A Sunday Grubgirl post sang the praises of wonton noodle soup from the tiny Ming’s on Second Street and Jessie downtown. Ming’s is a cool place to know about, but it’s not the only budget noodle soup, or even necessarily the best, that that office-lunch-heavy area has to offer. As a former 9-5 denizen of that neighborhood, MPSF has a couple tips of our own:
If you like udon, and we certainly do, the Oishii Cafe on Market slings it to go. Well, if you insist on sitting there, they’ve got a couple little stools, but it’s mostly a takeout joint. At $5.95 it’s a good lunch deal, especially when the fog/wind/rain is whipping. They’ve also got halfway decent bentos and sushi.
Probably our favorite noodle experience in the area is right across the street from our old office at the Tea Garden . Serving Taiwanese snacks such as pork buns and tea eggs and bubble tea as well as big bowls of meaty noodles, this place really covered a lot of bases for us: mid-afternoon munchies, cold-weather broth infusion, freaky drink fixation. Taken care of. It’s pretty small and can get a bit crowded, so give yourself some minutes and don’t set your heart on eating there, as they only have one table and a small counter space.
Ming’s Coffee Shop - Fast & Cheap Chinese Food in SoMa [Grubgirl]
Oishii Cafe [MenuPages]
Tea Garden [MenuPages]
Photo: Beef noodle soup at the Tea Garden [Yelp]
