Cold Noodles

It might be too hot outside for a steaming bowl of broth, but that shouldn't stop you from slurping these chilled noodles.

Meet your new secret weapon for beating the summer heat.

Border Patrol: The cooks at Monterey Park's Shen Yang Restaurant hail from a northern Chinese province adjacent to North Korea. As you might expect, dishes like the popular naengmyeon (cold rice noodles) have heavy Korean influences. Order the sweet-sour variety ($7), swimming in frigid beef broth soured with kimchi and topped with a hard-boiled egg, toasted sesame, cilantro and nubs of stewed beef.

Mung bean noodles at Chengdu Taste

Fire and Ice: Spicy foods are eaten to cool off in many parts of the world, so hit the recently opened Chengdu Taste in Alhambra for some of the fieriest Sichuan cuisine in L.A. Try the stellar bowl of liang fen ($5), slippery, opaque mung bean noodles doused with black vinegar, toasted soybeans, and a wallop of chile oil and diced fresh chiles.

Dipping noodles at Benten Ramen

Doing the Dip: If you're not in the mood for ramen, switch to tsukemen, a variation where cold noodles are served alongside a super-concentrated dipping sauce. The version at San Gabriel's new ramen shop Benten ($9) is heady stuff: A pungent, bonito-thickened tonkotsu broth is served with burly noodles topped with sliced chashu, marinated bamboo and a "flavor-injected" soft-boiled egg.