Oi! Beijing's New Punk Rock Noodles

Chinese rock legend Lei Jun, the frontman for Oi! punk band Mi San Dao, recently opened up a noodle restaurant in the Gulou area serving up a modern take on the classic Beijing zhajiangmian. Read on to find more about these punk rock noodles.

On my recent visit to Noodle In, I found it unusual to be staring down a plate of lao Beijing noodles armed with only fork and spoon. Checkered tablecloths, wooden-handled utensils and background 1950s surf music were at odds with the Chinese folding screen and lion statues.

But Lei, the owner, reassured me the contradictions are there for a reason. It's an east-meets-west scenario meant to blur the lines between foreign spaghetti and traditional zhajiangmian. It works for me. The noodles themselves had a nice bite to them. I would, however recommend that you mix the noodles together with just some of the sauce and then taste, as it's quite salty.

In addition to the house zhajiangmian (RMB 28), we also tried the noodles with eggplant and green pepper (RMB 25). The sauce had a bold, sharp taste to it while keeping a lighter touch than most other versions of this dish that I've had.

The rest of the menu draws from an eclectic mix of sources. Dishes like shrimp and mushroom red curry (RMB 65) and pineapple fish rice (菠萝鱼贩, RMB 30) draw from Thai influences, while others mosh their way through American and French styles.

I was pleased to see the traditional tiger-skin egg (虎皮蛋, RMB 5), a gloriously stewed then deep-fried egg, on the menu. Figuring out how to eat it is a bit of a trick, as the springy outside of the egg rebuffed several attempts to cut it open. Maybe truly badass punks just pop the whole thing in their mouth. However they do it, I'm planning on ordering a few of these next time I visit.

Also worth noting is the upstairs "lofted" area (I'm using the term loosely here), which reminds me of the upstairs seating at Little Yunnan. It's not for the claustrophobic, but it does offer a more private, relaxed area for bigger groups.

Noodle In may be worth checking out just to rub shoulders with some of Beijing's most-notorious punk rockers, but the restaurant isn't just a gimmick. Lei puts as much gusto into his noodles as he does into his music, and that deserves a hearty "Oi!"

Noodle In (吃面)
Daily Noon-10pm
81 Gulou Dongdajie, Dongcheng District (15 meters up Xiaojingchang Hutong) (8404 4819)
东城区鼓楼东大街81号 （小径厂胡同)

If you want to see Lei Jun and Mi San Dao perform, you can check them out on May 1 at the Midi Festival.