A hand-pulled bowl of Lanzhou beef noodle soup now comes with an unusual side dish in Monterey Park: a baby grand piano sitting in the middle of the dining room, open to anyone who wants to play it. Chopin Noodle House, tucked into Atlantic Times Square, serves its signature soup alongside noodles pulled fresh to order and a piano that regularly draws in kids practicing scales and trained musicians alike.
The restaurant is owned by Zi Yang, who opened it with Mimi Song after the two met through music, according to LAist. Both were piano teachers before deciding to change careers, a shift LAist reports came after teaching lessons simply did not pay the bills. They opened the first Chopin Noodle House in Catonsville, Maryland in 2023, before expanding to Southern California starting in Chino and eventually reaching Monterey Park in March.
Yang and Song placed a piano in their restaurant originally so they could practice during slow hours when no customers were around, per LAist's reporting. That impulse became a defining feature of the brand: the chain takes its name from Polish composer Frédéric Chopin, and Yang has said he and Song both love the composer's music.
From Lanzhou Kitchens to a Monterey Park Storefront
Yang is from Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province in northwest China and, according to LAist, the birthplace of the beef noodle soup that gives the restaurant its culinary identity. Yang has said roughly 80% of people in Lanzhou eat the soup for breakfast or lunch, and he returned to China specifically to learn how to pull the noodles and prepare the broth properly before bringing the recipe to the United States.
That dedication to craft shows up on the menu. The traditional beef noodle soup, made from beef bones and beef shank, remains the most popular order at $14.99, built around a clear beef broth finished with white radish, red chili oil, cilantro, leek and thinly sliced beef, LAist reports. The Monterey Park location, according to a separate review from The Infatuation, keeps things casual with an order-at-the-counter setup and roughly a dozen soup and dry noodle options, including stir-fried and jjajang styles.
Noodle customization is central to the whole operation. Chopin offers eight noodle styles ranging from extra-thin to extra-wide, plus knife-sliced noodles and a gluten-free rice noodle option, according to LAist, while The Infatuation's review of the Monterey Park shop counted six different thickness levels on offer there. Either way, the kitchen hand-pulls every order fresh rather than relying on pre-cut noodles, a detail Baltimore Magazine highlighted in its review of the original Catonsville location, describing noodles made on-site and pulled to order.
A Tea Ritual Alongside the Noodles
Beyond noodles, the Monterey Park menu includes eight treasures tea, known in Lanzhou as san pao tai, brewed with green tea, dried red dates, goji berries, longan, raisins, rose petals, chrysanthemum and rock sugar, LAist reports. It arrives served in a lidded bowl called a gaiwan, a presentation detail tied to the drink's traditional roots.
The Piano Stays Open to Everyone
Unlike a dining room that might discourage customers from touching the instrument, Chopin Noodle House welcomes all visitors to play its piano, according to LAist. Yang has said the piano's players have ranged from children just learning to professional musicians, including members of the San Gabriel Valley Symphony. Yang himself still plays for customers on occasion, though he has admitted he feels shy doing so because some visitors who sit down at the keys are genuinely skilled.
The Monterey Park location marks Chopin's second restaurant in California and fifth overall across Maryland, Virginia and Southern California, per LAist's count. The Infatuation separately noted the Monterey Park spot as the chain's second California outpost, with its grand piano taking up a good chunk of the dining room. Chopin Noodle House is located at 500 N. Atlantic Blvd., Suite 117, and is open Monday through Thursday from noon to 9 p.m., Friday from noon to 9:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., with updates posted on its Instagram account.
