Biang! A Gem In New York's Other Chinatown

Strictly speaking, Flushing in Queens isn't New York's other Chinatown, as the Big Apple boasts no less than seven Chinatowns. That said, those-in-the-know consider Flushing to be the one with the best food. Which is why we headed out there to try Biang!, the first proper sit-down restaurant from the highly regarded Xi'an Famous Foods stable.

Being a contrary sod, my first impressions were that the restaurant was too trendy; you know what I mean, exposed brickwork and filament lamps. It felt a bit out of place alongside the more utilitarian feel of Flushing Main St. However, this inverted snobbery soon evaporated when I saw the menu, which majors in the cuisine of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi province in northwest China. This style of food, whilst undeniably Chinese, has Middle Eastern influences given the city's location on the Silk Road.

The main calling card of Biang! is biang-biang noodles from which the restaurant takes its name (biang being the sound made when the noodle dough is thwacked against the work surface). These broad hand-torn noodles are served with a number of toppings at this restaurant. We went for the stewed oxtail biang-biang noodles (腊汁牛尾biang-biang面 $7.50) and spicy & tingly beef biang-biang noodles (麻辣牛肉biang-biang面 $7.00). Soup noodle versions of most biang-biang dishes are also available but we stuck with the dry versions given the scorching weather and greater difficulty in sharing soup noodles.

Both bowls of noodles were superb, as the gravy from the stew clung on to the chewy broad hand-torn noodles. My favourite was the oxtail with its warming flavours from star anise, cloves, cassia bark and dried citrus peel. In contrast, my friend preferred the beef with its punch from the Sichuan peppercorns and chilli.

Another famous Shaanxi dish is roujiamo (肉夹馍), which can be found on the menu in English as stewed pork burgers (腊汁猪肉夹白吉馍 $5.00/2pcs). These flatbread sandwiches with stewed belly pork filling were very moreish. I was particularly impressed with the quality of the flatbread that I thought superior to the ones I've tried in China.

We also ordered spicy cumin lamb skewers (孜然羊肉串 $4.50/3 pcs with extra skewers for $1.50 each). These were swiftly eaten when despatched from the charcoal grill. I liked the juicy lamb skewers but I thought the chilli somewhat overshadowed the cumin. But really, that's not a big deal. There are other skewers on offer including esoteric body parts and organs as well as more prosaic offerings such as chicken.

A quick mention, too, for the drinks list; my beer-loving friend was impressed that it included some American craft beers in addition to better known Chinese and international branded beers. Incidentally, wine is not served but you can bring-your-own for corkage of $8/bottle. Overall the bill for the two of us came to a bargainous $45 including a round of beers and a generous tip for our cheery and exceedingly helpful server.

Biang! is a restaurant I would certainly return to if I ever went back to New York. Its menu is really interesting and ideally I would've corralled a bigger group to give it a good going over. Some might be put off by its location in Flushing, but the No. 7 subway train only takes half an hour from Grand Central Terminal, which is no time at all to travel for great food. But if you can't be bothered to go to Flushing then there are three branches of Biang's sister operation Xi'an Famous Foods in Manhattan, which serves a similar menu albeit in less comfortable surroundings.



Biang! 41-10 Main St, Flushing, Queens, NY 11355 (Tel: +1-718-888-7713)
Nearest station: Flushing Main St

PS: Click here to read about the Shaanxi food I ate in Beijing and here about where to find it in London. And this post by Hollow Legs may be of interest if you fancy having a crack at making biang-biang noodles.

Roujiamo 肉夹馍 by Mama Wang's Kitchen

Originally from the province of Shaanxi 陝西, roujiamo 肉夹馍 is a common sight in China's larger cities, but it's rarely seen in the West. So I was really intrigued when I heard that a street stall called Mama Wang's Kitchen was knocking out this sandwich near Archway tube station.

To the uninitiated, roujiamo simply consists of slow-braised pork in a crispy unleavened bun, but in common with many street food dishes, vendors like to put their own spin on this classic. Mama Wang's Chairman Mo (£5 for a large one) is a generously filled sandwich full of red-braised pork cheeks (think of a pot bubbling away with star anise, cassia bark, cardamom amongst other aromatics), tiger salad and pork scratchings.

