First Look: Highland Noodles, Another Trek to Frisco for Hand-Pulled Noodles

Highland Noodles opened in Frisco in December, another entry on the hand-pulled noodle scene that is becoming more popular each day in North Texas. This is way out there in the hinterlands of Frisco in yet another huge, sprawling strip mall. But, it’s in the same shopping center as Haidilao Hot Pot, so perhaps one could make a day of it to justify the drive. Highland specializes in All Things Noodle, from hand-pulled to beef noodle soup to the increasingly common oily chili noodle, as well as stir-fried and cold varieties and other dishes accessible via the QR menu.

The website blurb proclaims that noodles are a soul food of sorts: “…eating isn't just about feeding your body. It's about nourishing the soul, too. And life is too short for mediocre soul food. We make sure every dish that we serve satisfies your entire being.” Indeed, life is too short, full stop, and while noodles may not be the number one priority in YOLOing, they’re right up there.

We went there for lunch and found specials that included noodle soup, a tea egg and a side salad, so we went with that as well as ordering a bowl of oily noodles, a dish that has quickly found a warm (and spicy, and messy…) place in our hearts.
The lunch special included Lanzhou Hand Pull beef noodle soup, a tea egg and a shredded potato salad as our salad selection. The width of the noodles can be personalized, with at least four levels ranging from very thin to extra wide; we opted for a midrange noodle. The noodles had the perfect chew, and the bowl where they lived contained diced pieces of tender beef, a generous amount of chopped scallions and cilantro, all hanging out in a wonderfully rich and flavorful broth. Some loud slurping might have occurred during the consumption of this soup, but what are you going to do?
The oily noodles came in a decently sized bowl along with chili pepper, bok choy, soy sauce and vinegar, with a little dollop of raw garlic sitting atop it all. Stirring it all up let the oil blend with everything, providing the slightly spicy noodle coating that is becoming a common craving for us. Of course, the wide, long noodles can be a challenge to eat with chopsticks. One pulls and pulls with no noodle end in sight, adding the challenge of noodle entanglement. But fear not. The server saw us struggling and brought us a pair of scissors, which we gladly, if sheepishly, used to cut the noodle hanging from the chopstick to a more manageable length before shoveling it into our maw. It had to be done.
The sides were good as well. The tea egg was a tea egg, no surprises here, a hard-boiled egg with a mottled tea-colored surface that went well with the noodles. The shredded potato salad, on the other hand, was something we’d never had: shredded al dente potato pieces with carrot and green onion in a pleasant vinegary base, which also complemented the main courses well.
All and all, a welcome addition to the fresh hand-pulled noodle market in the Metroplex.

9188 Prestmont Place, Frisco. 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Monday – Thursday; 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., 5 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Sunday