Northern Cafe

Name: Northern Cafe
Address: 4911 E 2nd St, Long Beach, CA, 90803, US
Price range: $$

Northern Chinese / Hand-Pulled Noodles$$

Directions

Mon–Thu & Sun 11:30am–9:30pm; Fri–Sat 11:30am–10pm; dim sum daily 11am–4pm

4911 E 2nd St, Long Beach, CA 90803
Last verified: November 2026
Report an issue with this listing

Dishes to know on this menu

Dim sum: The Cantonese tradition of small steamed, fried and baked plates (dumplings, buns, rice rolls, ribs) eaten with tea, traditionally as a brunch running from early morning to mid-afternoon. Plates of three or four pieces are shared family-style, so a table can try a wide range; many restaurants serve them from carts, and now also at dinner and for takeout. On this menu as: Noodles & Dim Sum.
Xiao long bao: Shanghai-style "soup dumplings": a thin pleated wrapper around seasoned pork and a cube of gelatinized stock that melts into hot broth as it steams. Eat them from a spoon: bite a corner, sip the soup, then finish the dumpling with a little black vinegar and ginger. On this menu as: Soup Dumplings.
Dan dan noodles: A Sichuan street dish named for the carrying pole its vendors used: wheat noodles under a sauce of chili oil, Sichuan peppercorn and preserved mustard greens, topped with minced pork, scallion and peanuts. The Chengdu original is served dry and stirred together at the table; the soupier version common overseas is milder and sometimes adds sesame paste. On this menu as: Dan Dan Noodles.
Mapo tofu: Soft tofu in a glossy red sauce of fermented broad-bean paste (doubanjiang), chili and ground Sichuan peppercorn, traditionally with a little minced beef or pork. The name honors the pockmarked (ma) old woman (po) said to have invented it in Chengdu; a vegetarian version is common. On this menu as: Mapo Tofu.
Beef noodle soup: Two great versions: Lanzhou-style, a clear beef broth over hand-pulled noodles with radish, chili oil and cilantro; and Taiwanese-style, a dark, soy-and-spice-braised broth with chunks of tendon-rich shank and pickled mustard greens. On this menu as: Suan Cai (Sauerkraut) Beef Noodle Soup.
Tofu (bean curd): Pressed soybean curd, from custard-soft (for mapo tofu and soups) to firm (for stir-fries and braises). Fried tofu puffs soak up sauce; tofu skin (yuba) is the sheet lifted off simmering soy milk, rolled and braised or fried as a "vegetarian duck". On this menu as: Mapo Tofu.

Northern Cafe

Menu

Noodles & Dim Sum

How these dishes compare

Northern Cafe on our other sites

More restaurants nearby