Many Asian cities are well known for their vibrant street food communities. Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Osaka are just a few of the more popular street food cities. Xi’an is a large city and capital of Shaanxi Province in central China, and it too is a destination for food enthusiasts. Newly opened Bang Bang Noodles introduces LA diners to Xi’an biang biang noodles.
Their name, Bang Bang Noodles, is catchy play-on-words for the Xi’an noodle dish biang biang mian. These are super wide hand-pulled noodles. There are hundreds of biang biang noodle shops in Xi’an lining the Huimin Jie area, making it an easy bowl of noodles to find.
Fortunately, Bang Bang Noodles has parking directly behind their building. As I walked up to their establishment, their rear door was open, and I could hear the music blaring. “Jumping Jack Flash, it’s a gas. Jumping Jack Flash, it’s a gas.” The best part was when I could hear the chefs belt out, “I wish I never been born at all,” to the song, Bohemian Rhapsody, by Queen.
After seeing their videos on Instagram, I looked forward to seeing the same action in their brick-and-mortar. I was disappointed that their kitchen is enclosed and not viewable. Pulling handmade noodles is a show to be seen, and like many, I wanted to experience it.
I haven’t experienced the Chinese street food scene. That said, I knew the lamb shoulder was the protein to pair with the Tingly Cumin Dry Sauce offering. They add fresh red cabbage, bok choy, green onion, cilantro, chili oil, and aged black vinegar. This dish was made famous by Xi’an Famous Foods.
Despite being relatively warm that day, my favorite dish was their Tingly Cumin Soup, with cabbage, green onion, cilantro, chili oil, and aged black vinegar. The beef was tender, and the fresh bok choy added texture and freshness. The noodles dripped from the soup and soaked with a delicious cumin flavor.
Xi’an Tomato Dry Noodle utilizes fresh stewed tomatoes, crisp bok choy, seasoned ground soy, chives, house chili oil and opted for shiitake mushrooms as the “protein” to make this a vegan dish. The seasoned ground soy closely resembles meat, and I felt as if I was eating ground pork.
Bang Bang Noodles is located in the Arts District, a block away from Guerrilla Tacos and Yess Aquatic.
Bang Bang Noodles, 1801 E. 7th St. Los Angeles, CA; 90021; bangbangnoodlesla.com; Preorder or walkup accepted.