One of Yelp’s Best Places to Eat opens in Lexington with hand-pulled noodles
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- Kung Fu Noodle opens in Lexington, offering Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles.
- The restaurant was named to Yelp’s 2024 Best Places to Eat list.
- The menu features fresh, authentic Chinese dishes not found at most restaurants.
An authentic Chinese restaurant that was named to Yelp’s annual 100 Best Places to Eat list in 2024 has opened in Lexington with a menu highlighted by its hand-pulled noodles.
Kung Fu Noodle, which has a loyal following in Dayton and Columbus, opened its third location Aug. 13 at 535 S. Upper St. in the CenterCourt complex a block from the University of Kentucky campus. They took over the spot previously occupied by Bandido Taqueria Mexicana, which closed in April.
The new restaurant is known for authentic Chinese food, particularly those cooked in the Lanzhou style. Owner Dennis Zhang grew up in Lanzhou, an inland area in Northern China he says mainly grew wheat, not rice.
What is Lanzhou beef-noodle soup?
That wheat was used for the handmade noodles in the region’s most famous dish, and Zhang’s signature menu item at his restaurants, Lanzhou beef-noodle soup.
“It’s very popular among Chinese,” Zhang said “You can go on and ask Chinese people, ‘Hey, have you ever heard about Lanzhou beef-noodle soup?’ They’ll all say ‘yeah.’”
At Kung Fu Noodle, which is about to open locations in Cincinnati and State College, Pa., in the coming months, the hand-pulled noodles are made to order.
“We’re just trying to preserve the true Chinese culinary art,” Zhang said. “I think the noodle pulling is something entertaining to watch. It’s quite unique. It’s not like Italian spaghetti. It’s not like Japanese ramen.”
From the counter, you can catch a glimpse in the kitchen, where cooks pull their arms out as wide as they can, stretching, shaking and twisting the dough numerous times. Occasionally it gets a dusting on a board or some oil and water but eventually, after more and more kneading, the dough gets thinner and the noodles begin to take shape. The process takes less than 2 minutes before they are cut and tossed into boiling water.
What is on Kung Fu Noodle’s menu?
There are eight dishes on Kung Fu’s menu using the handmade noodles. There is a selection of stir-fried noodle dishes and the hand-pulled noodles can be used for an up charge ($3.)
Zhang says another popular dish is the spicy Dan Dan Hand-Stretched Noodles with ground pork, long string beans, sesame paste and special garlic sauce ($12.95.) Chicken Fried Rice with zucchini, squash, carrots, onion and eggs ($11.95) is also a star item on the menu, Zhang said.
Zhang says everything on the menu is fresh, never frozen “to bring the real Chinese, authentic taste here.”
That means you will find menu items not typically found at your neighborhood Chinese or Cantonese restaurant. This includes chicken gizzards, beef tripe (the edible lining of a cow’s stomach), pork ears and pork stomach.
Zhang says you might think dishes like that are for the adventurous eaters, but “after you tried it, you’ll love it,” adding his other locations get a lot of orders for the appetizers. “I think it’s more like a psychological obstacle.”
Kung Fu Noodle
Where: 535 S. Upper St.
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 pm., closed Tuesday
Order online: kfnna.com
Phone: 859-303-4942
Parking: There is free parking on the ground level of the CenterCourt complex
This story was originally published August 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
