Hand-pulled noodle soup at Lan Zhou

If you’ve visited the food court at the Atlanta Chinatown Mall in the last few years, you’ve probably noticed a man banging, twisting, pulling, and stretching a mound of dough beneath the crimson sign at Lan Zhou’s food stall. With a little expert elbow grease, he separates the dough into strands of la mian (hand-pulled) noodles, which are then chopped down to manageable lengths and tossed in a pot of boiling water to order. Go for the roasted duck breast served in Lan Zhou’s traditional clear beef broth atop freshly pulled noodles. The la mian method is said to date as far back as the sixteenth century, so while you slurp, be sure to appreciate this ancient Chinese cooking method one glorious bite at a time. $6.