Legit tastes of Xi'an in Chinatown
Noodles and such from a new Chinese restaurant.
Judging by the lunchtime crowds, they're on to something at the new Xi'an Sizzling Woks in Chinatown.
The restaurant in the minimalist storefront at 902 Arch St. (215-925-1688), which opened less than a month ago, specializes in cuisine from Xi'an, in northwest China. (It was known as Xi'an Famous Food when it opened, but a stern letter from the owner of the popular Xi'an Famous Foods restaurants in New York City sent management back to the signmakers. Staff won't say much about the owner - only that he owns another restaurant, in Northeast Philly.)
You consult a menu scrawled in paper. Handmade noodles are the specialty.
Signature Xi'an liang pi ($5) gets you a plate of cold skin noodles - they're cold, flat, slippery rice noodles (not skin!) - with julienned cucumbers, bean sprouts, and spongy wheat gluten, which you top with a spicy-salty sauce of soy and a thick orange paste.
A Chinese hamburger ($3.50) is more like a sloppy Joe - a bun filled with minced cumin-scented lamb.
It's open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.