Having each lived twice in both China and Santa Cruz, husband and wife team Stacy Liu and Yunteng Li recently came back into town and opened Noodle Time. Born and raised in China, they initially moved here and lived for 20 years while owning a local restaurant.
Liu says when they decided to close, they soon found themselves wanting a return to the industry. But first, they moved back to China for two years to perfect their passions, Liu’s for boba tea and Li’s for making handmade noodles.
Now they are back in Santa Cruz and showcasing their cuisine at Noodle Time in what Liu describes as an ideal high-traffic location on Ocean Street. She says the design is simple, clean and casual with a half-open kitchen and a menu full of Asian favorites with strong Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese influences.
A+ apps are the juicy popcorn chicken with salt, pepper and basil and Liu’s personal favorite, the chargrilled chicken and beef skewers with red pepper cumin seasoning.
A noodle favorite is pho with long-cooked beef broth base complemented by rare steak, braised brisket, beef tendon, meatball and usual accoutrements. Another is the braised beef noodle soup with handmade wheat noodle, baby bok choy and chopped scallion, as well as the housemade chow mien.
Drink offerings include hand-punched lemon lime tea, slushies and signature boba teas like the tiger’s milk, with fresh taro and hand-mashed purple potato.
Spill the tea on your boba.
STACY LIU: When I went back to China to learn how to make boba tea, I was inspired because me and my family love it and I wanted to learn how to make it healthier. Other places often use a powder instead of real milk, but here I use organic milk and real fruit. I just really love boba and it’s very popular right now too, so it’s fun to offer an authentic preparation.
What makes your noodles special?
All we use is water, egg, salt and high-gluten flour. This is how my husband was taught to make the noodles in China. There are no preservatives, and all the noodles are made fresh from scratch every day. The texture of them is very chewy and rich; they have a nice nutty flavor and also take on the flavors of each dish’s other ingredients.
1314 Ocean St., Santa Cruz, 831-400-9711; noodletimeca.com