The pork cheeks are a great idea, as the tender meaty strands soak up the fragrant braising liquor. However, I would've liked to see some extra pork fat as well as more punch from the star anise. I'd also ditch the tiger salad; it was a good salad but the coriander was fine on its own and the julienned carrot and cucumber felt surplus to requirements. On the plus side, the pork scratchings are a welcome addition giving a contrast in texture as well as injecting some naughtiness to the sarnie.

As purveyors of traditional Shaanxi-style flatbreads are a bit thin on the ground in north London, Mama Wang's use English muffins. I'm not sure the muffin really works in the same way as the flatbread does in the original version, but there aren't too many alternatives. The only one I can think of is pitta bread, but then again that's probably too thin for roujiamo. Some of you may be thinking steamed Chinese mantou could be the answer. This would no doubt make a great sandwich, but it wouldn't be a roujiamo. If any of you can think of a solution to this conundrum, do let Mama Wang's know.

I fear I'm coming across as a bit of a grumpy bollocks in this review. I don't mean to. All told, Mama Wang's roujiamo is a more than welcome addition to London's street food scene. Yes, they could tweak it more to my tastes, but then again not everyone is a salad dodging, pork fat loving, star anise worshipper. So if you do find yourself down on the Holloway Road on a Saturday, give the Chairman Mo a try.

Mama Wang's Kitchen - stall outside Budgens on Holloway Road
Open Saturdays 10am-4pm
Nearest stations: Archway, Upper Holloway

The Golden Noodle Awards 2011-12

Eat Noodles Love Noodles is three today, and there's no better way to celebrate than with The Golden Noodle Awards. The awards are a bit slimmed down this year, but to keep things interesting I've introduced a couple of new awards.

The Golden Noodle
Winner: Phở sốt vang by Phở Thinh, Hanoi
In common with last year's contenders, all of my favourite noodle dishes over the past year are from overseas, specifically China and Vietnam. And it's from the latter that the winner hails. Quite simply, the phở sốt vang from Phở Thinh in Hanoi is one of the best bowls of noodles I've ever eaten. The combination of anise-scented broth, slippery smooth broad rice noodles and stewed beef in wine with a side of fried dough sticks was simply amazing.

phở sốt vang @ Phở Thinh

But as much as I enjoyed the noodles in Vietnam, the silver and bronze medals go to Chinese dishes I sampled in Beijing. Din Tai Fung, better known for their xiao long bao, takes the silver for a rather special steamed chicken noodle soup. While taking bronze is a massive dish of belt noodles in spicy garlic sauce (originating from Shaanxi province) from Qin Tang Fu.

The Golden Dim Sum
Winner: Wasabi prawn dumplings by Phoenix Palace
This Golden Dim Sum is awarded to my favourite dim sum dish in London. There are many contenders for this accolade, but the award goes to an old favourite with a twist: wasabi prawn dumplings. These slightly plumper har gau (prawn dumplings) with a nasal passage-clearing wasabi hit are a must-order at Phoenix Palace. They're so good that I don't mind the £4.20 price-tag that their presence on the specials menu demands.

Wasabi prawn dumplings @ Phoenix Palace

Coming in a close second is Princess Garden's golden cuttlefish cheung fun. This triple textural delight consisting of springy cuttlefish paste, crispy tofu skin, and slippery smooth rice noodle is the best cheung fun dish in London. In bronze medal position is the capital's finest sweet dim sum dish: chrysanthemum custard buns by Pearl Liang – remember to order these deep-fried, not steamed.

The London Gold Award
Winner: Eat St
This award celebrates what I love best about London's food scene. However, it isn't the number of Michelin stars that I want to shout out about, it's the grassroots as represented by Eat St. To the uninitiated, this collective of street food traders most famous for its stalls on King's Boulevard (round the back of King's Cross station). My favourite vendors include The Rib Man, Banhmi11 and Eat My Pies. I visit Eat St most lunchtimes and it has improved my quality of life no end, which is why they win the inaugural London Gold award.

Rib Man @ Eat St

I'd also like to give a quick mention (and joint-silver medals) to Maltby St Market and Brixton Market/Village where the likes of Bea's Diner, Kaosarn and Mama Lan ply their trade. Sadly, there are some contrary voices deeming the various stalls and traders to be too hipster/middle class/gentrified. While we're all entitled to our opinions, I find much of the criticism to be lazy, shrill and self-loathing, and I think all of these places are a welcome addition to the capital's food scene.

