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Culinary gems shine in little stretches of commercial districts in Madison Heights. For example, there's Noodletopia at 30120-30140 John R Rd.
In a review headlined "Noodletopia is a Chinese noodle paradise," Nick George writes in Metro Times:
The menu comes with a handy flowchart, visually explaining the components visually that make up the entrees. Customers can choose between blade-shaved noodles, hand-pulled noodles, or hand-pulled belt noodles — a thicker and wider variation. The sides and dim sum sections of the menu offer some incredible dishes. The bean curd salad is light and refreshing, with a hint of vinegar and green sichuan peppercorn.
The lamb spine includes melt-in-your-mouth tender chunks of lamb meat that fall off the bone, served in an excruciatingly hot stone bowl with carrots, ginger, tomato, and five spice flavors — an example of western Chinese cooking that descended from Middle Eastern flavors by way of the silk road some 1000 years ago. The griddle pie is a common breakfast in China, a thin pancake with lightly sweetened soybean paste and a touch of vinegar cooked up on a crepe maker and wrapped around a cracker...
It's a simple menu done well, with enough variety to keep things interesting while hitting home runs with a few staples. We're lucky to finally have a hand-pulled noodle spot of our own, and Noodletopia lives up to the name.