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Asian restaurants around the Bay Area provide an eclectic of tasty noodle dishes including popular choices such as ramen and pho. In these dishes, the soup brings a surge of flavor.

This year’s El Niño weather has brought uncharacteristically cold, rainy and harsh weather to the Bay Area, keeping Palo Altans bundled up in layers and huddled indoors deep into spring. Though there may be less beach-going and swimming during this bizarre season, there will undoubtedly be more demand for one thing: hot Asian noodle soup. What is Asian noodle soup? The term “Asian noodle soup” encompasses a wide variety of cuisines from different areas.

Because of the diversity of the Bay Area, there are a number of great local restaurants that offer these dishes, which originate anywhere from China to Taiwan to Vietnam and Korea. What is so great about Asian noodle soup is that it is customizable, accessible and most of all, tasty. Sure, hot cocoa is soothing, but when it comes to warmth with flavor, Asian noodle soup simply “roasts” the competition. So when the clouds are out and the feeling is gray, it is time to get lost in a bowl of succulent Asian noodle soup.

Ramen

The award for the best ramen noodle soup in the Bay Area goes to the kuro ramen dish at Maru Ichi in Mountain View. Full of fresh, zesty green onions, shredded meat, bean sprouts and other veggies, the kuro ramen ($6.75) is an explosion of flavor and a tangy balance of herbs and spices. In addition to the soft, dreamy house-made ramen flour noodles that make up the rest of the dish, the thick, risqué broth adds a nice finishing touch to the kuro ramen.

Though intimidating at first because of its dark, black color and murky texture, the garlic-based broth of the kuro ramen is tantalizing, sweet and savory. Ramen is a popular Japanese noodle dish which originated in China. Most recognizable in the packaged forms of Nissin’s Cup Noodles and Maruchan’s Instant Noodles, ramen is a dish best enjoyed, in its fresh, original form. Ramen always contains some sort of meat or soy-sauce based broth, veggies and sliced meat. Though ramen today is synonymous with “MSG” and “college student,” it truly is an exquisite dish meant to be enjoyed in the world of fine dining on a dreary day. As for Maru Ichi’s kuro ramen, it is a hungry Palo Alto High School student’s best bet for ramen.

Pho

Pho is easily the most trendy and popular Asian noodle soup dish as of late because of its ability to pack flavor without calories. Lean, mean and Vietnamese, pho has become a trendy pick for hungry Palo Altans in the last several years. By definition, pho is a beef and noodle soup with rice noodles and a beef-based broth. Of course, there are tons of combinations and customizations that come along with every bowl of pho, including the choice of adding bean sprouts, limes and peppers. Mountain View’s Pho Vi Hoa and Pho Hoa tie for the best pho in the area.

Though these two restaurants have almost identical names, they both serve up quite different bowls of pho. For example, Pho Vi Hoa’s best dish, the famous Pho tái nom gou gân sách ($7.05 large, $6.05 small) is a meaty, heavy concoction that blends a balanced, ferocious attack of flavor in the broth with grit and fireworks in the tender, juicy meat. The cuts of meat, customizable down to the amount of fat each has, add character to the otherwise overpowering broth, made from oxtails, garlic and other spices.

On the other hand, Pho Hoa’s Pho Chín, Bò Viên ($6.50) lets the noodles do the talking.

The soft, smooth rice noodles of this dish enjoy slipping and sliding around as they swim through a dull, risque, colorless broth.

The scrumptious noodles make this dish worth driving 15 minutes to eat. Both these dishes are hot and can warm up a cold diner in a matter of seconds. Pho is a lean, avant-garde choice that will satisfy the desires of even the least risky of diners.

Beef Noodle Soup

Beef noodle soup may be one of the most flavorful, savory and eye-popping dishes ever to be created. Simply put, it is the daddy of noodle soups.

Full of tender chunks of stewed beef and thick, handmade egg noodles, beef noodle soup, or more specifically Szechuan beef noodle soup, is a recipe for elation on any given day.

A popular Chinese and Taiwanese dish, Szechuan beef noodle soup, is based around one thing and one thing only: beef. The broth is simmered with beef and the secret Asian spice star anise. The title of best Szechuan beef noodle soup in the area is a tie between Su Hong in Palo Alto and A&J Restaurant in Cupertino.

The dish at Su Hong ($7.50) comes with hand-shaved noodles in a thick, fiery broth. The beef in Su Hong’s version is somewhat lackluster because of the amount of tendon and chewy, rubbery texture. However, the broth picks up the slack. At A&J Restaurant, the Szechuan beef noodle soup ($6.25) is simply out of this world.

Comforting, plushy egg noodles and tender, melt-in-your-mouth beef compliment a mild broth garnished with cilantro in this dish. In addition to the homely, soothing taste of A&J’s dish, the comfortable, feng shui atmosphere of the restaurant makes the diner’s experience one to remember.