Yummy Noodles, but no noodles? Best Rice Casserole in Chinatown

Don't let the name Yummy Noodles fool you as the best place for noodles. Yummy Noodles is best known for its Rice Casserole Dishes, which is served in a "clay pot". If you don't know what rice casserole is - its essentially a clay pot filled with rice and a few toppings -- meat (chinese sausage, minced beef/pork, salted chicken, spare ribs, etc), vegetables and eggs -- that when cooked, is mixed together with a special sweetened soy sauce. All of the ingredients are steam cooked in the clay pot -- making the meal healthier to eat than foods that are sauteed or fried. Here are a few photos...

Minced Beef with Egg Rice Casserole

Yes, that's a raw egg - but when mixed together with the HOT rice and minced pork pie the egg will cook itself -- man, its delicious.





Chicken & Mushroom Rice Casserole

You may find this chicken and mushroom mixture at Dim Sum served in a bamboo shoot or a mini-pot.

House Special Chinese Sausage and Minced Pork

Don't know what to say - other than - YUMMY. This dish has it all -- minced pork, boiled egg and chinese sausage ! The chinese sausage, which is salty and sweet, is what makes this dish.

There are quite a few rice casserole dishes served here (16 to be exact) and though I haven't tried the frog/squab/salted butter fly fish, the others are amazingly good. The traditional items included in the rice casserole is the Chinese Sausage (as mentioned earlier) or chicken -- so don't order one without it! AND, don't forget to SCRAPE around the bowl to get the crispy rice (see photo below of the finished clay pot). One of these rice casseroles is easily shareable and can fill one hungry person or two hungry people easily. The traditional rice casserole dishes start at $6.75 and more exotic ones can run up to $10.75. Be sure to order immediately as it takes about 15-20 minutes to cook!

A few other items we enjoyed here were the roast meats aka BBQ -- roast pork, soy sauce chicken and crispy pig. You can order them separately ($6.50), or combine then into one dish (we did 3 for $11.95). The vegetables were fresh, but slightly oily. The beef chow fun was good, but nothing to note.

Yummy Noodles is located on 48 Bowery Street (between Canal and Baynard) and can easily be missed. The easiest way to get to this location is walk east on Canal Street from the N,R,W, and 6 train and make a right (go south) on Bowery. It'll be on your right side after you pass Duane Reade.

Overall, Yummy Noodles is the best place in New York Chinatown to order Rice Casserole dishes, not noodles.

Yummy Noodles, 48 Broadway (between Canal and Baynard Street), (212) 374-1327
Accessible by N, R, W, 6, B, D trains, M103 bus

sidenote: Yummy Noodles has been in New York Chinatown for more than nine years and has recently undergone a renovation. If you haven't been here in a long time, you'll notice a new hanging TV with a slide show of the foods it serves, a new red counter top with 4-5 place settings, and a newly painted bamboo backdrop.

for more info on claypot cooking -- check this out on wikipedia and on this website.