Yunnandao Rice Noodles opens in Great Neck

Long Island now has three Yunnan noodle joints?

First came Deng Ji in Levittown, followed by the Chinese chain Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodles in Syosset earlier this summer. And now we've got the incredibly charming Yunnandao Rice Noodles in Great Neck, owned by a family hailing from the Yunnan province.

Deng Ji and Ten Seconds have multiple locations with minimalist interiors, but the new Great Neck restaurant goes in the opposite direction, showcasing the colorful folkloric textiles that this Southwestern Chinese region is known for. Yunnandao's entrance pops with a bright array of traditional clothing, vibrantly dressed dolls, headdresses and embroidered wind chimes.

The owners' daughte Iris Zhang says her family moved to New York from the Yunnan a few months back because she wants to attend a university here. They opened a restaurant together to support her dream. Her mother, Yumei Hu, and father, Defeng Zhang, prepare the food in the kitchen while her younger sister, Xinyue Zhang, also helps out and focuses on her homework. 

"Yunnan is the most beautiful place in China, and I love my homeland. I think it will become popular because we have 26 ethnic minorities. And we have the most minorities in China," Iris said. "When you’ve been to Yunnan, you might have a strong sense of the people there. They’re very outgoing, and very warm to the guests from the whole world." 

The agrarian region has been gaining culinary stardom over the past few years. Netflix viewers might recognize the area from Season 2 of the meditative cooking show "Flavorful Origins." On YouTube and Instagram, there are  the lovely pastoral food videos from creator Dianxi Xiaoge. Perhaps this media is fueling the craze for crossing-the-bridge rice noodles, which is so far the runaway hit from Yunnan. The spot in Great Neck dedicates its menu to the bouncy white noodles and their army of toppings. But it also serves some very hard-to-find dishes like Yunnan rose cakes ($5.50) that the family imports, and Dai-style pounded shredded chicken ($11.99). 

Rose cakes are flaky round pastries with a center of sweet, edible rose petals that have a soft consistency almost like cooked red cabbage. On a recent evening, Iris described them as a dessert, but brought them out before the meal anyway. In the Yunnan province these treats can often come stuffed with roses and pine nuts, or the Yunnan's famous ham. 

The Dai-style chicken is a more substantial appetizer. The Dai are one of the many ethnic groups in the region, sharing a history with people in neighboring Thailand and Laos. You won't often see lime juice in Chinese food, but it's a staple in this dish, flavoring the spicy shredded chicken that's laden with red onions and shredded carrots. Served here in a large mortar and pestle, the dish also goes by the name "ghost chicken," as it was once reportedly a ceremonial offering for the dead.

Noodle dishes take up much of the menu, but the broth in the other soups didn't have the same strident quality as the main event, the crossing-the-bridge noodles. The name refers to another legend about a student and his cheffy wife who delivered him elaborately plated food while traveling over a bridge to a remote island. But you've probably heard that one already.

Yunnandao doesn't have as many varieties as other competitors, and the menu doesn't spell out all the ingredients. So go with the Rising Fortune Crossing-The-Bridge Rice Noodles ($18.99). A team of servers will deliver a boiling cauldron of bone broth and an array of toppings placed on a decorative wooden bridge. They'll load the meat and vegetable toppings into the soup, saving the playfully light noodles for the end.

Yunnandao Rice Noodles, 1 Great Neck Rd., Great Neck, 516-216-5898. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.