Little Tong Noodle Shop
Slippery rice noodles, Grandma Chicken broth and a chef who put Yunnan on New York's noodle map.
When Little Tong Noodle Shop opened in the East Village in March 2017, at First Avenue and 11th Street, it introduced many New Yorkers to a noodle they had never tried: mixian, the round rice noodles of China's Yunnan province. Chef-owner Simone Tong built the menu around them, and the small restaurant quickly became one of the neighborhood's most talked-about noodle spots.
What is mixian?
Mixian are rice noodles, slippery and springy, served in Yunnan in endless variations. Some come in rich broths, some dressed and cold, some loaded with pickles, herbs, chili and fermented flavors. Yunnan sits at a crossroads near Southeast Asia, Tibet and Sichuan, and its food shows it: sour, spicy, funky and fresh at once.
What people ordered
- Grandma Chicken mixian. The signature bowl: a deeply savory chicken broth with tender chicken and rice noodles, the dish most diners came back for.
- Spicy and tingly bowls with chili oil and Sichuan peppercorn for heat seekers.
- Small plates of pickles, salads and snacks inspired by Yunnan street food.
What happened to Little Tong?
The East Village location closed in March 2020, as the pandemic hit New York's restaurants. A Midtown outpost closed later when office workers stopped coming in. Simone Tong went on to open new projects, including Silver Apricot in the West Village. Little Tong's influence lasted: it showed that New York diners were hungry for regional Chinese cooking beyond the familiar takeout menu.
Where to find mixian now
Yunnan noodle shops have popped up across New York since then, from Manhattan's Chinatown to Flushing, Queens. Look for menus listing "crossing-the-bridge" noodles (guoqiao mixian), Yunnan's most famous dish. It's served as a scalding broth with raw ingredients and noodles on the side, which you add and cook at the table.
More noodles: our notes from a New York ramen festival.
