Spell comfort. That’s S-O-U-P for me. But really, nothing soothes me like a nice, steaming bowl of soup can.

Going back to the rainy-lazy days at home when I was younger, my eldest brother would usually invite me to cook soup. We usually have a stash of different instant soups in our pantry. Boil water, pour in, stir and voila – soup! To add flavor, color and of course nutrients, we toss in mixed vegetables, too. Regular favorites would be carrots, Baguio beans and pechay or cabbage. Whether noodle soup or cream based soup, it’s much more flavorful with vegetables.

My most favorite soup then was Nido soup. What I enjoyed the most about this soup was stirring the freshly beaten egg in the mix with a fork right after the pot was removed from heat.

Being the soup person that I am, I naturally have to have soup every so often (even when it’s not rainy). So whenever I'm at a restaurant with a selection of soups, I make sure that I try at least one.

Recently, I visited LanZhou La-Mian near Sto. Cristo in Binondo. True to its name, this place is famous for their hand-pulled noodles, or "La-Mian" in Mandarin. Make sure that you get a good view of the hand-pulling demonstration of noodles freshly made with each order. Otherwise, the experience wouldn’t be complete. That may even be another reason for you to go back and have another fill of La Mian!

You’ll be amazed at how the chef artistically pulls the noodles with precise thickness. By the way, did I mention that he only pulls the noodles as orders come in? It’s indeed a serious workout for the arms.

I had the Fish Fillet La Mian (P130), while my friend ordered the Braised Pork Spare Ribs La Mian (P120). Their serving size is big, as each bowl is almost filled to the brim. You’ll immediately notice the nice chewy texture of the noodles as you bite into them. It’s definitely incomparable with the instant noodles we’re used to.

I wasn’t able to finish my bowl, but I’ll definitely try their Braised Beef La Mian (P120) or Chicken La Mian (P120) on my next visit. I’ll just make sure that I have someone to share my bowl with.

*Product shots by www.hnmmodels.com

*Photo - making hand-pulled noodles from entengvince.wordpress.com