Biáng! - Noodle Soup ( close-up) - a photo on Flickriver

            孜然羊肉面 7.5  
Spicy Cumin Lamb Biang-Biang Noodles
-sautéed spicy cumin lamb, onions, long horn peppers, scallions, garlic, with wide hand- ripped noodles
[ 汤面 加$1.25 Soup noodles version for $1.25 more ]

Oooohhhh.... Where do I begin? First, for some reason I decided not to wear a jacket - needless to say, the temperatures dipped into the middle thirties F° ( that is only 4C°!), so by the time I walked not even two blocks form where I was lucky to score a parking spot ( parking in Flushing, just like in most Chinatowns, is at a premium to say the least) - my nose was dripping, my cheeks were pleasantly red and my mind was in overdrive, as if it was trying to figure out what exactly pushed me to leave much needed parka at home.
Anyway, I was in a desperate need of some body, gut and heart-warming concoction, which is, of course, the very situation for which spicy, steaming hot noodles are ultimately made.
Biang! heritage stems from the city of Xi'an, the capital of the Shaanxi province - known for cold and dry winters, which is exactly the weather I faced. So, the stage was set.
I took a brief look at the Biang! menu and for a split second thought that may be few pages were missing, as nothing on the "flour-based dishes" 面食 腊汁猪肉夹白吉馍（两个) part of the menu was over $7.50 - essentially a surrealistic picture in New York, where an average price of even a bowl of ramen noodles, which are widely perceived as "cheap eats", usually falls into $12-$15 range; anyway, I was pretty close to asking an embarrassing "tourist-y" question - luckily, I didn't.
Noodles arrived quickly - they were hot, both in terms of spice and temperature; both were highly desirable for me at that point, as you may now imagine. The first few slurps, gulps and bites instantly warmed me up and I could now pay attention to what was the most important part of my meal - hand-pulled Biang-Biang noodles. Indeed, they did not disappoint.
Biang-Biang noodles were made from wheat flour, most likely relatively soft wheat flour, although I may have been led to think that because noodles were cooked to fairly soft texture - "al dente" doesn't really fly very far in Chinese cooking, neither does the "medium-rare" temp on one's meat - both would be considered undercooked. The broth was interesting - not necessarily intensly aromatic ( there were onions and Chinese celery in the soup, however), but clean and mildly acidic - I wonder if they introduce vinegar to the broth while cooking the noodles, although the acidity may come from something else. Nothing in the broth was unbalanced - I am sure they used garlic and various spices, but I could not single anything out; indeed, it was very well prepared.
One thought was going through my mind as I was enjoying the noodles, the spice, the meat, the whole nine yards - if ramen is primarily about the soup, the Chinese noodles are first and foremost about the noodle itself - an important, albeit just as enjoyable distinction between the two of my favorites noodle cultures. 
Finally, a cultural note: to leave any ramen broth in the bowl is a sign of dissatisfaction, in Chinese kitchens the leftover broth rules are a lot more liberal - some people drink it, some leave it in the bowl. I drank mine - it was that good.

   

Taken on: December 21, 2012

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Camera: Nikon D90, f/2.8, 1/4 sec, 24mm (=36mm), ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D90
Lens:	14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.25 sec (1/4)
Focal Length:	24mm (35mm equivalent: 36mm)
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Manual
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Contrast:	High
Saturation:	High
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 Macintosh
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