Anyway, that's all folks! It's time for my blog to take its summer break - see you all in September!

The Staples of Shanxi 山西 & Shaanxi 陝西

The neighbouring northern Chinese provinces of Shanxi (山西) and Shaanxi (陝西) are often confused with one another. Not only do they sound alike but their respective cuisines also share many similarities. In particular, both provinces are famous for their noodles, and to a lesser extent, their bread. I know that this is a bit of a generalisation, but as people in China can't access my blog (Blogger is banned) it's one I'm going to try and get away with!

Beijing has many Shanxi restaurants, and I was taken to one called Datanghong (大唐红) where noodles are the main draw. Indeed, the noodle kitchen is on open view by the entrance of the restaurant. There are many different kinds of Shanxi noodles but arguably the most famous are honeycomb noodles (youmian kao laolao 莜面栲栳栳). Made from a grain indigenous to the province called naked oat, these noodles are intricately arranged in a honeycomb-shape in a bamboo steamer before being cooked. Simply served with a chilli oil-vinegar dip, they were really addictive.

As well as being eaten straight from the steamer, honeycomb noodles are also used in other dishes such as stir-fried honeycomb noodles with egg. Wok frying gave the noodles a slight char, and the texture, if not the flavour, was reminiscent of dry-fried ho fun noodles. It's a tough call to say whether these were better than the standard steamed version.

Other noodles I tried included cat's ears (mao er duo 猫耳朵) and knife-cut noodles (dao xiao mian 刀削面). These were served with sauces on the side such as egg & tomato, which are then stirred into the noodles. I could've eaten these all day, but for the fact that there was loads of other dishes to check out.

Just as impressive as the noodles were the sesame buns served with glass noodles, chillies and other bits and bobs. It was great fun making noodle sandwiches with the soft, spicy filling going really well with the buns that were slightly crispy on the outside.

I would have liked to write more about this restaurant, but alas I was disorientated by jetlag and the unfamiliarity of the food when I ate there. That said, between my camera and Instagram, I can tell you that I enjoyed tucking into Shanxi-style crispy duck, roast mutton, mixed mushrooms in a mini-wok, and some psychedelic multi-coloured buns amongst other treats. I really enjoyed eating at Datanghong, and I hope this first experience of Shanxi cuisine won't be my last.

Datanghong 大唐红酒楼
Address 地址: 北京 安定门外大街2号安贞大厦2楼(近环球贸易中心)
Tel 电话: +86-10-6448-2299

Given the ubiquity of roujiamo (肉夹馍) in Beijing, one might assume that it's a local speciality, but in fact these sandwiches (sometimes nicknamed Chinese burgers) originate from Shaanxi province. The ones at Qin Tang Fu (秦唐府) were damn tasty with strands of moist, slowly braised pork seasoned with five-spice encased in a crispy unleavened bun. These were so popular that it seemed compulsory for every diner to order one. I think these would go down a storm in the UK.

There's also a wide selection of noodles, and I chose a dish that went by the English name of noodles with garlic sauce. This name didn't really do justice to what was one of the best noodle dishes I've eaten in a long time. In one bowl came 'belt' noodles (think pappardelle, but even broader) in an intentionally bland soup with some greens. In a smaller bowl came a quite stunning spicy garlic sauce laced with sesame, bits of tomato, egg, wood-ear fungus and spring onion.

To eat this dish properly, the noodles are transferred into the bowl of sauce, and given a good old mix to make sure that they are all coated. With hindsight, I shouldn't have supersized my noodles, but when it only cost the equivalent of 20p to go large, the temptation was too great. Be warned, the portions very are generous and filling at this restaurant, and I barely made any inroads into my order of stir-fried greens.

I would love to revisit Qin Tang Fu, as there are loads of interesting Shaanxi dishes that I'd like to try. For more detailed reviews of this restaurant, please check out Rice & Pickle and Hungry Female (thanks for the tip, Shu).

There are four branches of Qin Tang Fu in Beijing, and the address below is of the one I visited:

Qin Tang Fu 秦唐府
Address 地址: 北京 东城区朝阳门 内南小街69号
Tel 电话: +86-10-6559-8135