There are thousands of noodle dishes eaten around the world. These are the twenty-two that matter most. Every dish on this list has shaped the food culture of its region, drawn travellers across borders, and inspired countless imitations. Some are street food. Some are fine dining. All of them are worth a flight.
"You learn a lot about someone when you share a meal together. You learn even more when you share a bowl of noodles."
Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown
1. Pho (Vietnam)
Rice noodles in a slow-simmered broth of beef bones, charred onion, ginger, star anise, and cinnamon. Topped with rare beef, herbs, lime, and chilli. The broth takes six to twelve hours and the best versions are impossibly clear and deeply aromatic. Vietnam's national dish and one of the most satisfying bowls on earth. Read our complete pho guide.
2. Ramen (Japan)
Wheat noodles in a flavoured broth that ranges from delicate shio to thunderous tonkotsu. Topped with chashu pork, soft-boiled egg, nori, and spring onion. Japan has turned ramen into an art form, with 25,000 specialist shops and regional styles that vary from city to city. The dish that launched a global obsession. Read our complete ramen guide.
3. Pad Thai (Thailand)
Stir-fried rice noodles with tamarind sauce, dried shrimp, tofu, egg, bean sprouts, and crushed peanuts. The balance of sweet, sour, salty, and umami is precise. Often badly imitated outside Thailand, where it is frequently too sweet and too greasy. The real thing, from a specialist stall in Bangkok, is a different dish entirely. Find pad thai spots on our Bangkok map.
4. Laksa (Malaysia & Singapore)
There are two main types. Curry laksa is rice noodles in a spicy coconut curry broth with prawns, tofu puffs, fish cake, and cockles, all rich, fragrant, and creamy. Asam laksa (from Penang) is a sour, fish-based broth with mackerel, tamarind, and shredded vegetables that is sharper, lighter, and wildly underrated. Both are extraordinary. Penang's asam laksa was once named the seventh best food in the world by CNN.
5. Dan Dan Mian (Sichuan, China)
Thin wheat noodles in a sauce of chilli oil, Sichuan peppercorn, sesame paste, minced pork, and preserved vegetables. The Sichuan peppercorn creates a numbing, tingling sensation (ma la) that is completely addictive. The Chengdu version is dry (no broth), intensely spicy, and served in a small bowl. It is the most flavour-dense noodle dish on this list, and possibly on the planet.
6. Khao Soi (Northern Thailand)
A coconut curry noodle soup with egg noodles, topped with crispy fried noodles for crunch. The curry is mild, creamy, and fragrant with turmeric and coriander. Served with pickled mustard greens, shallots, and lime. Originally from the Shan State region (the border of Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos), it is now a signature dish of Chiang Mai, though excellent versions are served across Bangkok too. Rich, comforting, and texturally brilliant.
7. Jajangmyeon (South Korea)
Thick wheat noodles smothered in a glossy black bean sauce (chunjang) with diced pork, onion, and zucchini. It is Korean-Chinese comfort food, the dish Koreans order on moving day, on rainy days, and on Black Day (April 14th, when single people eat jajangmyeon together). The sauce is savoury, slightly sweet, and deeply satisfying. The noodles are chewy and thick enough to hold the heavy sauce.
8. Beef Noodle Soup (Taiwan)
Taiwan's unofficial national dish. Braised beef shank and tendon in a rich, spiced broth with thick wheat noodles. The broth is built from beef bones, soy sauce, chilli bean paste, star anise, and Sichuan peppercorn. Taipei holds an annual beef noodle soup festival where shops compete for the city's best bowl. The best versions have fall-apart tender beef and a broth so good you will drink every drop.
9. Char Kway Teow (Penang, Malaysia)
Flat rice noodles stir-fried over extremely high heat with dark soy sauce, prawns, cockles, Chinese sausage, bean sprouts, chives, and egg. The key is wok hei, the intense smoky char that comes from cooking at temperatures that most home kitchens cannot reach. Penang's version is the benchmark, cooked by hawkers who have been making the same dish for decades. Smoky, sweet, salty, and dangerously moreish.
10. Boat Noodles (Thailand)
Small bowls of intensely flavoured noodle soup, originally sold from boats on Bangkok's canals. The broth is dark, aromatic, and thickened with a small amount of pork or beef blood (which gives it body and richness). Spiced with cinnamon and star anise. Served in tiny portions so you order five or six bowls. Each one costs less than a dollar. Read our Bangkok noodle guide for more.
11. Bun Bo Hue (Vietnam)
If pho is Vietnam's elegant national dish, bun bo Hue is its rowdy cousin. A spicy, lemongrass-scented beef and pork broth with thick round rice noodles, sliced beef shank, pork knuckle, and cubes of congealed pig blood. It originates from the central Vietnamese city of Hue and packs more heat and complexity than pho. The broth is coloured red with annatto oil and chilli, and the lemongrass gives it a citrusy fragrance. Criminally underrated outside Vietnam.
