Almost five years have passed since Champlain College announced that a ramen shop would occupy a corner spot on the ground level of its student apartment building at 194 St. Paul Street in Burlington. Several weeks ago, signs on the windows promised that Magic Chopsticks was “coming soon.”
Kam “Ken” Cheung, who is managing the restaurant for its Connecticut owner, said the noodle bar will open this month. It will serve several types of traditional Asian noodle dishes, including “crossing the bridge” rice noodle soup from the Yunnan province of China, Lanzhou ramen in beef and seafood broth, and Vietnamese pho. For variety, the menu will also include Cajun dishes with pick-your-own seafood and sauces, Cheung said.
Behind the counter, an array of colorful flavorings will go into bubble milk tea, or boba tea, a sweetened beverage filled with tapioca balls. Magic Chopsticks will offer frozen yogurt, too.
Owner Michael Cheng operated several Asian Bistro hibachi restaurants (unrelated to the Williston and Winooski businesses of the same name) in Connecticut, all of which have closed except one, Cheung said.
Cheng will cook at Magic Chopsticks at first, then turn over the kitchen to Cheung’s wife, Mei. The Cheungs plan to move to Burlington from Brooklyn. “He makes very good noodle broth” using a slow-cook process with pork and beef bones, Cheung said of the owner.
In late 2018, Champlain College officials projected the noodle shop would open early the following year. Cheung blamed the delay on the 2020 pandemic outbreak.
Magic Chopsticks will operate daily from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., catering to the college students upstairs as well as tourists and locals, Cheung said: “That makes this a good spot — a good local population.”
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This article appears in Aug 16-22, 2023.
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