Crossing the bridge rice noodles that I ordered, with side dishes such as corn, lettuce, beef slices, and others (October 30, 2025). Photo by Suixin(Susie) Wen.
by Suixin(Susie) Wen
January 2023, 9:45 p.m., 55 degrees Fahrenheit. A typical San José, California winter day. As soon as my family and I stepped into a small Chinese restaurant behind the movie theater, the cold outside immediately gave way to the smell of delicious broth. My father went straight to the top of the menu and ordered us their “signature wagyu cross bridge rice noodles.”
“Susie, do you know this is one of the most iconic dishes in Yunnan?” my father asked. “Almost everyone who visits there has to try it!” Breathing in the fragrant steam, I began to wonder how a local Chinese dish could attract visitors across the world, and even find its way to my table tonight.
In Chinese, the formal name of this dish is guo qiao mi xian. Directly translated, “guo qiao” means “crossing the bridge,” and “mi xian” means “rice noodle.” Before I tried this dish again, I was surprised to learn that its name comes from a love story in Chinese folklore. There was a small island in Yunnan that attracted many scholars preparing for the “imperial exam,” a test for selecting government officials (“The Legend”; “The Confucian”). Among them was a diligent scholar who often studied late at night. His wife, worried that he was neglecting his health, crossed a bridge every day to bring him warm meals (“The Legend”). According to WildChina, the wife would carry the broth, noodles, and side dishes separately so they would stay hot until she arrived. Years later, the scholar successfully passed the exam, and in remembrance of his devoted wife, he decided to name the dish: crossing the bridge rice noodles (“The Legend”).
This is after I mixed everything together with the chili sauce (October 30, 2025). Photo by Suixin(Susie) Wen.
Photo of Ten Seconds Rice Noodle in Sterling Heights, Michigan (October 30, 2025). Photo by Suixin(Susie) Wen.
Growing up, I learned that Yunnan Province is the most culturally diverse region in Southern China. Coming from the north, eating this dish was a new experience because rice noodles have a softer and chewier texture than the noodles from my hometown. According to a study in the journal Appetite, “food tourism therefore embraces every opportunity to experience other places and cultures through engaging with ‘new’, ‘exotic’ or ‘unfamiliar’ tastes and flavour” (Kim et al. 2). I realized how true this was when I sat down at Ten Seconds Rice Noodle in Michigan, tasting the dish once more. As the bowl arrived with sounds of crackling flames, I could immediately smell the creamy aromas from the chicken soup base. Around it were small plates of corn, tofu, seaweed, beef rolls, lettuce and many other toppings. To make it more delicious, I added some red chili sauce to give the broth a spicy kick that I love. As I dug my chopsticks and caught the slippery rice noodles, I suddenly pictured my mother bustling around the kitchen, kneading, pulling, and cutting handmade noodles for my younger brother and me. The warmth I felt was no longer from the rising steam, but from the devotion and care that go into making a meal for the people we love.
When I asked my friend from Viet Nam what she thought after trying my rice noodles, she said the soup aromas and appearance reminded her of phở, a Vietnamese noodles soup. According to a 2017 Vogue article, Yunnan sits next to Vietnam, Myanmar, Sichuan province, and Tibet, and this geographic closeness creates similarities in both flavors and visual appearance in each cuisine (Conrad). Conrad quotes food writer Kian Lam Kho when he wrote, “I do believe Yunnan cooking can be readily accepted by the American public because Americans are already familiar with Indochinese cooking, and many of the dishes have very similar roots” (Conrad). The restaurant was filled with conversations in many different languages, and I realized how food can bring people together even if we do not share the same culture. Later, my friend invited me to try phở with her, this time as her favorite food.
Traditional Vietnamese phở that my friend took me to eat (November 02, 2025). Photo by Suixin(Susie) Wen.
Crossing the bridge rice noodles brings together the past and the new college life I am building now. Sharing this dish with my international friend helps me see both the differences and similarities between our cultures. Living almost 2,000 miles away from California, crossing the bridge rice noodles reminds me that home is always a place I can return to, no matter how far I go on my own adventure. I cannot wait to sit at that same restaurant in San José again, hands warmed by the savory soup rising with the steam. Maybe the “signature wagyu cross bridge rice noodles” will still taste the same, but the way I see it will change.
Works Cited
Conrad, Jennifer. “China’s Yunnan Cuisine Is about to Sweep the U.S.-Here’s Where to Try It.” Vogue, 22 Aug. 2017, www.vogue.com/article/yunnan-chinese-cuisine-food-guide-simone-tong. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
Kim, Sangkyun, et al. “The Cognitive Development of Food Taste Perception in a Food Tourism Destination: A Gastrophysics Approach.” Appetite, vol. 165, no. 105310, 1 Oct. 2021, pp. 1–11, ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105310. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
“The Confucian Classics & the Civil Service Examinations.” Asia for Educators, Columbia University, n.d., afe.easia.columbia.edu/cosmos/irc/classics.htm#who. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
“The Legend Behind Yunnan’s Famous Crossing the Bridge Noodles.” WildChina, 19 Aug. 2013, wildchina.com/2013/08/crossing-the-bridge-noodles/. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
Wen, Suixin(Susie). Picture of my order. 30 Oct. 2025. Author’s personal collection.
Wen, Suixin(Susie). Picture of the complete dish. 30 Oct. 2025. Author’s personal collection.
Wen, Suixin(Susie). Picture of the Ten Seconds Rice Noodle restaurant. 30 Oct. 2025. Author’s personal collection.
Wen, Suixin(Susie). Picture of Vietnamese phở. 02 Nov. 2025. Author’s personal collection.