I came to 101 Noodle Express in Alhambra for a late dinner on a Thursday night. It's located in the…read moresame building as Alhambra Valley Bowl. From the outside, you can't tell the inside has really good space with booths plus tables and chairs, but it does.
They weren't super busy at the time... about 5 tables occupied. I was greeted right away by the one server who was working the entire floor. Interior was clean and well lit. Atmosphere was comfortable.
Menu has a variety of options... boiled dumplings, pan-fried dumplings, steamed mini buns, stir-fried noodles, regular noodles, rolls & pancakes, side dishes, rice, soup, and beverages. They also have frozen food to-go (just two items... dumplings and dezhou chicken).
I got one Steamed Mini Buns (aka Xiao Long Bao), one Stir-Fried Noodles with pork, one Lamb Noodles Soup (with hand torn noodles), and one Jasmine Green Tea with honey. Yes, this seems like a lot of food for one person. I'm not a stranger to bringing food home for another meal.
*Steamed Mini Buns - juicy with flavorful pork filling, adequate skin thickness, good size buns
*Stir-Fried Noodles with pork - best dish out of the 3, good balance between pork, veggies, and noodles, mild spice level was perfect, portions were reasonable for the price
*Lamb Noodles Soup - great amount of lamb and noodles, lamb was tender, noodles were a tad mushy on the edge... they need to be firmer, soup was savory
*Jasmine Green Tea with honey - good size cup, tea was a bit bitter, probably needs more honey
Food came out steaming hot and timely. Staff and service were wonderful. Yan, the server, was patient and helpful. He did an amazing job working the entire floor by himself. Thank you Yan!
Highly recommend this place for their pan-dried and soup noodles. I would come back for more pan-fried noodles and try their pan-fried dumplings.
Btw, cash, Zelle, or Venmo payment ONLY for bill total under $50. Bring cash if you don't plan to eat lots.