Chinese cuisine is one of those ethnic foods which are popular any day, any time. Whether we sit in the restaurant or do take-out it brings a variety of dishes, ingredients, flavors and textures different from what we might have for dinner tonight.
While Rochester is home to several Chinese restaurants that can satisfy your hunger, one that should make your list — whether dining in or taking home — is First Meeting Noodle.
Unique in it’s offerings, First Meeting Noodle doesn’t serve the usual sweet-and-sour, General Tso fare. While a few of the usual favorites are there — but with a slightly different twist — instead, get ready for a menu mostly based on authentic northern Chinese dishes.
As the name implies, noodles are the specialty and they are central to most of the dishes offered. As general manager Alex Yue explained, they are especially popular for their ability to absorb flavors from sauces and broths and the dishes show that. Rice is also prominent on the menu, but here noodles rule.
Though the space is small, there was a lot going on both with customers coming and going as well as cooks preparing dishes when I visited. It’s an open kitchen, enclosed by a glass window, so you can see all sorts of cooking happening if you choose to.
John Chen preps noodles on Thursday, May 7, 2026, at First Meeting Noodle in Rochester.
Maya Giron / Post Bulletin
I did.
One cook was busy with a stir fry while another was making noodles. I could have stood there all afternoon watching that. It is quite a process and while I was there it happened at least three more times. First he took a chunk of dough and flattened it out on a board, kneading it a few times, then taking it and tossing and twisting it in the air over and over.
I missed how the long noodle shape happened but did see them going into a pot of boiling water, drained, then added to several dishes that were then topped with ingredients and served.
“Noodles have been a staple in Chinese cuisine for thousands of years and most meals then and now include either noodles or rice,” Alex said. “To be at their best they need to be freshly made, something we do many times a day.”
Ingredients are just flour and water along with the cook’s special touch.
The menu is divided into several categories starting with appetizers. It’s a nice selection including among other choices vegetable spring rolls, crispy Brussels sprouts and wonton in chili oil. “Handmade Snacks” — a unique section of the menu — includes scallion pancakes and beef dumplings, which came highly recommended. Still, I tried the scallion pancakes, which are delicious.
The “Stir Fried Noodle” category offered several choices including string bean and pork belly, moo shu, and garlic chicken. “Rice/Noodle Bowl” gives choices of which of the two you want — a beef rice bowl, braised pork belly, and tomato egg (this needs some explaining, but it is tomato, egg, black fungus and shanghai bok choy).
The Taiwanese tomato beef brisket noodle soup dish is pictured on Thursday, May 7, 2026, at First Meeting Noodle in Rochester.
Maya Giron / Post Bulletin
It’s hard to settle on the “Signature Noodle Dishes,” but especially popular is the Lanzhou Noodle Soup (beef shank, radish, scallion, cilantro), the Taiwanese Tomato Beef Brisket Noodle Soup (beef brisket, tomato, cilantro, pickled mustard, scallion) and the Chongqing Spicy Noodle Soup (minced pork, scallion, pickled mustard, bok choy, chopped peanuts).
The “Fried Rice” category offers four choices: vegetable, chicken, beef and shrimp. It was hard for me to choose but I ended up with garlic chicken, strips of chicken, vegetables and those wonderful noodles in a flavorful sauce.
A young couple was sitting nearby and I wondered what they had ordered. “I first came here a few months ago and like it so much I come back a lot. I always order the Dan Dan noodle dish,” the young man said. (Pork, scallion, vegetables, peanuts, bok choy.) Bottom line: You can’t go wrong with whatever you order.
The actual space is small with seating for about 41. There are tables set for two, easily pushed together for more, as well as booths. Service was quick, efficient and friendly.
First Meeting Noodle opened in 2022 and has been so popular plans are in the works for another in the 55th Street Northwest vicinity.
John Chen preps noodles on Thursday, May 7, 2026, at First Meeting Noodle in Rochester.
Maya Giron / Post Bulletin
Beef dumplings and the Taiwanese tomato beef brisket noodle soup dish is pictured on Thursday, May 7, 2026, at First Meeting Noodle in Rochester.
Maya Giron / Post Bulletin
Beef dumplings are pictured on Thursday, May 7, 2026, at First Meeting Noodle in Rochester.
Maya Giron / Post Bulletin
Hours are Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Located at 793 16th St. SW, you can order take out or delivery at
fmnoodle.com
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Post Bulletin food writer Holly Ebel knows what’s cookin’. Send comments or story tips to
life@postbulletin.com
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Dining and Cooking