Bamboo Stix - Ellicott City

Being a pescatarian in Baltimore, I struggle to find good Asian noodle soup options. Most places either use pork broth or overload their soups with sugar. However, last summer, a friend recommended Hot Pot Hero to us and we were blown away. The food was so good that I even decided to have my birthday dinner there instead of a fancier restaurant. My husband prefers a milder broth and typically goes for the vegetarian tomato base, adding meat, noodles, and vegetables. On the other hand, I love spicy food and always choose the spicy mushroom broth, loading it up with seafood, tofu, noodles, and other condiments. Despite the 45-50 minute drive from the city, we always find the trip out to this suburban gem well worth it.

I visited this restaurant last minute and was pleasantly surprised! While they are advertised as a Ramen place, they actually serve Chinese style ramen/lamian. Next to the restaurant is Ben Gong Tea, which has an extensive menu. I ordered the Beef tendon noodles and a brown sugar tea, both of which were delicious. The milk tea was surprisingly sweet, but one of the best I've had (even better than gong cha and tiger sugar in my opinion). I look forward to returning to try more items from both places. The seating area is comfortable and perfect for studying or hanging out. The staff at both establishments are friendly. Vegetarian options are available, such as sushi before a certain time and vegetarian sides like sweet potato fries and edamame.

We decided to pass on the nearby pho restaurant and instead tried the food at the bubble tea place next door. Their bubble tea was delicious, especially the brown sugar flavor. I ordered the beef noodle soup with tendon and enjoyed it, while my daughter had the Lanzhou beef noodle soup and also enjoyed hers. We would definitely return to try more of their menu items.

Got sick here from their sushi during my first visit. Poke bowl was very very very boring and tasteless.

Came back a second time and it looked like they may have tweaked their menu a bit--all for the better. We got the lanzhou beef noodles (again! , the braised beef noodle soup, the braised beef rice and popcorn chicken. I think they did much better identifying as a Taiwanese restaurant with the food offered. The popcorn chicken was generously portioned and you really get the spice blend on its crust. The noodle soups were winners. Others have commented on the amount of garlic in the food which we also noticed the first time we ate, and this was not there anymore so that was a nice change. The Lanzhou beef noodle broth was light and refreshing and you can taste the depth of the broth in the beef braised noodle soup. I would like better proportions for rice and beef and the rice bowl but the flavors were still there. Love the changes and we may be back should we be in the area again.