Say “Hi” to the grand opening of Highland Noodles!
Highland Noodles is a new Chinese restaurant that offers notable hand-pulled noodles and dim sum dishes, located in Roseville’s Ridge at Creekside Center. According to Sacramento Business Journal, it replaced the former restaurant Jayna Gyro that served Greek and Turkish-inspired cuisine. The restaurant has become a popular hit through its social media advertising as well, as they have 4,700 followers on Instagram and influencers who have been reviewing their food on TikTok.
For Highland Noodles, the restaurant is open daily with a split shift schedule, hours ranging from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m (lunch) and 4:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m (dinner). When I first arrived at the restaurant around 1 p.m., the waitlist was completely booked out for lunch, so I decided to come back to try the food in the evening when the restaurant reopens at 4 p.m.
Even though I stood in line for around 5 minutes before the doors were open, there were already groups of people waiting for the restaurant alongside me, possibly due to the excitement of the restaurant’s grand opening. We were let in shortly after the time shifted to 4, and everyone in the line had spots to sit inside the restaurant.
Upon entering the restaurant, I saw that the interior design was filled with many traditional Chinese decorations. Such as the mahogany panels with Mandarin symbols laying above the kitchen area, and small trinkets placed onto the large shelf at the back of the restaurant. The lighting had more of a golden glow compared to other restaurants with white LED bright lights, which contributed to more of a relaxing and comfortable atmosphere.
Instead of receiving physical menus, they offered a QR code on the table, which redirects customers to the same menu available on their online website. Before accessing the menu, a pop up appears with different language selections (Mandarin and English), allowing the user to pick their preferred language of choice.
The menu also had various sections, ranging from types of noodle soups, dim sum and beverages, with pictures above each menu item. Just from the menu alone, it seemed like Highland Noodles was very considerate of their customers as they provided language accommodations and clear menu sections to make everything more convenient and accessible to order food.
I ordered three dishes to review: the Pork Xiao Long Bao, Sweet Red Bean Bao and Beef with Tomato Soup Noodles. When ordering the noodles, the waiter holds up a graphic of noodles in different sizes, starting from the thinnest to thickest noodle types. I picked the thin noodle texture as he explained that it was similar to the texture of ramen noodles, while the medium noodles have a texture that resembles spaghetti pasta.
The first dish to arrive at the table was the Pork Xiao Long Baos, coming in steaming fresh from the kitchen. The dumplings were shaped like peaks of mountains, looking very soft and easy to grab with chopsticks. Biting into the first dumpling, the soup was quite savory with tender pork adding another layer of flavor to the dish, creating a taste that was warm and comforting. However, I did notice that for another dumpling, the amount of soup was slightly inconsistent, as it seemed to have less soup and was surrounded with a thicker exterior wrapping instead.
The Sweet Red Bean Baos were up next, and to my delight, they were decorated to resemble tiny pigs with little ears and snouts. The exterior of the bao was very smooth and slightly chewy, like that of the wrapping of a Barbecue Pork Bun, but with a sweet undertone. Inside the bao, the red bean paste was not too overpowering but perfectly balanced, creating a harmony of flavors and textures within the dish.
Moving onto the Beef with Tomato Soup Noodles, the dish was definitely the star of the entire meal. The beef was soft and tender and provided a nice balance to the crisp, juicy bok choy. Additionally, the thin noodle texture was delicious, capturing the flavor of the hearty tomato soup beautifully. The noodles were lengthy, and the waiter even provided scissors to cut the noodles as I pulled them above the bowl to eat, adding a fun, interactive experience to the dinner.
Overall, I would rate this restaurant a 9/10. I think the restaurant offers a variety of dishes to choose from, which is great because it gives everyone plenty of options and allows them to try something new each time they visit. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to Chinese food lovers or anyone looking to try high-quality noodles and dim sum.
Highland Noodles can be found at this address: 1132 Galleria Blvd Ste 100, Roseville, CA 95678.
