Hi I am interested in finding the best Mixian in Kunming. I am not interested in McDonalds.

Thanks.

Yeah, the mixian at McDonald's is not very good.

I've only been here about three years, but I don't know if I've ever had mixian in Kunming that can hold a candle to mixian in the countryside. Personally, I think that Kunming's mixian is pretty flavorless and lame.

Try pho (pronounced fuh) in Vietnam or Laos - chicken, pork or beef with rice noodles in soup, add raw vegetables and numerous condiments, squeeze lime into it - similar but better, not greasy. Cheap.

The way to get a decent mixian almost anywhere:

Find out if the restaurant's main noodle soup ingredients tickle your fancy.

Know how to make requests to the kitchen staff on how much noodle, soup, extras, etc you require. If you can't speak Chinese, point and use hand gestures.

Use the condiments in the restaurant to tweek the flavor to your required taste. Usually, there are about 8 different ingredients available to add. Ask the kitchen if you can't find what you are looking for.

Note: A lot of the noodles themselves are often delivered by producers who cater to multiple restaurants.

You will find your perfect taste through trial and error yourself, so no point in relying on others' opinions really.

There are usually several mixian places in every neighborhood's restaurant area. A good rule of thumb in any restaurant in China, is look for a place that is busy. If it is empty at 12 noon or 6pm it is not a good sign. Don't let the decor fool you, some of the crappiest looking places have the best food.
Some of the fancy and 'famous' places are overpriced and the food is not usually so good.

If you want guochao mixian (across the bridge noodles), the numerous Brothers Jiang places aren't bad, although not necessarily the best.

Matt is that you?

Brothers Jiang are a chain. You will get a generic mixian of acceptable quality.

The best mixian is your Chinese mother in law's.