Yun Gui Chuan is a Hong Kong rice noodle specialist on Brick Lane, where diners build their own bowls of mixian from a menu of broths, spice levels and toppings. The brand was founded in Hong Kong in 2013, where it has three branches, and arrived in London in 2022 with this Brick Lane site, followed by a second branch in Bankside in September 2024.
Ordering works in three steps. First comes the broth, and every base apart from the vegan and cold options starts with a clear pork broth that’s simmered for more than eight hours with pork bones until it turns creamy white. From there you can go for hot and numbing, sour and spicy, tomato, green pepper (served at low spice only), or an ultimate coriander broth. Next comes spice level, which runs from not spicy to extra hot, and finally the toppings. These range from fish balls, cuttlefish balls, pork intestine and pork blood pudding to fried fish skin, bamboo fungus, shrimp balls with salted duck egg yolk, braised beef brisket and crispy Japanese sausages.
For those who’d rather not choose, ‘King of’ bowls pair a broth with a set mix of toppings, and there are stir-fried rice noodles too. Appetisers include spicy seared ox tongue, sliced pork belly with mashed garlic, spicy century eggs, and shrimp wontons in chilli oil.
Drinks lean into Hong Kong cha chaan teng classics: milk tea, lemon tea, Horlicks, Ovaltine and yuen yeung (a blend of coffee and milk tea), served hot or iced. There’s Hong Kong milk tea ice cream for dessert, and a weekday lunch set. The team also sell DIY noodle kits for cooking at home.