A Promising Chinese Restaurant
Perfect for Campus

by Chenjun Feng

January 2012

During winter break 1089 Noodle House, a new Chinese restaurant near Stony Brook University campus, opened to excellent reviews from students. Located at 1089 Route 25A, just across from the train station, students only have to cross the tracks and walk towards The Bench. The favorable location is a definite benefit for students and the tremendous potential market is a definite benefit for the new restaurant. Students have complained for years so who was the person smart enough to finally do this? What kind of food will Noodle House serve? After eating many meals there during its grand opening week, two AAJ (Asian American Journal) editors interviewed the owner and primary chef, Mr. Ge.

AAJ: What idea drove you to open this restaurant?

Mr. Ge: There are a lot of students here and I had inspected this area for two years. Before opening this restaurant, I was the chef at Eastern Pavilion, which is a high class Chinese restaurant in Setauket, not far from here. I got the news that there was a storefront available to rent and after careful consideration, I took the opportunity. It was originally a veterinary clinic and I renovated it to become a restaurant.

AAJ: Compared to the food of other Chinese restaurants, what’s your advantage?

Mr. Ge: My management conception is simple - to cook real Chinese style food. In many Chinese restaurants, Chinese food has been changed in order to fulfill American’s appetites. Many Chinese students have told me that it’s difficult to find a restaurant offering real Chinese noodles unless they go to Flushing or NYC Chinatown. Now they can have all different kinds of real Chinese food right next to campus instead of having to travel far.

AAJ: How will your food compare to campus food?

Mr. Ge: I have several friends who work on campus who have talked to me about it. I know the campus food is expensive and Chinese students never get used to the American food there. I’m trying my best to keep my prices low while still guaranteeing good food quality so that all students can afford to eat here. I’m also willing to listen to any suggestion from students. Since my restaurant has just opened, I am continuously changing my food offerings to satisfy what students from different areas have asked for. The responses about the taste of my food from customers are good. Even native Americans enjoy it, especially the beef noodles.

AAJ: What will the new dishes be? Any future plans?

Mr. Ge: It will depend on the sales of each dish. I’ll only keep the favorable ones and get rid of the others to add new ones. Small groups will be able to come in to celebrate events together, like birthdays. I also plan to provide box lunches that will contain three small dishes, rice and a cup of soup. There will be many different dishes and customers can choose any three. The box lunches will be cheap, convenient and save students waiting time.

AAJ and AA E-Zine staff were at SBU during break to work on the next AAJ issue and ate at Noodle House every day. One winter session student ate there every day too, and often twice a day for lunch and dinner – and when she didn’t have classes, ordered it delivered home. Here are some of the recommendations from Noah Kim, Adam Sue, May Hao Wang, Qilin Yang, Ja Young, and me – on a scale of 1 – 10, with 10 being perfect.

But remember, taste is individual,. May, who did the interview with me, is from Qingdao in the north and thinks some southern dishes are too sweet. She gave the roast pork a 6.5., but Qilin gave it a 9 and orders it often. But when May ate the southern Shanghai Style Sauteed Shrimp, she ecstatically gave it a 10. Qilin gave it a 9 but orders it more than anything else. Noah, a Korean American not used to eating large whole shrimp in the shell, only gave it an 8.

Beef with mixed vegetables (8); Braised Tofu (8); Dried Sauteed String Beans (9 & 10); Eggplant with Garlic Sauce (9); Fried wontons (8); Hot and Sour Soup (9 & 10); Kung Bao Chicken with Peanuts (6 & 8); Mapo Tofu with Pork (9); Shanghai Noodles with Vegetable, Pork, Shrimp & Chicken (8); Shanghai Sauteed Shrimp (9 & 10); Shanghai Sauteed Shrimp in Noodle Soup (8); Spring Roll (8); Steamed dumplings (8); Stewed duck (7); Wonton Soup (6 & 8).

Best deals - the Rice Platters. They come with entrée, rice, hard boiled egg soaked in soy sauce, and egg and tomato soup (9), and range in price from $5.95 to $6.95.  

Stony Brook School high school students (L-R) Will Tseng, Yisheng Cai, Hayato Nakanishi, and Terry Huang also enjoyed the food. It's within walking distance of their campus too.                                                    photo by May Wang