Delicious Lotus Root, Mediocre Hot Dry Noodles at Uncle Hot

We believe that it shouldn't be the end of world when your favorite Wuhan hot dry noodles (热干面, règānmiàn) Morning (at Chunxiu Lu) closes for Chinese New Year. That's why we went to find you (and ourselves) an alternative.

Maybe you have already heard this legendary story: an uncle from Hubei started selling Wuhan noodles at a hawker-style stall near Shuangjing several years ago, and patrons started calling him Uncle Hot. Because he was so successful, he managed to make it all the way to Sanlitun, to open a restaurant with more than 20 seats in 3.3 Shopping Center.

The noodles are boring

The menu is simple, with the basic traditional hot dry noodles (RMB 23), as well as noodles with egg, spam, beef, fish balls or beef balls (RMB 27-32), soup noodles (RMB 27-35), and several Wuhan dishes (RMB 16-58). We opted for the traditional rendition of the noodles, comparing them to the one at Morning. Unfortunately we felt they were lacking in that thick majiang sauce, the noodles were drier, and there was a definite shortage of dried vegetable chops. Yes, these are definitely not the best hot dry noodles we’ve had, but the preserved turnip chops were crisp and flavorful. At this point, we miss Morning even more.

We love this Lotus Root with Baby (RMB 36)

Our favorite was the signature Lotus Root with Baby (RMB 36), which, thankfully has no real human babies in the dish, but is steamed lotus root slices stuffed with meat. There was a delicious sauce, thick soft slices of lotus root, and the meat added a savory meaty touch. As for the drinks, they offer Yanjing (RMB 10), Budweiser, 1664, and Delirium (RMB 20-25). We tried the traditional rice wine (米酒, RMB 8), which was served hot and sweet, a good winter drink.

While this may not be a permanent replacement for Morning's hot dry noodles, we will be back here for the lotus dish. Do avoid heading over between 12pm and 1pm, when the restaurant is really busy with nearby office workers taking their well-deserved lunch break.

Uncle Hot
Daily 11am-11pm. 3-3017, 3.3 Shopping Center, 33 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District (5136 5177)

热大叔热干面：朝阳区三里屯路33号3.3大厦3层3017

Photos: Tracy Wang

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