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Michaels Noodles Restaurant
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
11 reviews for Michaels Noodles Restaurant
The beef noodle soup (niu ro mian) here is the best I've had in the DC Metro area. The broth is excellent: just the right amount of kick, not too salty or oily, with traces of ginger and sweetness (if i had to guess, a little brown sugar and rice wine + spicy bean paste?). The chinese vegetables are crisp and un-water-logged, the bountiful cilantro fresh, and the pickled mustard greens are a nice touch. The noodles are home made, not too thin, not too wide and above all else, not clumpy in the soup. The beef itself is wonderful, tender chunks cooked to perfection with a good balance of lean meat and tendon (80/20). Did I mention that the portion/bowl is enormous?
Michael's Beef Noodle Soup is better (in some cases, way better) A&J's, Joe's and Bob's. Yeah, I said it.
Two other menu items (out of hundreds!) worth mentioning: I thought the Chicken and Mustard Green Noodle Soup was particularly good - terrific and healthy meal for getting over a cold or just for warming up on a chilly winter night. I was also thrilled to see Hainan Gee Fan (Chicken Rice) on the menu. As far as I know, this is the only place that makes this dish in the DMV area (if you know of another place, please share!!). Sure it's a far cry from what you can get in Singapore or even after a few hours of careful preparation in your own kitchen, but if you have a hankering for this stuff, it'll get the job done.
The service is above average for an Asian restaurant tucked into a remote strip mall, with generally friendly and helpful servers, and it's always a good sign to see a number of families chatting in Mandarin and Taiwanese over steaming bowls of noodle soup.
The only two knocks on this place: the noodle soups are $2-3 more here than at the local competition (i.e. A&J's, which is admittedly very cheap) and the restaurant itself is a bit of a drive from DC (or even Rockville Pike). If you're craving a good bowl of noodle soup and have a car/can bum a ride, Michael's is tough to beat.
3.5 stars
I was a little skeptical of this place. Bebo was the last time I got excited about a Tom Sistema review. People wrote in with horror stories, but he stood by his review -- said there were some issues with front of house -- but still many wonderful food experiences to be had. Stories grew every week, the place became legendary for bad service and finally it closed....
But in the case of Michael's, Tom got it right.
The cucumbers in chili oil were great -- not as spicy as usual, a little sweet and some ginger. Great start. Spicy wontons were a little different than expected...(beef filling?) -- but I liked them more with each bite. The potstickers were forgettable. Dan Dan Noodles were the highlight -- first, they make theirs with Taiwanese Chinese Dried Shredded Pork which is a bit of an interesting twist. Delicious. Hong Kong Palace still is the number one spot for Dan Dan noodles, but these are the best I have had in Maryland.
Service was attentive and friendly -- and atmosphere was very pleasant.
Will return.
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We decided to try this place last Saturday for lunch as we live about 2 miles from the place and it was just featured in Tom Sietsema's 2009 Fall Dining Guide. Got two dishes Tom mentions in his review and another he doesn't.
The crispy seaweed was something I've never had before (I usually stick to shrimp fried rice at Chinese restaurants but this time decided to be adventurous!) and it was delicious, especially following the addition of the sauce that came with it. My boyfriend and I then split the beef noodle soup, the non-spicy kind. It was really tasty, especially the wheat noodles that are apparently made in-house. A perfect rainy, chilly fall day meal. We added a bit more flavor to it by added the spicy red sauce that was at the table (me) and the leftover crispy seaweed sauce (my boyfriend). The heat and flavor those added was quite right and not too overbearing as we were afraid the spicy soup would be for us. Finally, we added some pan-sauteed potstickers to our order, a dish we hadn't read anything about, and it was our favorite. The potstickers were plump and filled with meat and the sauce they came with was a perfect accompaniment.
All in all, a great experience that will keep us coming back to this worthy neighbor!
I was really looking forward to the Hainan Chicken Rice. As a Singaporean...it's our national dish! Unfortunately, the rice was a bit dry, but was still pretty good. The chicken itself was not flavorful at all...the skin should be a golden color, not just white. I was really disappointed...esp. because so many people hyped it up! (A fellow customer had said it was really good too...)
The service was okay (the owner had to yell at the waitress to come to our table as they were just standing around not doing anything). However, the other two were quite friendly.
We also ordered their cucumber dish (liang ban huang gua), fried dumplings (guo tie), tofu with thousand year old egg and mapotofu over rice. Their dumplings were really tasty and the cucumber dish was tasty. I'm use to the fresh cucumber with lots of garlic-this one seemed more pickled.
The Mapotofu over rice was TOO salty and not spicy at all.
I liked that all of the customers were Chinese (mostly Taiwanese and Cantonese). I saw the noodles they ordered and they all looked amazing. Maybe if I decide to go up there again, I'll try the noodles.
