Chris V.
Yelp
... master of none?
Noodle Master is one of the newest Chinese noodle soup spots in town. Consider how spread out the valley is, they're not all that far away from a location of one of the local trendsetters in the genre. The high Yelp rating had this spot at the front of my mind, and when my friend expressed interest in something soupy, I was more than happy to oblige.
We got there around 7pm and it was the polar opposite of crowded; we had our pick of any of the tables or counters. The menu is the smallest I've seen from this type of cuisine, so we quickly figured out what we wanted.
Shanghai Soup Dumpling ($11.99, 8 pc): a relatively smaller size of the xiao long bao which is actually not usually present in this type of restaurant. The wrapper seemed to fall apart a bit too easily for some reason, but it has a good amount of soup, tasted savory with maybe a light sweetness, and wasn't scalding hot by the time it was ready (actually after the entrees). They premixed a sauce for us and it seemed pretty balanced between soy sauce and vinegar, but we couldn't really figure out how to use the sauce in the right amount without a spoon and without separate sauce bowls.
Beef Brisket Noodle ($14.50): comparable flavors and portion to competitors, and my choice of knife-cut noodles was cooked enough but retained a decent chew. The more meaty cuts of the beef seemed a little tough though, and the broth wasn't intense as other local spots.
Fish Noodle with Pickle Veggies ($14.50): a more interesting and lively option than my own bowl. The broth is lighter but carries a bit of an acidic punch from the pickled greens. The fish was super tender and richly flavored with the broth. I'll have to order this for myself in the future.
Noodle Master was pretty good, but they didn't do quite enough for me to recommend them over similar restaurants for the most part. I am intrigued by the fish noodle though, so I may come back just to have that.