The Chef Amazing Charts · November 2026
The Noodle 100
The 100 best noodle shops in the world, from a Tokyo shoyu ramen counter to phở in Hanoi, laksa in Singapore and hand-rolled pici in Siena: the one bowl to order at each, the line to expect and how to beat it, and Chef's recipe to make every style at home.
Every noodle Ramen Soba and udon Pho and Vietnam Hand-pulled and Chinese Laksa and the Straits Thai noodles Korean noodles Pici: Italy's noodle Everywhere Asia (53) The Americas (22) Europe (16) Australia and New Zealand (9)
The top ten
1 A photo like it Crawford Lane, Kallang · Singapore, Singapore
Get: Bak chor mee, dry, with the vinegar and chilli: minced pork, liver, meatballs and crisp lard on springy mee pok
Line: The queue is long all day and every bowl is cooked one at a time, so plan on 30 to 60 minutes. Beat it: come at opening, on a weekday.
2 A photo like it 49 Bát Đàn, Old Quarter · Hanoi, Vietnam
Get: Phở bò tái nạm: rare beef and brisket in the clear, beefy broth, with quẩy (fried dough) to dunk
Line: A line on the pavement from 6am; it moves fast because the menu is three bowls. Beat it: go before 7am or mid-morning.
3 A photo like it Shintomicho, Ginza · Tokyo, Japan
Get: The clear shoyu ramen: a consommé-like broth built on French technique, with a few slices of chashu
Line: Ticket system and a short window; tickets often go within the first hour. Beat it: get there before it opens and take the number they hand out.
4 A photo like it Yugawara, Kanagawa · Yugawara, Japan
Get: Shoyu ramen with the wonton topping, and the kombu-water tsukemen if it's on
Line: Seats are by advance online ticket on most days; without one you won't get in. Book the ticket the night before it opens.
5 Gough Street, Central · Hong Kong, China
Get: Beef brisket e-fu noodles in the clear broth, or the curry brisket
Line: Queues most of the day; tables turn fast. Beat it: mid-afternoon on a weekday. Closed Sundays.
6 A photo like it Ratchaphuek Road, Santitham · Chiang Mai, Thailand
Get: Khao soi gai: the curry noodle soup with chicken leg, crisp noodles on top, pickled mustard and shallots on the side
Line: Busy at lunch, and it closes in the early afternoon when the pot is empty. Beat it: 9 to 10:30am.
7 Wellington Street, Central · Hong Kong, China
Get: The small bowl of shrimp wontons and thin egg noodles, sitting on a spoon so they don't go soft
Line: Short waits at lunch; the bowls are small so tables turn quickly. Order two bowls.
8 A photo like it Otsuka, Toshima · Tokyo, Japan
Get: Tantanmen: sesame and chilli broth, thin noodles, a spoon of minced pork
Line: A line outside most days before opening. Beat it: arrive 30 minutes before the doors on a weekday.
9 A photo like it Lebuh Keng Kwee, off Penang Road · George Town, Malaysia
Get: Assam laksa: sour mackerel-tamarind broth over thick rice noodles, with mint, pineapple and prawn paste
Line: Busy on weekends with a stall-side scrum for stools; on weekdays you'll wait a few minutes.
10 A photo like it Bade Road, Zhongshan · Taipei, Taiwan
Get: Beef noodles, half meat, half tendon, with the house chilli paste stirred into the broth
Line: Queues at lunch and late at night; it's open into the small hours. Beat it: 3 to 5pm.
