Wheat

I have not been here for a long time and there services are improved so much from last year! I add the vegi and it's finally not only one tiny bit! I appreciate this place on f street cuz we need good Chinese food out here!

I give Wheat 麦茶 a solid four stars. The food we had here was good, especially the noodles, and service was excellent. This is a great spot for "authentic" Chinese food on Franklin Street. This is *not* an Americanized Chinese joint (you'll have to look elsewhere for that).Wheat opened in April 2023. It replaced Shanghai Dumpling: https://www.yelp.com/biz/wheat-chapel-hill-chapel-hill-2 The hundreds of old Yelp reviews for Shanghai Dumpling may be merged into and inherited by Wheat, so if you see reviews referencing dumplings, that's why. I was told that Wheat is a completely new and separate business from Shanghai Dumpling, with different owners.Wheat has a slightly older sister location in Durham: https://www.yelp.com/biz/wheat-%E9%BA%A6%E8%8C%B6-durham-durham It opened in December 2022, replacing Secrets Pho & Noodle Bar.This Chapel Hill location is small, much smaller than the Durham location. I guesstimate this place can seat about 30, maybe 40, people comfortably. No outdoor seating. The atmosphere is simple and casual.Various street, surface lot, and parking deck options are available nearby. At the time of writing this review, street parking is enforced Monday-Saturday, 8am-6pm. Lot and deck parking are enforced Monday-Saturday, 8am-8pm. Parking should be free otherwise. For this visit, I parked next to the Ackland Art Museum for free.The menu offered a decent variety of noodles (soups and "dry" noodles), rice plates, and other Chinese cuisine including plenty of Sichuan fare, apps, and cold dishes. If I come back, I'm interested in trying their Hainanese Chicken Over Rice ($13.99). Outside on the sidewalk, they were advertising Monday and Wednesday chef's specials. However, the items actually appeared on the regular menu, available seven days a week. Drinkwise, the menu had Asian drinks like Roasted Rice with Green Tea ($4.99), Lemon Yakult ($5.99), and Mango Pomelo Sago ($8.99). They were out of most of these drinks during our visit, though.Here's what my wife and I had:Appetizers* Beef Filet with Tripe in Szechuan Sauce ($7.99)* Salt and Pepper Pork Ribs ($6.99)* Pickled Cucumber ($5.99)Noodles* Braised Beef Noodle Soup ($14.99)* Crispy Minced Beef Noodle ($14.99)Both noodle bowls were very good. We preferred the Crispy Minced Beef Noodle - a "dry" noodle bowl with no soup/broth - over the Braised Beef Noodle Soup. If you're craving Chinese noodle soup, the Braised Beef Noodle Soup is certainly worth ordering. What shined in these bowls were the noodles themselves. They tasted very fresh and had outstanding texture.After mixing all of the ingredients (noodles, beef, greens, scallions, garlic, sauce), the Crispy Minced Beef Noodle was full of flavor/umami. It was filling, comforting, and satisfying. Along with the noodles, what impressed me about the Braised Beef Noodle Soup were the large, tender, quality chunks of beef. The broth left a little something to be desired. I don't think it was rich nor complex enough, but that was OK (may be unfair to expect too much of this place given the location and price point).The apps were good. The Beef Filet with Tripe in Szechuan Sauce included beef omasum and beef tendon which you can order separately if you want. If you order the "Beef Filet with Tripe in Szechuan Sauce," you get everything (filet, omasum, tendon). This is a typical Sichuan cold dish which I like to order. I enjoy the different textures, the savory and spicy flavors, and the rich mouthfeel (oily, but in a good way). Wheat's version had generous portions and the quality of the ingredients was fine. That said, the dish lacked certain flavors. My wife expected there to be more sour/vinegar while I would've loved some Sichuan peppercorn for the "numbing" effect (of the "mala" spice). Minor criticisms aside, I'd order this dish again and I recommend it if you're generally a fan of these types of dishes.The Salt and Pepper Pork Ribs were recommended to us by our server. The ribs were a good recommendation. They were quite tasty. The ribs were served bone-in and had a good combination of fat and lean meat. Red chili powder came on the side. The ribs were yummy with or without the spice. The portion size was kind of small with eight bite-sized pieces, but for $6.99, I'm not going to complain much. The Pickled Cucumber was very typical of what my wife grew up eating (Chinese household). It was a bit salty, but crisp and refreshing overall.Our server Ricky was fantastic. He was the only server for the entire place. He was super friendly and attentive. Wheat is lucky to have him.During our Friday visit around 6:45pm, the dining room got moderately busy. There were a few online takeout orders as well.

Good and authentic. Nice service and portion sizes as well. Would definitely recommend

Very quick service, the food came out quickly and the pork and potatoes were very savory! I will be returning to try a soup later on.

The tofu was silky and absorbed the sauce well, which had a nice spicy kick. It could've used a bit more depth in flavor, but overall, it was satisfying.

Food is delicious, worm hot and makes you feel good, Service is kind and honestThe environment is comfortable and enjoyable for meA well place for lunch!

Cute cozy place near the UNC Campus, loved the sesame chicken with rice and broccoli. Had the chicken lomein the next time and it was also great! Servers were very nice.

Nice environment. I always like their rice bowls. They always come with large portions. The soup is also pretty good.

Delicious food, friendly staff and the appearance had a good vibe. Food was reasonably priced

The scallion pancakes were yummy and pork noodle soup was super good!! I will come again soon