Restaurant counts on authenticity and quality for success
BEST TAKEOUT BEST ASIAN RESTAURANT Three Fold Noodles + Dumpling Co.>>
Since Three Fold Noodles + Dumpling Co. opened in downtown Little Rock in November 2014, the establishment has been gaining in momentum and popularity.
“We started Three Fold with the goal to introduce authentic Chinese cuisine to the Little Rock community and to provide an opportunity to explore multiculture, especially through food,” said Lisa Zhang, chef and owner of the restaurant.
With that goal fulfilled and the July 2022 opening of a second Three Fold location in the Pleasant Ridge Town Center in west Little Rock, the restaurant is flourishing and has won the Best Takeout and Best Asian Restaurant titles in the 2023 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Best of the Best readers’choice contest.
“We appreciate our customers’ recognition for our team’s efforts,” Zhang said, “and we thank them for the support of our business during the difficult time during COVID.”
Zhang mentioned three qualities that have helped Three Fold stand out in the crowd of Asian restaurants in the area.
“[One is that] everything we offer at Three Fold has been kept traditional and authentic,” Zhang said, “so whoever knows regional Chinese cuisine knows the root of our dishes.” She said a second attribute of the business is its effort to find takeout containers that are compartmentalized to keep the food separated and striving “to utilize eco-friendly disposables and a strong identity.”
She said the restaurant is also known for its speed and accuracy since starting the business in downtown Little Rock, where those factors are very important for the business’s lunch crowd.
“We’ve strived for consistency in our food quality and flavor for almost nine years, which isn’t easy,” she said. “We’re proud of our cleanliness, which has been mentioned by our guests over the years. … Although we’re known for our fast prep time, we provide a casual service quality that one would expect to find at a sit-down restaurant.”
Another goal of the business is to benefit Little Rock in other ways.
“We support all local community events and fundraisers that we’ve been requested to, from Soup Sundays to supporting the firstresponder community, and we will continue to do so in the coming years,” Zhang said.
“Zhang cites “the people — from staff to guests to suppliers and other business partners,” as her favorite part of working in the business.
And now Three Fold customers have more to look forward to. “We developed a new beverage program — a breakfast and afternoon tea program — at our Pleasant Ridge location that people have yet to discover,” Zhang said.
But the restaurant’s guiding principle remains the same — quality: “keeping the standard of quality from food to environment to service,” Zhang said. “This principle is upheld from the owners to the trainees.”