It’s unfortunate that China’s Hunan province tends to gets very little press other than as the Trivial Pursuit answer to the question of Chairman Mao Zedong’s birthplace. Though an important regional hub, it has nevertheless tended to cede the limelight to nearby Guangzhou. Even more obscure is its ancient capital Changsha, though, if the city of six million continues to produce more restaurants like the Noodle Rack, it won’t be long before this 2,000 year old city gets its long overdue close-up. Designed by the Shanghai-based Lukstudio, the restaurant is set in a mixed-used development with a fruit juice stall, ladies’ boutique and spa as its immediate neighbours. Styled like a traditional hole-in-the-wall street stall, the entrance, clad with bamboo-cast concrete and a vitrine framed with steel grids, leads into 50sqm space dominated by a central bar counter. Overhead is a light installation comprised of draped loops of thin metal wires that evoke the hand-made noodle drying on racks. The menu is based on Shaoyang-styled rice noodles lounging in a soup doused with a spicy oil made from freshly pressed canola flowers, though the less fiery option of beef noodles soup followed by a dessert of sticky rice and brown sugar is equally satisfying.
ADDRESS
W1003
Wanda Plaza
Zhongshan Road No.589
Kaifu District
Changsha City
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Curtains up, Kid Harpoon rethinks the sound of Broadway production ‘Art’He’s crafted hits with Harry Styles and Miley Cyrus; now songwriter and producer Kid Harpoon (aka Tom Hull) tells us about composing the music for the new, all-star Broadway revival of Yasmina Reza’s play ‘Art’
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Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekHere in the UK, summer seems to be fading fast. Moody skies and showers called for early-autumn rituals for the Wallpaper* team: retreating into the depths of the Tate Modern, slipping into shadowy cocktail bars, and curling up with a good book
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To celebrate 50 years in business, Giorgio Armani is opening up his extraordinary archive to everybodyLaunched at the Venice Film Festival, Armani/Archivio is a digital archive charting 50 years of Giorgio Armani through the house’s most memorable designs
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Discover a futuristic bar in Shanghai with mad-scientist energyPenicillin opens in Shanghai with a clinical steel and concrete design by LC Studio alongside trailblazing, sustainable cocktails
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A colossal ‘ship’ in Shanghai honours Louis Vuitton’s travel legacyLouis Vuitton’s The Louis is an OMA-designed hub combining retail, culture and dining in the heart of Nanjing West Road
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Tour the best contemporary tea houses around the worldCelebrate the world’s most unique tea houses, from Melbourne to Stockholm, with a new book by Wallpaper’s Léa Teuscher
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Prada and Wong Kar-wai dream up a cinematic restaurant in ShanghaiPrada partners with Wong Kar-wai to bring Mi Shang Rong Zhai to life, a dining experience influenced by the arthouse director’s seminal oeuvre
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Enjoy heritage views and contemporary brews at a new Beijing caféJM Café, White Pagoda Temple by B.L.U.E. Architecture Studio nods to the history of the Xicheng District while injecting a shot of vitality
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Must-visit cinemas with award-worthy designThere’s more magic to the movies at these design-led cinemas, from Busan Cinema Centre’s ‘flying’ roof to The Gem Cinema Jaipur’s art deco allure
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China’s Alila Shanghai hotel is a stylish hub of idle tranquillityAlila Shanghai, the brand's first urban resort in Greater China, is a serene bolthole amidst the pulse of the Jing'an district
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2025 getaways: where Wallpaper* editors will be travelling to this yearFrom the Japanese art islands of Naoshima and Teshima to the Malaysian tropical paradise of Langkawi, here’s where Wallpaper* editors plan to travel to in 2025