11 to 25
11 Maha Chai Road, Old Town · Bangkok, Thailand
Get: The pad thai wrapped in a thin omelette, with the fresh orange juice
12 A photo like it Dazhong Lane, Chengguan · Lanzhou, China
Get: Niurou lamian with the noodle thickness you call out (try er xi, the second-thinnest), a clear beef broth, radish, coriander and chilli oil
13 A photo like it Cosmo Place, Bloomsbury · London, United Kingdom
Get: Beef biang biang noodles: wide, hand-pulled belts with chilli oil and braised beef
14 A photo like it Frith Street, Soho · London, United Kingdom
Get: Hot udon in dashi, with the pork miso or the duck
15 A photo like it Sydney Street courtyard, Chelsea · London, United Kingdom
Get: The laksa, to take away, eaten on a bench in the courtyard
16 Pin Oak Crescent, Flemington · Melbourne, Australia
Get: The combination laksa, plus a roti
17 A photo like it Geary Street, Tenderloin · San Francisco, United States
Get: The tori paitan: creamy chicken broth, duck chashu and thick noodles
18 A photo like it Japantown · San Francisco, United States
Get: The Hakata tonkotsu DX with the soft egg, and kaedama (extra noodles)
19 A photo like it Sawtelle · Los Angeles, United States
Get: The tsukemen: thick noodles dipped in a dense pork-and-fish broth, with a squeeze of sudachi
20 A photo like it Higashi-Ikebukuro · Tokyo, Japan
Get: Tokusei morisoba: the original tsukemen, cold noodles to dip in the hot, sweet-sour broth
21 A photo like it Clinton Street, Lower East Side · New York, United States
Get: The shio ramen with rye noodles
22 A photo like it Bayard Street, Chinatown (and shops all over the city) · New York, United States
Get: Spicy cumin lamb hand-ripped noodles
23 A photo like it Bowery, Chinatown · New York, United States
Get: Shrimp wonton noodle soup, with roast pork or salt-baked squid on the side
24 A photo like it Near Kyoto Station · Kyoto, Japan
Get: The tokusei ramen: shoyu-pork broth with extra sliced pork and green onions
25 A photo like it Minami-Senba · Osaka, Japan
Get: The kitsune udon: sweet fried tofu in a light Osaka dashi
26 to 50
26 A photo like it Kanda Sudacho · Tokyo, Japan
Get: Mori soba (cold, with the dipping sauce), then the hot soba water poured into what's left
27 A photo like it Ginza · Tokyo, Japan
Get: Tori paitan soba: creamy chicken broth with seasonal vegetables
28 Lý Quốc Sư Street, Hoàn Kiếm · Hanoi, Vietnam
Get: Phở bò tái or chín: ten beef combinations on the menu
29 A photo like it Lò Đúc Street, Hai Bà Trưng · Hanoi, Vietnam
Get: Phở bò tái lăn: beef stir-fried in garlic before it goes in the bowl
30 A photo like it Pasteur Street, District 3 · Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Get: Phở bò with the plate of herbs, sprouts and lime
31 A photo like it Nguyễn Du, District 1 · Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Get: Bún bò Huế đặc biệt: the spicy lemongrass beef soup with pork hock and crab cake
32 A photo like it Hàng Bông, Hoàn Kiếm · Hanoi, Vietnam
Get: Bún bò Huế, with the shrimp paste on the side
33 A photo like it Cabramatta · Sydney, Australia
Get: Pho tai: rare beef in the broth, herbs on the side
34 A photo like it Thitchener Place, Haymarket · Sydney, Australia
Get: Boat noodles: a dark, spiced beef broth with rice noodles
35 A photo like it Thomas Street, Haymarket · Sydney, Australia
Get: Hand-pulled noodle soup with beef, and the pork-and-cabbage dumplings
36 A photo like it Eating World, Haymarket · Sydney, Australia
Get: Spicy tonkotsu or the spare rib tonkotsu; add kaedama
37 A photo like it Russell Street, CBD · Melbourne, Australia
Get: The signature tonkotsu, with the firmness of noodle you choose
38 A photo like it CBD · Melbourne, Australia
Get: Lanzhou beef noodle soup with the thin pull
39 A photo like it Robson Street, West End · Vancouver, Canada
Get: Shio ramen, with the toroniku (pork cheek) on the side
40 A photo like it Duncan Street, Entertainment District · Toronto, Canada
Get: Khao soi with chicken
41 A photo like it Saint-Henri · Montreal, Canada
Get: The laksa, with the pork belly bao
43 A photo like it Argyle Street, Uptown · Chicago, United States
Get: Pho dac biet, the house special
44 A photo like it Little Saigon, Garden Grove · Los Angeles, United States
Get: Pho tai nam: rare steak and brisket
45 A photo like it Larkin Street, Tenderloin · San Francisco, United States
Get: Pho ga: the northern-style chicken pho with wide, hand-cut noodles
46 A photo like it Larkin Street, Tenderloin · San Francisco, United States
Get: Egg noodle soup with roast duck, or the wonton noodles
47 A photo like it Midtown Village · Philadelphia, United States
Get: The brisket ramen with a matzo ball
48 A photo like it Washington Avenue · Philadelphia, United States
Get: Pho tai: rare beef
49 A photo like it Little Havana · Miami, United States
Get: The pho, and the spring rolls
