Zhang La Mian

Just look at that big boiling pot of stewed meats!

Nestled within Bangkok’s vibrant Siam area and near Chulalongkorn University lies a little Chinese style stewed beef noodle shop, Zhang La Mian (or more accurately Zhāng Làmiàn) which serves up probably the most tender and fall-apart stewed beef noodle soups I have ever tried.

My partner and I was in the area to attended a 2 day concert (Monster Music Festival). We were looking for something to eat and accidently stumbled upon this little gem.

Small but Specialised Menu

Definitely no difficulty choosing what to eat with this menu

Zhang La Mian’s menu is very small consisting of only 4 dishes (3 of which are just variations of the same dish).

The dishes are:

Zhang La Mian - Stewed beef or pork with egg noodles and chili sauce
Chinese Herbal Meat/Pork Soup - Herbal soup with beef or pork
Chinese Herbal Meat/Pork Hot Pot - Herbal hot pot with beef or pork
Stir Fried Basil with Rice - Beef or pork Pad Kaprao with rice

Extra toppings are also available for a price, these consists of various types of pork or beef such as tripe or intestines.

Pricing

The pricing is very cheap coming in at 70 THB (or 2.00 USD) for a bowl of Zhang La Mian. Additional toppings go for around 30 THB (or 1.00 USD) or more.

The pricing is very nice.

The meat is so tender that it’s already disintegrating!

Of course I had to order their signature Zhang La Mian noodles. It comes with lots of egg noodles, a flavorful broth, some chilis, and plenty of stewed meats.

I happened to order the beef version.

The soup was really nice and comforting as well. I could just drink the soup on it’s own and already be satisfied.

I can barely pick up the beef with my chopsticks

The beef is very very tender, just poking it with your chopsticks will already break the meat! The taste itself is alright however, I don’t really taste much of the beef by itself so obviously this is meant to be eaten when everything is mixed together.

I will say that there is a lot of fat and collagen and that’s where the flavor is to be found.

Red hot chilies make every noodle soup better

I ordered mine extra spicy so the pictures will show a lot more chilies than normal. Regardless the chilies gave the overall broth a nice roasted spicy-ness. The oils from the chili also gave the soup a nice aromatic fragrance.

Once mixed, you’ll notice all the spices and chili seeds as well as the pieces of meat that had been shredded by the mixing process.

The egg noodles do an amazing job at grabbing all the spices and deliciousness from the soup.

Tasting the broth when everything is mixed really makes it shine. The aromas and spice from the chilis plus the bits of beef and fat.

To be honest, the flavor of the broth and meat is quite muted for me, being almost overshadowed by the chili. A little extra saltiness could elevate the broth to another level.

The whole noodle soup was very comforting and it would be great to have on a cold day, too bad those days never exist in Thailand.

Conclusion

Pros

Extremely tender and fatty meat, stewed in a herbal broth
Options to add more toppings
Spicy chili that adds flavor and fragrance
Cheap price

Cons

The stewed meat and soup could have a little bit more flavor

Overall I would recommend a visit to Zhang La Mian, a little noodle shop that you definitely won’t miss due to the big boiling bot of meat out on display. I especially like their cheap price and their options for adding more toppings, and of course we can’t forget about their tasty tender meat and spicy chili.

A little complaint I have is that the broth could be more flavorful, perhaps a little bit of salt could go a long way.

Zhang La Mian | 8 / 10

Phone: +66 090 974 5960

Location: 13 ซอย จุฬาลงกรณ์ 5 Wang Mai, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330

Pricing: 70 THB (or 2.00 USD) | $

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