Linda Falkenstein
Coconut red curry noodle soup in a black bowl.
Launch into an entree-sized noodle soup.
It’s hard to say what the most interesting thing is about Dagu Rice Noodle. It’s a Chinese chain, as in from actual China.
It has taken over the 604 University Ave. space most recently occupied by Yummy Noodle, and home to a host of other operations, even the old Green Lantern Eating Co-op.
It specializes in a dish called Crossing the Bridge noodles, a soup beloved in Yunnan cuisine and not, to my knowledge, available elsewhere locally.
And it serves one of the most craveable appetizers I’ve ever eaten.
Crossing the Bridge noodle soup is similar to pho, but without the characteristic basil, cilantro and lime of that Vietnamese dish. It comes to the table as a steaming bowl of pork-based broth, with myriad ingredients and noodles arranged prettily, but uncooked, on a tray; diners cook each ingredient (beef slices primarily, but also small additions of crab, quail egg, bok choy, seaweed, ham, corn, fish ball, bamboo) as in hot-pot. The serving is generously sized — though for $15, it should be.
The broth is pleasant but subtle, and if you’re looking for a blast of spices or even a burst of star anise, opt for the spicy or sour-and-spicy bases. Or add shrimp, lamb or meatballs; or choose a tomato or kimchi-flavored base. I liked the almost mustardy crunch of the bok choi and ever-so-slightly runny yolk of the diminutive quail egg. The beef had good flavor and wasn’t overly gristly or fatty. This is a fun dish to eat.
Much of the rest of the menu is for “casserole rice noodle soups,” which are essentially Crossing the Bridge soups but with the ingredients added by the kitchen instead of the diner. A handful of rice dishes and soup-less noodle dishes round out the menu. Vegetarians should look to the tomato soup or the coconut red curry base; all other soups are made with pork-bone broths.
One day I ended up ordering the rice noodle soup with coconut red curry chicken. Left to my own devices, that’s not what I would have chosen, but the staffer at the counter seemed adamant that it was a very popular dish so, why not? Similar to a mild Thai tom yum soup, it came with all the Crossing the Bridge ingredients but was missing tom yum’s lime-basil-cilantro notes. Chicken pieces, while plentiful, tasted tenderized.
Linda Falkenstein
Two rectangular dishes with appetizers salty chicken and quail eggs.
Nibble on salty crispy chicken and hot spicy quail eggs.
My favorite item at Dagu is on the appetizer menu. The spicy quail eggs are insanely good; if you like traditional Chinese tea eggs, you’ll love these. Marinated in a soy sauce-spice combo and served with a drizzle of Sichuan chili oil and a sprinkling of sesame seeds, these olive-brown eggs are about the size of a castelvetrano olive. They have a large, creamy yolk and almost no white. The flavor is a burst of salty soy, and even though the cost comes out to $1 per quail egg, I’d go for this dish every time.
The small dining room is basic; it looks like a restaurant that’s been six eateries (by my count) in less than a decade. But it is a fun place for a group, and for sharing. Other appetizers include traditional marinated egg (i.e., from a chicken), or standbys like crab rangoon and fried spring roll. The salty crispy chicken, like popcorn chicken, is spicy and brightened with a little star anise, but the all-dark-meat chicken was a little disappointing. Diced cucumber with garlic sauce makes a nice vegetable side, and the brown sugar sticky rice a change-of-pace dessert. Or better yet, order another plate of quail eggs.
Dagu Rice Noodle
604 University Ave.
608-230-6199; dagunoodle.com
11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mon.-Sun.
$3-$19