50 A photo like it Côte-des-Neiges · Montreal, Canada
Get: Pho tai: rare beef, with the house hot sauce
51 to 100
51 A photo like it Rue Mazarine, Saint-Germain · Paris, France
Get: The tori shoyu ramen
52 Rue Villedo, 1st · Paris, France
Get: The udon in hot dashi with tempura
53 A photo like it Rue Saulnier, 9th · Paris, France
Get: Soba in hot broth, or cold soba with the dipping sauce
55 A photo like it Zeedijk, Chinatown · Amsterdam, Netherlands
Get: Wonton noodle soup
56 Gipsstraße, Mitte · Berlin, Germany
Get: The tonkotsu ramen
58 Kantstraße, Charlottenburg · Berlin, Germany
Get: Taiwanese beef noodle soup, and the pork belly bun
59 A photo like it Via Porro Lambertenghi, Isola · Milan, Italy
Get: Shoyu ramen with chashu
62 A photo like it Piazza del Mercato · Siena, Italy
Get: Pici cacio e pepe, or pici all'aglione
63 A photo like it St Kevin's Arcade, Karangahape Road · Auckland, New Zealand
Get: The cacio e pepe pici, then the olive oil cheesecake
64 A photo like it Dominion Road, Mount Eden · Auckland, New Zealand
Get: Dan dan noodles, and dumplings in sweet and spicy sauce
65 A photo like it Jung-gu · Seoul, South Korea
Get: Pyongyang naengmyeon: cold buckwheat noodles in a chilled beef broth
66 A photo like it Pil-dong, Jung-gu · Seoul, South Korea
Get: Mul naengmyeon: the plain, clear cold noodle
67 Myeong-dong · Seoul, South Korea
Get: Kalguksu: knife-cut noodles in a thick chicken broth, with the garlic kimchi
68 A photo like it Yanji Street, Da'an · Taipei, Taiwan
Get: Clear-stewed (qing dun) beef noodles
69 A photo like it Jinshan South Road, Da'an · Taipei, Taiwan
Get: Red-braised beef noodles, with the cold peanut noodles to share
71 Parkes Street, Jordan · Hong Kong, China
Get: Wonton noodles in soup
72 A photo like it Wellington Street, Central · Hong Kong, China
Get: The king prawn wonton noodles
73 A photo like it Sham Shui Po · Hong Kong, China
Get: Bamboo-pole noodles with shrimp roe
74 A photo like it Jalan Tun H.S. Lee, Chinatown · Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Get: Kon lou (dry) beef noodles with the beef ball soup
75 A photo like it Jalan Berseh · Singapore, Singapore
Get: The charcoal-cooked laksa; order a couple
76 A photo like it East Coast Road, Katong · Singapore, Singapore
Get: Katong laksa with a slice of otah
78 A photo like it Tiong Bahru Market · Singapore, Singapore
Get: Prawn and sotong mee, stir in the chilli
79 A photo like it East Coast Road · Singapore, Singapore
Get: Charcoal-fried Hokkien mee
80 A photo like it Old Airport Road Food Centre · Singapore, Singapore
Get: Char kway teow with cockles
81 A photo like it Amoy Street Food Centre · Singapore, Singapore
Get: The Singapore-style ramen
82 A photo like it Lebuh Presgrave · George Town, Malaysia
Get: Prawn Hokkien mee with braised pork ribs
83 A photo like it Sukhumvit 26 · Bangkok, Thailand
Get: Dry tom yum pork noodles with fried fish skin
84 A photo like it Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Old Town · Bangkok, Thailand
Get: Tom yum noodles with the river prawn
85 A photo like it Banthat Thong Road · Bangkok, Thailand
Get: Mama tom yum: instant noodles in a big tom yum
86 Ekkamai · Bangkok, Thailand
Get: The stewed beef noodle soup from the decades-old pot
87 A photo like it Victory Monument · Bangkok, Thailand
Get: Several small bowls of boat noodles
88 A photo like it Charoenrat Road, Wat Ket · Chiang Mai, Thailand
Get: Beef khao soi with pork satay
89 A photo like it Hàng Vải, Hoàn Kiếm · Hanoi, Vietnam
Get: Beef phở, choosing your doneness
91 A photo like it Shijo-Ohashi, Gion · Kyoto, Japan
Get: Nishin soba: soba with sweet-braised herring
92 A photo like it Ginkakuji · Kyoto, Japan
Get: Omen udon: dip the noodles with the vegetables
94 A photo like it Nishinakajima · Osaka, Japan
Get: The shoyu ramen with the thick-cut chashu
Show 51 to 100
Share the Noodle 100 Link copied.
How Chef picks
Bowls you'd cross a city for, ranked by how good the one bowl is (the noodle itself, the broth or sauce), how consistent the shop is, and whether people still line up for it. Chef starts from our own stories and city guides, then reads this year's critics, guides and lists (MICHELIN's Bib Gourmands, Tabelog, local critics) and checks every shop is still open. One bowl to order at each, so you never stare at a ticket machine, plus the line to expect and how to beat it. Checked November 2026; a new chart every month.
More to eat
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each shop's page; "a photo like it" is the same kind of bowl, not from that shop. Chef Amazing is not paid by any shop on this chart.
1A photo like it
2A photo like it
3A photo like it
5
6A photo like it
7
8A photo like it
9A photo like it
10A photo like it
12A photo like it
13A photo like it
18A photo like it
19A photo like it
23A photo like it
26A photo like it
31A photo like it
65A photo like it
67
