Nouilles of 3rds is a Lomita restaurant with a mystifying name and some standout Cambodian-Chinese comfort food. Chef Vyla Chan, her husband Frank, and Tim Thu opened this airy restaurant in 2015. Nouilles of 3rds resides front and center in a double-decker strip mall called Eagle Plaza and houses only seven wood tables. Their website reads, “Noodle soup is what we do best,” so of course I ordered their signature bowl.

N.O.3 House Noodles Soup ($13) stars slightly cloudy broth cooked for seven hours with beef bones, galangal, cinnamon sticks, fish sauce, and secrets until savory and crave-worthy. Each bowl’s loaded with a choice of rice or egg noodles, thin-sliced Prime beef, sticky tendon, firm beef balls, bean sprouts, and if they’re available, a rich marrow-filled bone. Each order’s topped with crispy roasted garlic, fragrant Thai basil, scallions, and sawtooth coriander. Dress your soup with earthy hoisin, spicy chile sauce, and a brightening squeeze of lime juice from an accompanying condiment dish.

Nouilles Of 3rds [pronounced noy] describes the “rule of thirds”, a subconscious explanation for where a compelling photo draws the eye in a well-framed photo composition. It was easy to see great beauty in their signature bowl.