Berlin’s noodle pull: a spicy bowl at LIU or Wen Cheng

Chengdu beef noodles at LIU and hand-pulled biang biang noodles at Wen Cheng: two Berlin places that put noodles at the centre of the meal.

LIU – beef noodles from Chengdu

LIU 成都味道 on Kronenstraße near Gendarmenmarkt cooks noodles and snacks from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan. At the centre sit the Sichuan beef noodles on house chili oil and Sichuan peppercorn that leaves a numbing tingle on the tongue. Alongside: chuan chuan xiang skewers from the spicy broth and wontons in chili oil.

Order the beef noodles at heat level two – on the scale from zero to three, that's where the heat still carries aroma. Bring cash. Open weekdays only for lunch, plus early evenings Wednesday to Friday.

Wen Cheng – biang biang noodles on Schönhauser Allee

Wen Cheng on Schönhauser Allee 65 is the original address of a brand that now has two more locations in Berlin. Brothers Rui and Peng Gao built it with Valentin Spieß and named it after a dying dialect from Zhejiang Province that the brothers' mother speaks. Berlin Meisterköche named it the city's best neighbourhood restaurant in 2022.

Order the hand-pulled biang biang noodles, pick your own heat level, and add bao buns. There are no reservations and the queue is part of the programme: come early for a seat inside, later for the sidewalk tables. Closed on Tuesdays.