Bowling For Noodles

Shaanxi Gourmet, Rosemead

I read about this spot on Chowhound and any place that offers a knife-shaved noodle in lamb soup = I’m there. Place was packed so if this was a recent opening, word has gotten out quickly. Take what I’m saying here with a grain of salt but it’s at least the second place to open up in the area, specializing in Xinjiang regional cuisine (though I’m not one to evaluate how accurate they are in capturing that). The other is Omar’s Xinjiang Halal and I think it’s fair to also include the more venerable JTYH in that mix too. (And no doubt, some NYer is gonna shout out, “yo, this place is like Xi’ian Famous Foods!” Not mad at that).

Like Omar’s, Shaanxi Gourmet has a “big plate of chicken” dish; I didn’t get to try it but it looked pretty awesome sitting on the next table. I decided to try the lamb noodle soup (above) instead, which is very similar in basic design to the lamb noodle soup at JTYH, which is one of my favorite bowl of noodles in L.A.

The version at SG has similar flavor though their broth is more “dark/clear” vs. the “milky/clear” at JTYH. I thought SG’s was heavier on the salt - perhaps a bit too much so - but it wasn’t lacking in flavor, especially the rich essence of long-stewed lamb that also benefits JTYH’s version.

The knife-shaved noodles here are comparable - “heavy noodling” indeed - though as I’ve been migrating from knife-shaved to either knife-cut or hand-pulled, I’m not as crazy about the sheer density of the noodles. These also seemed very plain and starchy - a good noodle, texture-wise, but it didn’t carry much flavor with it. From the look of other tables, everyone seems to get the cold sesame noodles, which might be a better test of the noodle’s worthiness.

SG also pushes their “stewed pork burger” aka “Chinese hamburger” which is basically a thin smear of pulled pork in between a hot, crunchy bun. It was likable but too thin on the pork (“it doesn’t look like the wall picture!”). Fatten that sucker up just a little bit and you’d have a solid appetizer (but it’s too one-dimensional to be a good meal in itself).

Definitely worth coming back to try other items on the menu (like that big plate of chicken); it’s also located at a pretty good corner of Rosemead, very close to the mini-mall with Shinsengumi Ramen and Pho54 and some other local favorites.