There are shopping centers in the metro that deliver on their names and then some (West Colonial Drive’s Chinatown Plaza, for example), and then there are the sleepers, with nondescript monikers that belie the international treasures available inside — places peppered between franchised sub shops and wellness centers, escape rooms and gyms.
Such is the case in Dr. Phillips, where the glitzy offerings of Sand Lake Road’s “restaurant row” are getting some serious competition from an ever-growing string of pearls on Turkey Lake Road.
Phillips Plaza, already home to slam dunks like Boiled Fish, where simmering cauldrons merge delights from both China and Korea, and the Iraqi-Syrian sensation of Rawsha Mediterranean Cuisine, has yet another gem to discover, and it’s all right in the name: Wonderful Hand-Pulled Noodle.
Chef/owner Ken Chen and his wife, Zoe Feng, opened the place back in June. In the time since, sans any assertive marketing tactics, its fanbase has grown from largely Chinese locals and tourists — most of whom heard solid word-of-mouth on RedNote — to a far wider audience.
Because Chen’s noodles are as advertised, if only on the sign over the door.
The world’s oldest noods, dating back 4,000 years, were unearthed at an archaeological site in the northwestern Chinese province of Qinghai. Chen, a native of China’s southern Fujian province, has been perfecting this art from the country’s north for the past 15 — though largely in the kitchens of Brooklyn and Queens.
Among the joys of fresh, knife-sliced noodles is the spectrum of textures, where one can experience bites range from joyously chewy to feathery-light and melty, often simultaneously. Here, we see them in Chef Ken Chen’s house stir-fry, featuring chicken, beef and shrimp. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)
Post-pandemic, says Feng, the couple came to Orlando with entrepreneurial dreams that have finally been realized; in the process, they fulfilled those of Orlandoans (and Chinese visitors from all different countries, she notes) seeking steamy solace in carbohydrate form.
Nutty sesame cold noodles are refreshing and satisfying all at once. I like ’em with a hit of spice. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)
WHPN is a casual, comfortable experience. Come as you are, and this includes your level of chopstick interest. Friendly servers offered forks on all my visits, so don’t let these beauties, slippery as they can be, intimidate. And if it’s your first time trying them, I am jealous, for the enlightening experience fresh noods impart to fresh noobs is like no other.
Watching Chen, who works the dough in full view of the dining room, is akin to culinary gymnastics, with the noodles subbing for the sport’s ribbon banner. I found myself meditative as the gluten rope swung and slapped, folded, twisted — gradually morphing into perfectly even strands in movements that are equal parts science and magic.
The star ingredient, made before guests’ eyes at Wonderful Hand-Pulled Noodle. (Courtesy Wonderful Hand-Pulled Noodle)
That’s how it comes together on the plates, too, though you might enjoy a little chopstick practice with apps such as the cold beef shank ($12.95), delicately sliced and served with spicy or garlic sauce, or shredded kelp salad ($8.95), itself with noodle-like chew — salty, tangy, subtly sweet.
Soups, says Feng, are where it’s at for both flavor and authenticity.
Cutting the carbs? With supreme willpower, it’s actually possible here. Dishes like the cold beef shank make it possible. Pair it with kelp salad, which has incredible chew. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)
“Hand-pulled noodle restaurants are usually famous for this, and the broth is so rich, made of beef bone and chicken mixed together,” she tells me. These dishes are both her and her husband’s favorites.
The shrimp and pork wonton noodle soup ($15.95), in particular with the $1 knife-cut noodle upgrade, is a steamy wonder of impossibly long and fresh noodles winding amid delicate purses of meat and broth and blanched-bright greens.
I’ll order soup in the peak of summertime, but as we head into soup season proper, I can see the cravings for Wonderful Hand-Pulled Noodle’s shrimp and pork wonton noodle soup in my future. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)
“The two different types of noodle are different experiences,” says Feng.
The knife-cut, exceptional and beautifully ragged, feature a range of texture that runs from chewy in the thickest places to translucent at the edges, almost mimicking the gently waving plants on a seabed as they drift in each ample bowl.
Indescribably comforting: shrimp and pork wonton noodle soup at Wonderful Hand-Pulled Noodle in Orlando. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)
The more traditional hand-pulled, created fresh just feet from where you sit, are a marvel of both engineering in their uniformity and texture in their balance of tender and toothy.
Those looking for a stir-fry version will not be disappointed. Massive servings are filling, whether for tummy or takeout box or both. We tried vegetarian (egg and vegetable with hand-pulled) and house (beef, shrimp, chicken with knife-cut) and it’s subjective. I preferred the latter for the wondrous scope of mouthfeel, both protein and carb, but there are no losers here.
Stir-fried hand-pulled noodles with vegetable and egg from Wonderful Hand-Pulled Noodle in Orlando. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)
Just very full winners.
For Chen and Feng, of course, full seats are the big win, so I hope more of you venture in to try them out.
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Open six days and getting a restaurant up and running, they’ve not yet had time to try any of their gifted neighbors’ offerings — and as Egyptian hit The Dough Show’s new location will open here soon, too, the party’s about to get even tastier.
Wonderful Hand-Pulled Noodle is its own kind of dough show, one guests are often compelled to record.
Wonderful Hand-Pulled Noodle is a great name for a wonderful addition to this foodie-centric shopping plaza in Orlando’s Dr. Phillips neighborhood. It opened back in June. (Courtesy Wonderful Hand-Pulled Noodle)
“Customers come to ask if they can take a picture or video, and Ken always tells them they are welcome so that more people can get to know us,” says Feng.
Hear, hear, I say. And slurp, slurp.
Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com, For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.
If you go
Wonderful Hand-Pulled Noodle: 8910 Turkey Lake Road in Orlando, 407-250-6958; wonderfulnoodle.com
