Chen’s Noodle House

The only hole in the wall joint that I go to regularly. Their noodles are amazing and remind me of the food I once ate in Hong Kong and the mainland.

When I was a college student at UT making a trek to Chen’s was quite the trek off campus but worth it. It is an oasis in a desert of terrible Chinese food in Austin. I will would follow Chen and his dirty stained white T shirt where ever his noodle cutting knife may lead him.
In fact, I would go to Hell, fuck Lucifer’s mom, then go back and now deal with an angry Lucifer for not calling his mom back after I fucked her, if only it meant I could have another delicious hot spicy bowl of Chen’s delicious beef noodle soup.
As a Chinese person, and at the risk of sounding pretentious as fuck, Chen’s is as good as it gets. It reminds me of my days in Middle Kingdom eating dao xiao mein (knife cut noodles) in the frigid and freezing north of China.
However this is delicious beef noodle soup in Austin, TX. A soup so diabolically phenomenal, I would gladly ingest without hesitation in the 100+ degree summers all while burning my mouth as I do so. Burned tongue and esophagus be damned, this beef noodle soup is getting into my body.
The rest of the soups are also quite delicious, vary in taste and style, but nevertheless remind me of my youth in China. Days were I dared to dream, days that haunt me like a jarring refrain.
Chen’s reminds me in my bitter quarter life crisis that although terrible men can do terrible things, out there there are beacons of hope found in the rich, spicy and beefy broth found in this hidden away noodle nirvana.
Also their lamb skewers hearken back to the street food of my youth, before the greedy Ronald McDonald and his burger peddling whores came into town.
Their stir fry, dan dan noodles, and even cold noodles will make you question everything you knew about noodles until it nearly drives you to Edgar Allan Poe literary level’s of madness.
Also I believe this place used to be a Little Caesars Pizza which for some reason I find really funny.
They are closed Tuesdays from what I recall, which makes me irrationally wish we had 8 days a week to make up for the extra day I could have had the delicious noodles.
Waste no more time reading the noodle crazed ramblings of a mere man, and go feast your soul with the creation of a god named Chen.
Oh and they have no bathroom so if you got to tinkle, go take a piss at the Chinese market next door. Make as much room for Chen as possible and his big thick wet noodles.
You read that right. I meant to say it exactly like that too.

I’m still craving black bean noodles from this place and it’s been at least a week or two since I was there last. Nice little hole in the wall with great noodle dishes and a menu that varies. Prices are pretty good for what you’re getting. However, I wish this place would take some time to work on its atmosphere. I think they’re missing out on the folks who are scared away by the dumpy interior. If they never change anything about it though… more for me!

You’ll feel like a local in China (well, I’ve never been there though…). Nothing is fancy about the décor, but noodles are all delicious. You’ll order at the counter, take chopsticks/​spoons and some hot tea, then go take your seat. Someone will bring food to you. Cashier ladies are very friendly and attentive. Great customer service:).

Tried for the first time yesterday. Very sweet girl behind the counter. We got jajangmyeon, noodles with eggs/​tomatoes, and scallion pancakes and leek pie. Food was flavorful without being overly salty. I’d definitely come back!

This used to be really good noodle place. Then the flavor of quiet a few dishes changed. Now they have lowered their services quality.
I ordered noodle to-​go, went out to get something and came back 10 minutes later. They served two customers who came after me and I have to waited almost anther 10 minutes.
So I asked if there should be a common rule first come/​pay first serve. The cashier said ‘no, we served you all the same time’
Never heard of such Ridiculers excuses! If you serve without sequences then no queuing is necessary in this place any more.
It is such a disappointed experience.

I ordered wonton soup and lamb skewers. They both taste pretty standard. The skin for wonton is a little thick. The restaurant doesn’t have many variety to offer and the seatings are pretty tight!

Although it the place looks dumpy the food was very good, the noodles were fresh, spicy and very tasty. service was courteous, again I loved the noodles.

If you haven’t been here, go here. Eat here now! You are living a sad, empty, flavorless life without this food.
May god have mercy on your soul.

Chen’s Noodles is a must whenever I go to Asia Market for groceries. I’m starting to thinking that I prefer Asia Market simply because it’s right next to Chen’s Noodles where I can get delicious noodles with authentic Chinese street food.
Their sesame pockets are a bit greasy for me but they are excellent. I also like their green onion pancake very much. As for noodles, I go with the classic beef noodles soup, it goes well with the chili oil. The stir fried noodles is also popular.
Overall, excellent food at an affordable price. I highly recommend making a trip to this place for a quick lunch or dinner.

I am now a fan! I stopped by for a late lunch on Friday afternoon and left full and satisfied. Unilocal mobile App came through again as the reviews are spot on. I had a veggie fat noodle plate and it was wonderful. I kicked up the heat with their chili sauce. This is definitely categorized as a dive venue a wonderful dive venue. How can you go wrong with mon and dad cooking everything to order!

