The best noodles in New York

The Lan Zhou hand-pulled noodle master strings us along.

Photograph: Imogen Brown

Beef Noodle Soup
Intoxicating soups beckon throughout Manhattan’s Chinatown, but the slurp-worthiest can be found in Brooklyn, at itsy-bitsy Lan Zhou Hand Pull Noodle in Sunset Park. The hand-pulled noodle soup with beef ($5) is a steaming bowl of deeply flavorful broth, tender meat, spinach, Chinese greens and sublime, satiny noodles made fresh before your eyes. While they wait for the meal, kids can watch the Lan Zhou noodle master stretch lumps of dough into long, wondrous strands in what may well be the best abracadabra act in town. 5924 Eighth Ave between 59th and 60th Sts, Sunset Park, Brooklyn (718-492-7568)

Clay Pot of Pearl Noodles
Most Malaysian restaurants have wisely chosen to call their loh shee fun “pearl noodles” rather than the traditional “rat’s tails,” but either way, wee ones can’t gobble them up fast enough. Sentosa’s clay pot of delicate pearl noodles ($6) brims with diced shrimp, scallops, squid, baby corn and more, in a generous swirl of those irresistible chewy, fat noodles. 39-07 Prince St between Roosevelt and Flushing Aves, Flushing, Queens (718-886-6331)