Sofun Noodle Bar

Despite all the restaurants you see with “Hunan” in the name, food that’s actually from this part of China can be hard to find. Unless you live in LIC, where you can and should add the region’s spicy, fermented flavors to your regular rotation at Sofun Noodle Bar. This casual spot serves slurp noodles that’ll wake you back up from your after-work slump. (They also do some skippable dimsum.) Get the mala rib fen made with tender, spiced short rib, or a classic, smokey pig trotter mifen. You should eat your noodles right away, but the bright white Genius Bar-like seating here is not ideal—so take your bowl to-go and eat in the big public courtyard outside, with a beer from Focal Point Brewery next door.