Super hole in the wall but dumplings were good and crispy. We got the combination noodle soup which was good but I was disappointed in how thick the soup was. I would have liked to try the black bean noodles.

This is definitely a hidden gem. Their noodles are handmade-​nothing can compare to their al dente texture. I normally get beef noodle soup, which is different from the Taiwanese version; their meat is thinner, and their soup is light and clear.
The atmosphere is super laid back. It’s self-​serve but the employees are accommodating and friendly. Perfect for a quick meal.

If you’re in the mood for some authentic Chinese noodles and noodle soup, you can come to Chen’s Noodle House. This place has a strong home feeling as there is no servers, no fancy options, it’s just simple good Chinese food prepared by actual Chinese people. When you walk in, you can see them cooking in the back. This place serves very a variety of Chinese soups and street food like the green onion pancake and the lamb skewers. The water is self-​serve in tiny cups and you can also get hot tea for free.
The green onion pancake is delicious and crispy. The Lamb Skewers were very tender and topped with very flavorful sauce. The soup I got was the Northern Style Wonton Soup. The broth was flavorful and topped with some kind of chili sauce that added a nice sweet/​sour contrast to the wontons and soup. The wontons were pretty regular as I have at other place. The soup was pretty good. It has a nice «homely» feeling to it that tastes like someone made it for their family at home. It’s almost as if I’m not eating at a restaurant. The soup is extra nice during the colder seasons of the year.
All in all, Chen’s Noodle House is nice if you’re craving some home cooking styled noodles or soup. It’s nice and simple with no extra flares or frills.

I love this place. Grew up 5 mins from it since it first opened. And now I try to go everytime I’m in Austin visiting my family. It’s very small area but it’s legit chinese food with actual Chinese people cooking.
I’ve been to china over a dozen times and this place is the only place I’ve found that serves lamb skewers (yang rou chuan) similar to the ones I buy on the streets of China.
My go to entrée is the egg tomato noodle requested with the dao xiao mian (knife cut noodles) and no ginger. I also always get the cong you bing (green onion pancakes), which are a little too dry for me-​a weird complaint coming from me because usually I complain that restaurants serve them tooo oily. But their cheap and I’m still satisfied.

This place is delicious. Hole in the wall, no frills, no service, cheap and delicious.
I had the spicy lamb noodle soup and it was enough for 2 meals. This place could probably soothe your soul in the wintertime.
I will be back, but I will wait until the temperature of the air outside doesn’t match the temperature of the soup.

It was sooo good and we added our order twice… The owner was quite impressed/​astonished by how much we ordered and ate… But seriously, the food is pretty good. The two of us had Stir Fried Noodle, Lamb Skewer, Green Onion pancake, Sesame Pockets, Leek Pie, and Wonton Soup… Now that I listed them I can see why he’s impressed…
Great place to try some Chinese street food/​snacks.

They always say the «little hole in the wall» kind of places are the best and Chen’s noodle house is definitely one of them! The first time I tried this place, I ordered the Curry Rib Noodle Soup. I cannot express to you how delicious this dish was. The broth was full of flavor, the pork was really tender and the potatoes added a little je né se quoi that just makes the soup complete! My fiancée ordered the stir fried noodles which were exquisite. You can tell their noodles are made in house. They are so good. They have a couple of appetizers like the green onion pancake (highly recommend), dumplings, lamb skewers, leek pie, and more. Every single thing that I have tried here is fully satisfying!
The chef even approached my fiancé and I at the counter and asked if we enjoyed our meal. Little did he know we loved it so much, we would be back the very next day! It was actually kind of embarrassing because he recognized us and made a comment about us being there the day before. What can I say, we found one of the best restaurants in town!

Oh, Chen’s, you delightful, divey noodle house! I adore you, and I really need to come here more often.
This place is TINY. There’s like 5 tables inside, and 2 outside. There’s nearly always a line, too. You simply MUST get the green onion pancakes with your noodles — they’re crispy, light little pancakes of perfection. The lamb skewers are wonderfully seasoned. I adore the lamb noodle soup, the pork leek noodles, and the wontons.
If it’s a cold evening, this place is the perfect choice to warm you up — they’ll make your soup spicy for you, if you like. This is the kind of place that you totally want to support.

Order at the counter and take a seat at this ten-​table restaurant. Help yourself to a cup of water on the table located beside the counter or grab a soda from the refrigerator.
My lamb noodle soup was good. The broth was good. The lamb was good (very small portion) and the noodles were ok.
Be prepared to use chopsticks. However, don’t fret on being a chopstick pro, or making a mess, because the young, come-​as-​you-​are crowd here won’t stare you down.