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Authentic Taiwanese cuisine, good stuff. Got the steamed pork buns, really good, just wish it had "soup" (fat broth). The skin isn't too thick where it overpowers the pork. Also got the pan-fried ones too, just to see which of the two are different. Sticking with the steamed ones now. So all the rave and talk about their Hainan Chicken, ended up not getting it this time around, but will definitely get it next time we go. Wanted a noodle soup so got the spicy slow cooked beef soup. The noodles itself are really good, texture is just right, the broth is pretty greasy itself, the chunks of beef are really tender. Second main item was the shredded pork, squid, dry bean curd and garlic bulbs. It's marked with a pepper, but it's not spicy at all. This is really good here. I've had this dish other places w/ just the pork and dry bean curd but with the other flavors going on, such as the squid and garlic bulbs, this dish is really good. Will definitely order this again when revisited.
Cheap prices, two can eat for literally under $30 and walk away happy and sleepy. The place is tucked away in the strip mall of Travilah with the BK. The restaurant is not huge, just a small, cozy spot. Parking is ample and I recommend this spot. We got carry-out, but will try to make it in there and sit down next time around. Service looks decent as there are a handful of waitresses running around in such a small layout.
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What can be said. There are three Asian restaurants in this plaza and an Asian supermarket. Michael's was the busiest of them all, and with a clearly devoted clientele base. We tried the steamed pork dumpling, the scallion pancake, the sezch. wonton, sweet and sour cabbage, and the shanghai broad noodle. Way too much food for us but it was great to get a sampling.
Given the breadth of their menu, the cost (very cheap), and the flavor and quality of their menu we will most definitely come back, again and again. This one is a keeper.
Had "Michael's special noodles" which were not special, and the squid with ginger casserole. We were there near closing, but the dishes looked like they were the normal recipes. Unimpressed and unsatisfied. Joe's noodle in Rockville is much better.
Michael's noodles is one of the best kept secrets in Rockville. Their service is excellent, the setting is comfortable and the food is superb. They feature authentic Chinese dishes that Chinese folks really appreciate. We enjoy pretty much everything ordered, and even some unfamiliar stuff. The dishes are just quality...but do watch out for their fillet fish dishes. Our two top favorite dishes are the basil chicken (three cup chicken) and south seas chicken (Hai-Nan chicken). Having this kind of food all my life, their spicy won-ton and other northern Chinese dishes for weekend brunch beats places like A&J hands down. Unfortunately, most people havn't tried enogh to tell the difference.
Beloved Michael's Noodles! My neighbors are first-class foodies who have found all the best secret restaurants in Gaithersburg and Rockville and they have brought me here twice.
The number one most spectacular dish on the menu is the Szechuan Wanton off the Dim Sum menu. You get 10 small steamed pork wantons served with a fire-hot-and-sweet sauce that is out of this world. Both times the guests at the table fell into a reverential silence as we contemplated this miraculous sauce. They don't allow vegetarian substitutions, but the waitress suggested the "Pan Fried Bean Curd" from the Side Dish menu for vegetarians who want a similar tasting sauce. The other favorite of my friends is the tofu and rice, which is served in a clear sauce (but probably without MSG, though we didn't ask) with red pepper flakes. It doesn't have a lot of flavor, but there's something satisfying about it. The vegetarian Delight, a plate of veggies in a similar clear sauce, was too salty this time around but has tasted great in the past.
Another all star was a new shrimp dish on the menu served in an awesome sweet and sour sauce over rice. I want to say it's the "Szechuan Shrimp" but I'm not sure. I'll edit this if my friends can remember what this was called.
Because my friends are there so often, the owner recognized them and sent out a plate of spicy cabbage for us to sample. Another hit! It is seasoned a lot like american cole slaw, but without any mayo, and the spice is subtle and non-threatening. One of our friends at the table was really annoyed with it, however, because she is an avid kimchi eater and was expecting it to taste like kimchi. For a kimchi virgin like me (I am still working up the nerve), I loved it.
Four hungry grownups had five entrees and two sides for $40. Amazing.
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This is a little restaurant tucked away in the corner of Travilah Square (the strip mall with the Burger King).
The food is good, the prices are medium ($7-$10). It's emphasis is on Northern Chinese. They don't have lunch specials, but they do have slightly cheaper lunch portions. This means no free soup or free egg roll. :( The quality of the food is good though, not too greasy and big portions.
I'm giving the 4th star because of service. I was in love with their hot and sour soup noodles, and I went to this restaurant a couple of weeks in a row, and the next time I came, I ordered something different, but the waitress recognized me and gave me a free bowl of hot and sour soup.
When I come with co-workers, she seems to recognize us too.
The quality is similar to A&J's. I would prefer to go to the latter which has more variety and slightly cheaper prices. But this place is closer to me, and hence I'm a regular here.
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I have been to Michael's Noodles on multiple occassions (usually for take out). One dish nobody seems to have mentioned is the "Hai Nan Gee Fan" (Southern Ocean Chicken w/ Rice). It is one of their specialties and you simply have to try it to appreciate it! It runs slightly south of $10 and it makes a great complete dinner at home.
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