Sheng Wang

I have been on the lookout for some legit western Chinese hand-pulled noodles ever since I moved to New York.  In the past few years there has been a huge proliferation of Lanzhou-style hand-pulled noodle restaurants in Chinatown.  Well, calling some of them restaurants might be stretching the truth a little.  Some of them are more appropriately called holes in the wall.  Thus far we have tried a few different places - Lan Zhou Handmade Noodles, Super Taste, Food Sing 88 and Hung Ry (which really shouldn't be discussed in the same category because it is actually a really nice restaurant in the LES that just happens to pair authentic hand-pulled noodles with all manner of toppings).  And yesterday we decided to head down to Chinatown to do some grocery shopping and try another hand-pulled noodle shop caled Sheng Wang that was just written up in the NY Times.  What really inspired me to visit Sheng Wang is that in addition to la mian (hand-pulled noodles), they also serve dao xiao mian (knife-peeled noodles).  When I saw that they had the dao xiao mian I was incredibly excited.  I freaking ate my face off on dao xiao mian when I was in Shenzhen.  Don't get me wrong, a big bowl of niu rou la mian (beef hand-pulled noodle soup) is absolutely delicious and the standard by which I judge most noodles.  But there is just something about the texture of the dao xiao mian that I just loved.  Anyway, how does Sheng Wang compare to all of the other places I have tried?  They don't have the best la mian, but their beef broth from their niu rou la mian is some of the best that I have tasted - very deeply beefy (in a good way), with a hint of star anise.  It's delicious.  Don't get me wrong, their noodles are good.  But I think I might give the edge on the noodles themselves to Lan Zhou Handmade Noodles and Hung Ry.  And as for the dao xiao mian?  They are fantastic.  I tried them with the lamb, but I wasn't a huge fan of the lamb broth.  So if you want an amazing bowl of soup get the knife-peeled noodles with beef.  Yum.

Are you excited about Chinese New Year coming up?  I am!  Stay tuned for my upcoming Asian recipe bonanza in the month of February!