Right in the central business district, east of Beijing, "Loft Noodle" offers noodles and Shanxi delights. A wide open counter allows you to marvel at the preparation of some tasty noodles.

You could pass in front of "Loft Noodle" without even noticing it. Located on Beijing's east side, on a parking lot dotted with kiosks and dilapidated shops, the restaurant opened in 2002 but still remains one of the best eateries of the capital for its noodles and the Shanxi dishes (Shanxi is located in the north-east of China).

Behind heavy metal doors, an unexpectedly modern establishment stretched out over two floors. The dark grey walls are covered by a wallpaper depicting colourful towers reminiscent of contemporary art. The grey curtains veil the large windows and echo the sophisticated black of the neckline and sleeves of the waiters' uniforms.

The tables and chairs, all uniformly black, are lit by rectangular metal lamps, as are the stools surrounding the large oval chrome counter. The second floor adds dabs of colour to the palette with shades of orange from the napkins and green from the plants complement the restaurant's sober trend. More spacious than the ground floor, it is decorated with metallic mobiles and divided into private rooms.

Still, the ground floor remains the heart of the restaurant. It gives you a front row seat to the eight chefs in white blouses and toques, working their magic and preparing the noodles. It is truly a sight to see, a literal ballet between the counter and wooden stoves.   Chopsticks, knives and scissors enter the fray, and the noodles emerge long or short, thin or thick, or even poetically shaped like petals, fish or cat's ears. An almost musical sequence follows starting by throwing the noodles into boiling water which ripples with the slamming of dry strips of dough onto wood. In all, Loft Noodle proposes no less than six kinds of noodles (12 RMB) and five more in soups.

Treat for the eyes

After navigating your way to your choice of noodles, the eight sauces highlighted in the bilingual menu are yours to pick from. The hand stretched beef noodle soup is a delight (32RMB), served fuming with chopped coriander, the broth is dark, rich and tasty. The meat cubes are tender and the texture is reminiscent of that used in pot-au-feu. 

The spinach noodles (12RMB) are also worth a try, if only to gawk at the wonder of its preparation. This dish is comprised of one single noodle, stretched to several meters in length.  This noodle goes well with the fresh tomato and eggs sauce (3RMB for a supplement), leaving your eyes and palate sated.

Lending the restaurant real variety, the mixture of peanuts and young soybean sprouts (18 RMB) should also be savoured. Almost raw, the white peanuts make for a refreshing and atypical entree.