I Tried EVERY Noodle in the World!!

TL;DR

A food traveler ranks the world's 50 best noodles across 20+ countries, revealing standout dishes from Japan, Italy, Vietnam, and beyond.

Key Points

• 1.China is the birthplace of noodles, with 4,000 years of history. Standouts include Yunnan's single-strand 'one noodle' (kilometers long), Xi'an's bang bang noodles slapped against a countertop, cold skin liangpi noodles, and Shanghai's scallion oil noodles with a notoriously long queue.
• 2.Italy's pasta capital Rome offers iconic dishes including cacio e pepe, carbonara, and a fiery twist on amatriciana. Chef Hito's spicy guanciale pasta with mixed chilies and pecorino was called 'the greatest pasta ever,' while fettuccine alfredo at its Roman source used an entire block of butter.
• 3.Sardinia's su filindeu is the rarest pasta on Earth. Only a handful of people can make it — stretched 256 threads thin, dried in the Sardinian sun, and served in mutton broth with melted cheese; it literally translates to 'threads of God.'
• 4.Germany's spätzle appeared unexpectedly at a two-Michelin-star Bangkok restaurant called Sühring. The hand-cut sticky dough pasta was served with mushrooms, cheese from South Tyrol, and truffle, delivering a rich, gummy-yet-firm texture.
• 5.Spain's fideuà is a noodle version of paella cooked over open fire in Valencia. Introduced by paella expert Paco Alonso, it features squid, cigalas, and local shrimp in a tomato-based sauce that absorbs all the seafood flavor.
• 6.Vietnam dominates with multiple pilgrimage-worthy noodle soups. Pho with raw beef in Hanoi, bun rieu made from paddy crabs and tomatoes topped with mantis shrimp, and bun cha — charcoal-grilled pork belly and meatballs in sweet-tangy fish sauce broth — all ranked among the host's all-time favorites.
• 7.Iran's Shirazi faloodeh is a frozen dessert noodle served on ice cream. Originating in Shiraz, the wheat-starch vermicelli is coated in a butter-sugar mixture and frozen, then topped with fresh lemon juice — unique and found nowhere else in the world.
• 8.Southeast Asia delivers diverse fried and curry noodle highlights. Thailand's pad kee mao (drunken noodles) cooked over charcoal by a 43-year veteran, Malaysia's char kway teow fried with cockles and duck egg, and Penang's laksa thickened with shredded mackerel all stood out as exceptional.
• 9.Malaysia's mee goreng in Penang is a vivid orange fusion of Indian, Chinese, and Malay flavors. Made with hand-pulled noodles, red gravy, squid sambal, potato, tofu, scrambled egg, and lime juice, it was described as 'the flavor of Malaysia on a plate in a single bite.'
• 10.Hong Kong's wonton noodles, made using a bamboo pole to knead dough, deliver an unmatched springy texture. Paper-thin egg noodles topped with whole-shrimp wontons, shrimp roe, and braised beef tendon were called 'outstanding,' while Taiwan's beef noodle soup offered two rich broths — clear bone marrow and spiced braised.
• 11.Indonesia's baso features a 1-kilogram family-sized meatball mounted on a rib bone. Made from pounded beef paste reformed around a bone, the dish is served with noodles, sambal, and lime juice; Myanmar's national dish mohinga — rice noodles in creamy fish broth — and Uzbekistan's bright green dill-infused noodles also earned notable mentions.