H Noodle House 奶奶食堂 — Restaurant in Town of Oyster Bay

Two things I should mention before I begin my short review: I am a strict vegetarian and therefore will only eat items that are not cooked in a wok or made in a fryer used to cook meat, poultry, or fish. This limits my menu in any Chinese restaurant to cold sesame noodles and steamed vegetable dumplings. When I walked into H Noodle House for the first time ever tonight, I was surprised to learn that it is owned by one of my favorite families from the community center/pre-school in which I have worked for several years.

The latter may be the reason the owner was willing to make me a dish that isn't really on the menu, even on a busy Saturday night. In what was the kindest, most thoughtful thing anybody has done for me in a while, she actually told me to go away for twenty minutes and come back for my cold sesame noodles. I have a feeling she may have Googled a recipe while I was gone, but that's exactly what makes H Noodle House the kind of place everyone should want to visit!

Although the chef's first attempt at cold sesame noodles was different from what I am used to, they were tasty and full of personality. The portion was also more than ample!

My steamed vegetable dumplings were perfect, like the ones I used to get at the now-historic Empire Szechuan of Syosset. A good dumpling without meat is rare around this area. Most restaurants make their vegetable dumplings too thin and with barely any stuffing. H Noodle House's vegetable dumplings were plump, tasty, and had just the right amount of filling.

When I got to my car, I noticed that the owner had snuck a sample container of tofu & vegetable soup into my bag. After I spilled most of it all over myself and my car seats (my fault), I got to taste a few mouthsfull and liked it very much. I was initially leery that it might contain a chicken broth base but I knew immediately that it was just water, which is the only way I will eat soup.

So while my opinions of menu items that most of you would consider "appetizers" might not be the best representation of this noodle shop, I get the feeling that the non-vegetarian food here must be really good. I am purposely not mentioning any names, but if the food is as good as the "H" family is kind and generous, this is definitely a place for you to...

Great Foods! Great tastes; pretty good prices; pretty fast kitchen; pretty clean; fairly fun; nice service; easy to understand menu; tasty selections; affordable options; interesting dishes; comfy to spend short times there! It's family run; &, good for families, too; fairly small; somewhat simple; but, very quickly becomes a true: "Go-To" place! Pretty layout; many temptingly hard menu choices to order; great bi-lingual adaptable interest in their operation; great choices for both: Asians; &, other Ethnic Americans; fine service; English capable daughter on staff; very conveniently situated, right next to: a, Giant; &, rather Good Ethinc/Asiatic supermarket; this little cafe-sized eatery is: well-light; air conditioned; has good overall access; with: a, pretty nicely decorated interior; w/: outdoor; &, indoor seating also; &, is, well-run; has a, restroom; some items are also displayed for sale, like: desserts; treats; snacks; soft-drinks; &, tiny gifts; which are well-presented openly; there are even, a, few cute, off-beat fun visual; &, humorous items that can be seen inside the place; cards; &, cash, can be used; receipts can be issued; service was nicely done; politely; &, pleasantly served; operated quickly; &, reasonably; and, eating quickly was possible; take-home can be done; as can: pre-orders/pick-ups/take-outs; &, eat-ins; that can all occurr, on-site; &:; sometimes, you can sit outside; or: inside, for a bit. An, all-around winner. Nice, little place; I had a pretty good meal; and, took with me, some nice after-meal/in-between meal: baked goodies; which I also enjoyed; that seemed: home-made; sweetly packaged; lovingly created/decorated; &, presented; &, were tasty, at-home type of comfy; &, "fun, feminine, youthful, cute, charming": dessert/gifts/ presents/sweets/beverages/fruit-granola-parfait-cookie: yogurt-type: cups; &, other off-beat-rewards type of items; featuring less than usual flavores in America; which, I personally, like Very Much. Also, one of the, most lingering memories of mine, from getting a quick bite, at this place, was: not, very costly, yet, good-tasting food. A. ...

The food here has bold and authentic flavors. If you're seeking American style takeout, this is not it. While some of the dishes stray from a traditional execution, they were generally tasty and hits the spot when the cravings ask for some good Sichuan flavors (maybe some Taiwanese peppered in). My order: N1. Braised beef noodle soup - good flavor for broth, noodles were Chinese flour noodles. The beef I got was the braised and sliced style meat, and was not the chunk stewed beef as per the other reviews here. I wished there were more bok choy in my portion, and wished they provided more broth since the noodles were overwhelming the broth once put together. A6. Pan fried pork buns - well done, comes with 4. M19. Rich noodle w/ pork in brown sauce - this dish is aka "Ants climbing tree". Traditionally spicy, but they made this "ma la" --numbingly spicy from the Sichuan peppercorns. This dish has "glass" noodles, reminiscent of japchae Korean mung bean noodles. My mother approved. M20. Spicy lamb noodle soup - I ordered this with the expectations of getting some type of flour or hand pulled noodles. We got the same glass vermicelli noodles as the previous dish. The broth is numbingly spicy (ma la), and to the uninitiated of spicy foods, this may be too much for you. Your tongue will feel tingly from the Sichuan peppercorns and mouth burn from the chilli oil. The broth is aromatic and bold and strangely addictive.

Overall, decent Sichuan food and...