Hang Ari Noodle Company Bringing Hand-Cut Noodles To Catonsville As Early As This Weekend

Hang Ari Noodle Company chef rolling out the noodles

Back with more news about Hang Ari Noodle Company, the new restaurant bringing hand-pulled noodles to Catonsville from Los Angeles and opening as early as this weekend

Lisbeth of the Lisbeth Eats blog had sent me a report that I posted last month.  Now, she is back with the name -- Hang Ari Noodle Company -- and some details about the house-made noodles at the center of the new place.  This will open in Hanoori Town, the cluster of restaurants a few doors down from the H Mart in Catonsville.

(Update:  I've gone back and forth on the capitalization of the restaurant -- Hangari or Hang Ari.  Either option is acceptable coming over from the Korean, but I'm trying to use Hang Ari because that is printed on their business cards.)

Lisbeth reports that the owner/chef has been in the restaurant business for more than 20 years in LA.  The new Hang Ari Noodle follows the concept of his current LA restaurant -- focusing on two types of noodles and serving them in a variety of broths and sauces.  This sounds like a cool addition to the Rte 40 corridor -- noodles that are rolled, cut and boiled only after you order.

As I hear (not from Lisbeth), the soft opening will be Friday.  So watch for a full opening as early as this weekend.

Please don't hold me to consistent Korean spelling.  Transliteration of Korean words can lead to multiple spellings.  Lisbeth and I use different versions at different times.  Just check out what she says:

The owner/chef owned and operated Curry Hyang in Korea Town in LA, a popular Japanese restaurant specializing in curry and Japanese style noodles. After many years there, he sold the business and went on to open a kalgooksoo restaurant, with a business partner, in Korea Town called “Hang Ari Kalgooksoo.” 

This talented chef used the training he acquired in Korea under veteran chefs from historically famous kalgooksoo restaurants to great success. Right now, The Korean Daily (Joong Ang Ilbo) newspaper in LA named Hangari Kalgooksoo as the busiest restaurant in LA with the longest lines. 

Photo from the tasting, I think

The chef is bringing the same concept to the East Coast with his new restaurant, Hang Ari Noodle Company. The restaurant will feature two distinct categories of noodle dishes – kalgooksoo and Mil Myun. 

Kalgooksoo (literally “knife noodle”) is a noodle soup that is made using fresh hand-cut wheat flour noodles. It is served in large bowls of delicious broth and topped with garnishes that enhance the dish. The kalgooksoo menu will feature various flavor options including chicken, clam, seafood, kimchi and beef.

Mil Myun is similar to naeng myun (literally “cold noodle”), but the incredibly thin noodles are made using the same dough used for kalgooksoo  The mil myun menu will feature various options such as Mul Mil Myun (noodles in a chilled broth), Bibim
Mil Myun (noodles in a spicy sauce), Kimchi Mil Myun and Hong Uh (Skate) Mil Myun. 

A unique business strategy that the chef is taking will be offering customers a traditional Korean appetizer of bori bop (brown rice), dwen jang (Bean Paste) and yul moo  kimchi (young radish stem kimchi) free of charge with each order of noodles.  Because the noodles will be rolled out, cut and boiled fresh to order, the appetizer will keep customers happy while they wait for their food. 

Hang Ari  Noodle Company is bringing a new concept to the area that I’m sure will be a hit! Koreans in the area with be delighted to finally have a kalgooksoo and mil myun speciality restaurant open in Maryland. And for non-Koreans, this restaurant will be a great new cuisine to try.  They are set to open very soon, with a tentative date for this weekend. 

I heard they had a secret tasting with the chef’s family over the weekend and everyone loved it.  I personally can’t wait to try their clam kalgooksoo!

For more about the LA restaurant and this cuisine, check out the One More Bite blog and Yelp reviews.