Daniel B.
Yelp
I thought Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle was great. If I thought local competitor Dagu Rice Noodle was good and I gave them four stars (https://bit.ly/35Hsfz2), does that mean I should give Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle five stars? I think I will. When it comes to Chinese rice noodle soup restaurants in metro Atlanta, this Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle location is the best I've tried so far.
If you've been to Dagu, next to Quickly on Buford Highway, Ten Seconds is generally regarded as better because Ten Seconds' broth is more flavorful. I agree with this general opinion.
Like Dagu, Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle is a chain of Chinese rice noodle soup restaurants. The Chinese name is Shi Miao Dao (or "Shi Miaodao") which means "ready in 10 seconds." There are several Shi Miao Dao locations across the country including New York, DC (Rockville), Philadelphia, Houston, and Denver.
This Ten Seconds location in Doraville used to be Qing Shu Malatang, opened in October 2019. Qing Shu Malatang became Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle sometime around the 2022 New Year (I submitted the Yelp business edit to change the name in February 2022 and it went through). After the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, I remember walking by Qing Shu Malatang several times on our trips to Tea Top wondering if they'd survive. Chinese rice noodle soups, with their boiling broths and multitude of dishes, aren't exactly takeout-friendly.
During the early months of the pandemic, I noticed Qing Shu Malatang converted its front door to a takeout-only window, similar to Tea Top. The dining room has since reopened with clear dividers in between tables and the business has since rebranded. I was happy to see this place quite busy during our Saturday night visit. And I could see why this place is popular - the food was very good and everything was served quickly.
Among my friends, opinions vary about this place. Some people love it and rave about it. Others, like my wife, are lukewarm about it. Those who feel the latter don't think Ten Seconds is bad, it's just not a place they'd go out of their way for or a place with a type of food they crave.
As I wrote in my review for Dagu Rice Noodle, the version of Chinese rice noodles that Dagu, Ten Seconds, and other metro Atlanta restaurants, such as Yunnan Crossing Bridge Rice Noodle in Duluth, is known for originated in Yunnan province, China. Hence, "Yunnan" is the business name. Basically, what you get is deconstructed noodle soup: a bowl of boiling-hot, savory broth, a separate bowl of silky smooth, soft, thin, and round rice noodles, maybe a tray or bowl of meat, and a tray filled with small dishes of other various ingredients (mostly veggies).
Aesthetically, the presentation looks great. The colorful and symmetrical "deconstructed" appearance plus the ability to put the ingredients in yourself are part of the fun and appeal of these places. Here, you also have the option for your bowl to be assembled for you in the kitchen. If you cook it yourself, it's supposed to take only 10 seconds for everything to cook and be ready to eat. I don't like eating foods that are too temperature-hot so I let my bowl sit for much longer than 10 seconds.
Aside from the appetizers and cold dishes on the menu, pretty much everything else comes with everything you need. No "build your own" bowls or anything like that. Think of each entree on the menu as a complete, preset meal. There are nearly 50 soups to choose from and the menu has helpful pictures to ease decision-making.
Here's what the four of us got:
Apps/Cold Dishes:
* A8. Cucumber Salad ($5.25)
* A11. Spicy Tripe ($7.95)
* A12. Black Fungus with Vinegar Sauce ($5.25)
Sour Spicy Soup:
* Sour Spicy Slice Beef Rice Noodle x2 ($13.95 each)
* Sour Spicy Pork Chop Rice Noodle ($12.95)
Szechuan Pepper Soup:
* Szechuan Pepper Fish Rice Noodle Soup ($13.95)
I enjoyed everything. I love tripe and appreciated the portion size of the Spicy Tripe here. It was delicious. If you like tripe, I recommend it. The Cucumber Salad and Black Fungus (wood ear) were fresh and spicy and are worth ordering as well.
As far as the broths went, I thought both the Sour Spicy and Szechuan broths were nice and flavorful. I don't think you can go wrong with either.
The sliced beef was served in rolls like at Chinese hot pot. The pork chop was partially cooked, with some sort of coating on the outside (like flour or cornstarch), sliced, and served in a bowl. It was like a Taiwanese fried pork chop, but I'm not sure it was fried. The fish was a whitefish that was served in sizable filets and, unlike the beef and pork, the fish meat was served already cooking in the boiling broth.
The small dishes, not described on the menu, included quail egg, fishcake, tofu skin, corn, Chinese garlic chives, snow ear, Chinese pickled mustard greens, sliced ham, wood ear, and iceberg lettuce. All of the ingredients were fresh and good quality.
The old Chinese lady servers were curt.