Happy Nouilles

Text and Image: Nick Forrester

France 2's investigative documentary program, Envoyé Spécial, highlighted, in a 2004 documentary, the poor and downright disgusting hygiene and food storage in some of Paris' Asian restaurants. The program has been re-shown on France 2 and there has been a huge commotion surrounding the whole affair.

Many Parisians have been put off the idea of eating in in Japanese and Chinese restaurants. And what a shame that is, because a well chosen Chinese restaurant can be a delightful experience, leaving your appetite satisfied in a way that no Magret de Canard could replace and still leaving you with change from 10E.

Finding a good Chinese is less of a struggle if you're passing through the 3rd arrondissement though. Torwards Arts and Metiers Metro station, on rue Beaubourg, there is a small Chinese Noodle restaurant serving up freshly made noodles and magical bowls of soup. They make noodles in the traditional Shanghai way, by swinging it around and stretching the dough into thinner and thinner strips. The chef stands in the restaurant window and can be seen by passers by swinging the noodles above his/her head and around the tiny kitchen area.

The noodles are serves in a thin, brothy soup, with spring onions, coriander and a selection of meats or vegetables. Not only are all the dishes made fresh, and not left pre-prepared, in Tupperware dishes in the window, but the vegetables are fresh and crunchy and meats are of a good standard.

So if your feeling weighed down by too many baguettes or full from too many steak tartares then Happy Noodles provides a rare opportunity to sample some excellent foreign cuisine and something slightly more original than the ubiquitous boxes of sushi.

Happy Nouilles
95 rue Beaubourg
75003 Paris, France
01 44 59 31 22

Comments

[patrick]

sounds great - have a feeling i may have had their vermicelli soup... just around the corner chez shen is great too! hoping they didn't appear on the tv broadcast!

[Nick]

I love Chez Shen too, in particular their Pat Soja saute aux legumes (delicious fried tofu). They always seem to make fresh dishes and it's always packed. They weren't on the documentary and they're certainly nowhere near that bracket of restaurant.

[Omid Tavallai]

I'm a big fan of Happy Nouilles. The food and the friendly staff always make me... happy!

And Chez Shen is most definitely in another category from the usual traiteur asiatique. Also nearby is New New, which is good for a more family style experience: Solid, authentic Chinese food served at large tables.

The great thing about Happy Nouilles' success (and the opening of a second Pâtes Vivantes, the original Paris handmade noodle outpost) is that it's paving the way for more great Chinese joints to bring hand-pulled noodles to the masses. Noodles Atelier on rue Saint-Denis and Noodle #1 on rue Saint-Anne have joined the party. It's also forcing the ramen joints that have been so fashionable on rue Saint-Anne to raise their game and serve fresher noodles.

Rather than a silly food trend, the success of the first few restaurants in this genre are opening the door for an authentic, traditional cuisine to take root here. And that's long overdue.

Long live Happy Nouilles!