Emily Ke grew up in the Anhui province of eastern China, but it was a trip to Cleveland that turned her on to Dagu Rice Noodle.
The Shanghai-based chain has over 500 locations, but fewer than a dozen in the U.S. In partnership with her best friend, Natalie Huang, Ke launched its first Michigan franchise in the former Brothers Street Food space near the Carpenter Rd. Target.
The full-service restaurant, named for the big bass drums that anchor the store’s decor, specializes in “crossing-the-bridge” rice noodle soups from Yunnan province, which borders Vietnam. They’re served in generous hot pots, accompanied by a platter of ten cold ingredients for diners to add in at the table—quail egg, tofu, bamboo shoots, corn, mushrooms, and more. Ranging from $13.49 to $15.49, varieties include pickled cabbage fish, sour and spicy beef, “vigorous big bone,” and several vegetarian options.
Ke describes it as “special in Chinese cuisine. It’s not traditional, like orange chicken or fried rice.” The legend behind the name tells of a woman who crossed a long bridge each day to feed her scholar husband on the other side. Fearing the soup would get cold, she carried the boiling broth and noodles separately, joining them once they had met. As the menu explains, “what rose was not only steam, but love and longing.”
Dagu’s menu also offers fried rice, salads, Chinese appetizers and sides, and a variety of milk teas. Still, Ke says, it’s an easier kitchen to manage than at a conventional Chinese restaurant.
“It’s not that hard, but it’s a lot of things [we] need to learn. I’m so tired!” she says.
Ke came to the U.S. for her graduate program in music education at EMU, staying on to direct a preschool. Its closure led her to pursue a business of her own. She’s also an accomplished and well-traveled musician, specializing in the violin-like erhu, a traditional Chinese instrument of two strings played with a bow.
Dagu Rice Noodle, 3765 Carpenter. (734) 602–8986. Wed.–Mon. 11 a.m.– 3 p.m. & 5–9 p.m. Closed Tues. noodledagu.com
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