Wokipedia Holiday Special: Nice Noodle Guide #1

Hello. Hello? HE-LL-OOOOO!? Is anyone out there? Oh, there you are. The lonely laowai who decided to stay put for the holidays. I feel your pain. Should have looked into those tickets to Thailand well in advance, huh? Don’t worry; you can always join the snaking, two-hour long queues for the National Museum (I checked). Or, you can read the first of our Nice Noodle Guides! I’ll be posting every day this week at 4pm, presenting you with a grand spread of ten noodle dishes each from a different province, where to scoff them in Beijing, and what makes them positively yum-some according to folks from that province. First up, our confusingly pinyin-ed Northern cousins… Shanxi and Shaanxi.

Shanxi (山西)

Knife cut noodles (dao xiao mian, 刀削面)

Wheat noodles shaved off a big, firm block of dough with a knife into a cauldron of boiling water. Most commonly served with red-braised pork (and accompanying broth), coriander and bean sprouts – vinegar and chilli optional. Egg and tomato variety is usually available on request. Soup levels vary from none to some.

The noodle Delightfully misshapen and chunky. The sauce clings to the rough edges of the noodles, which suggests that hand-cutting is an essential part of their deliciousness. The other night a show on CCTV 10 pitted a dao xiao mian cook against a robot. The robot was faster, but customers preferred the taste of the hand-cut noodles. And all was right with the world.

The local “Daoxiao mian is more filling than other types of noodles. It’s also hard to buy in the market – you have to go to a restaurant and have someone cut them for you, which makes it special.” San Ling (musician, not him in the picture).

The restaurant All over Beijing, but I like Baozi Pu near Nanluogu Xiang and Huan Yuan Xiaochi off Andingmen Nei. For a take on daoxiao mian that’s a bit more posh and original, check out Xiheyayuan at the IFC Mall next to the Westin Chaoyang (good Peking duck, too). And for a noodle experience akin to going back in time, head to Qianmen and seek out this place.

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Shaanxi (陕西)

Splashed oil pulled noodles (youpo chemian, (油泼扯面)

Sometimes mistaken for biangbiang noodles, but these are less gimmicky and tastier. Chilli paste, garlic and onions are invigorated with a splash of hot oil which tops the noodles along with bean sprouts, baby cabbage and a few bits of pork. No soup, it’s just all about the noodles.

The noodle Belt-like and flat, they can be exceedingly long. Proofed dough is rolled out, cut into long pieces and stretched by hand.

The local "The chilli oil is very important - the oil from Shaanxi is really fragrant. The flavors are not complicated, but quite rich." Li Ming, (Sales Executive)

The restaurant It has to be Xian Qishan Mian (西安岐山面), a few doors south of the entrance to the Lama Temple at 32 Yonghegong Dajie. Unfathomably delicious, and try the dumplings in sour soup too.

See you tomorrow!