12. Naengmyeon (South Korea)
Cold buckwheat noodles served in an icy beef broth (mul naengmyeon) or with a spicy chilli sauce (bibim naengmyeon). The noodles are thin, chewy, and almost rubbery. They resist your bite in a way that is strangely satisfying. It is a summer dish in Korea, and on a hot day there is nothing more refreshing. The broth version is served with the broth partially frozen, with slivers of Korean pear, cucumber, and a hard-boiled egg.
13. Lanzhou Lamian (China)
Hand-pulled noodles in a clear beef broth, topped with sliced beef, chilli oil, coriander, and white radish. Lanzhou lamian shops are everywhere in China. There are more of them than McDonald's outlets. The noodles are pulled to order: a ball of dough is stretched, folded, and stretched again until it becomes a bundle of thin, springy strands. The broth is light and beefy, the chilli oil adds heat and colour, and the whole bowl comes together in about ninety seconds. Fast food at its absolute finest.
14. Soba (Japan)
Thin buckwheat noodles served cold with a dipping sauce (zaru soba) or hot in a dashi broth (kake soba). Good soba has a nutty, earthy flavour from the buckwheat and a delicate texture that breaks cleanly when you bite it. The best soba shops in Tokyo grind their own buckwheat and make noodles fresh throughout the day. It is the opposite of ramen: quiet, refined, and contemplative.
15. Pad See Ew (Thailand)
Wide, flat rice noodles stir-fried with dark soy sauce, Chinese broccoli, egg, and meat. The name means "fried with soy sauce" and that is essentially all it is, but the wok hei and the caramelisation of the soy on the noodles make it something special. It is Thai comfort food. Every noodle stall makes it and the best ones char the noodles until they are slightly crispy at the edges.
16. Mohinga (Myanmar)
Myanmar's national dish and the country's favourite breakfast. Thin rice noodles in a thick, savoury catfish broth flavoured with lemongrass, ginger, garlic, and banana stem. Topped with crispy fritters, boiled egg, and coriander. The broth has a unique texture, thick and almost creamy from the chickpea flour used to thicken it. It is unlike any other noodle soup in Southeast Asia and one of the most complex.
17. Saimin (Hawaii)
Hawaii's contribution to the noodle world. Thin egg noodles in a dashi-based broth with char siu, kamaboko (fish cake), and nori. It is a product of Hawaii's multicultural plantation history, a fusion of Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, and Korean influences. Saimin is served everywhere in Hawaii, from fine restaurants to McDonald's (seriously). It is comfort food for an entire island chain and virtually unknown outside it.
18. Wonton Noodles (Hong Kong)
Springy, thin egg noodles served with plump shrimp wontons in a clear, prawn-shell broth. Hong Kong wonton noodles are a masterclass in restraint. The broth is light but deeply flavoured, the wontons are fresh and snappy, and the noodles have a distinctive al dente bounce from being mixed with duck egg. The best wonton noodle shops in Hong Kong have been making the same bowl for three or four generations.
19. Japchae (South Korea)
Sweet potato glass noodles stir-fried with sesame oil, soy sauce, vegetables (spinach, carrots, mushrooms, peppers), and beef. The noodles are translucent, slippery, and have a distinctive chewy bounce. Japchae is served at Korean celebrations and holidays, but it is eaten year-round. It is sweeter and lighter than most stir-fried noodle dishes and the sesame flavour ties everything together.
20. Hokkien Mee (Singapore)
A mix of thick yellow egg noodles and rice vermicelli, stir-fried with prawns, squid, pork belly, and egg in a rich prawn-and-pork-bone stock. The stock is added to the wok and the noodles absorb it as they cook, becoming intensely flavourful. Served with sambal chilli and a squeeze of lime. Singapore's Hokkien mee is a hawker centre classic and one of the most rewarding noodle dishes in Southeast Asia. The prawn flavour is extraordinary.
21. Udon (Japan)
Thick, chewy wheat noodles served in hot dashi broth (kake udon) or cold with a dipping sauce (zaru udon). The noodles are the star, and the best udon is made fresh, cut by hand, and has a dense, satisfying chew that no other noodle can match. Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku is considered the udon capital of Japan, where the Sanuki style sets the standard. Tokyo and Osaka both have excellent udon shops. The simplicity of a good bowl of udon, where the quality of the noodle itself carries the dish, is what makes it one of the great noodle dishes.
22. Chongqing Xiaomian (China)
Spicy wheat noodles from Chongqing, served in a fiery sauce of chilli oil, Sichuan peppercorn, garlic, peanuts, and sesame paste. Often eaten for breakfast. The noodles are thin and springy, and the sauce is intensely flavoured with a numbing heat that builds with every bite. Chongqing locals take their xiaomian seriously, and the best stalls have queues from 6am. It is fast, cheap, and addictive. If dan dan noodles are the refined cousin, xiaomian is the street fighter.
Start Exploring
That is twenty-two dishes, twelve countries, and a lifetime of eating. We are building maps for the cities where these dishes are at their best. Start with Bangkok, where you can find pad thai, boat noodles, khao soi, pad see ew, and a dozen other styles within walking distance. More cities are coming soon.