newest Benavidez discovery is Lan Zhou La Mien, which serves authentic hand-pulled noodles.
Top - Cha Chiang Mien; Bottom - Pork Ribs Lamien Soup
Lanzhou is a city in Northwestern China that is popular, among other things, for hand-pulled noodles. Hand-pulled noodles have always fascinated me. The pulling and twisting of dough that eventually produces noodles is another Chinese ingenuity. No tools are necessary – just strong arms!
What I love is the freshness! The noodles created after several twists and pulls go straight to a huge pot for cooking. And, in a few minutes, the noodles will be making their way to your table (and tummy!).
Among the best-sellers are the beef lamien soup (though we haven’t tried it because we don’t eat beef), pork ribs soup, and cha chiang mien (dry lamien topped with pork and a somewhat spicy sauce). The kuchay dumplings are also yummy – whether boiled or fried.
Technically speaking, the correct Pinyin spelling is la mian (“mian” read as “mien”) – la means to pull, and mian means noodle. Spelling it as “mien” must be so that it’s easier for locals (Pinoys) to read/pronounce it the right way. (It gets quite tedious correcting other people when they mispronounce your name, right?)
Prices are very affordable – our family lunch usually costs less than Php1,000 (we’re a family of 6, including ateJo). Though airconditioned, don’t expect too much ambience since Lan Zhou La Mien is an eatery. The noodles will make up for whatever the restaurant lacks in ambience. 
Lan Zhou La Mien is located on Benavidez Street, Binondo, Manila, with telephone number +632 4800732.
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You know, sometimes, I wish we lived in Binondo. I know moving is a difficult task, but I won’t be needing long distance movers because Binondo isn’t that far away from where we live now.
There’s just one thing though – I know for sure I will gain humongous pounds IF we do move to Binondo to live there. LOL
This is not a paid review. Duh.
Tags: Benavidez Street, Binondo, Chinese culture, Chinese food, food, food and dining, Lan Zhou La Mien, Manila Chinatown, Manila Life, Metro places
May 18th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Wow! Ang saraaaaap!
! I want to try that with my family too when we go down to Manila. LOL! Naiisip ko na ngayon na puro kainan ang atupag namin ngayon! Hahahaha!
Why would people think that it is when it’s about a resto review? Anyway lol. Anyone can do whatever they want with their blogs. I mean it’s their blog. Whether they get paid for what they write or not—no biggie for me. 
Reaction ko lang sa: This is not a paid review. Natawa ako dun.
Anyhoo, you’ll surely be one of the person I’d ask about food tripping! Foodie din ako, di pa nga lang nakakapag-blog tungkol doon.
May 18th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Yummmy!!! I’ve got to try this one. I’ve only tried Mei Ling in Makati and I loved it, I’m sure i’ll love it here too.
May 18th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Hi Yvie! Yes, enjoy the food trip haha. Ask me lang, or search my blog under the tag “food”.
Because I do compensated reviews once in a while, I wouldn’t want some to think this is one of them. I just love the place and the noodles.
May 18th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
Hi Chats,Its so nice to have a chance to go food tripping. You are lucky, your family enjoys this. I would love to experience that too. My hubby is not into asian cuisine so I would most likely do it with my sisters, etc. Love the look of those dumplings…yummy!btw, my blog address has changed, please update your links. thanks
May 19th, 2009 at 2:41 am
yummy .. one of the places to go to
please add that in the list of places you would take us to 
May 19th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Oh wow, we would love to try that. We’ve (me and hubby) planned so so so many times to make a trip to Chinatown but we always get scared of the traffic and parking kasi.
May 19th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Yummy! Favorite ko lahat yan. Kaya naman enjoy na enjoy ako sa food trip sa HK dati. Naku, bigla akong nagutom. =)
May 21st, 2009 at 5:30 pm
When the Lamien noodle opened its door, iba talaga yung soup nya, pure beef! Sadly, di na pareho yung lasa ng soup but the noodles are still hand pulled. And its dumpling shrinks! Anliit na ngayun.But still, you have to try this La Mien.
May 21st, 2009 at 11:43 pm
Wow handpulled noodles! Parang scenes sa old Jackie Chan films, you know Drunken Master.
I’ve not been to Binondo… but I really want to go back (and pig out) hek hek
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:28 pm
That looks delicious. It must have been great watching that guy in action. My hubby refers to it as the art of pulling noodles. It must take great skill and experience to do that.
December 14th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
We ate there after learning about it from other blogs. Update: They’re moving to another location just opposite of the original resto. It’s bigger also. Bakit di ko nakita un noodle maker na naka-pic sa iyo? Ang gumagawa kanina dun chinese na lalake, must be the boss. Anyway, I was quite satisfied though medyo nahuli un order namin na Peking Pork Dumpling. Authentic chinese noodle house!
August 28th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
Went here this afternoon and the noodles are so filling! Sobrang sarap pa! I tried the Tito Noodles and God was it good! The dumplings are a must try too but I prefer the steamed over the fried. All in all, had a good experience eating here!