1919 Noodle Express is located inside of the Atlantic Times Square mall, off Atlantic, south of the 10. Still feels like that overall place is struggling but it hasn't tipped into "dead mall" syndrome quite yet. Anyways…
I long thought I was more partial to Taiwanese-style beef noodle soup which I usually associate with a dark, almost angry broth of chili oil and vinegar. But I think I might be moving over to the Lanzhou side of things: I really like the clear, consomme-like broth that manages to be both simple but with savory depth. I've usually seen it served with sliced turnip which I prefer over the green choy vegetables (often bok choy) I associate with Taiwan-style. It's not that one is vastly superior to the other at all; it's really more about personal preference.
The version here at 1919 Noodle Express was pretty solid to me. Last time I ordered this same dish (in NYC, not here), I got it with wide noodles but I feel like those weren't al dente enough so this time, I asked for the thick noodles here (you get one of six options to choose from) and those were just the right texture: firm but bouncy. And the broth, which they added a healthy dose of chili oil to on my request, was just what I wanted from it: well-balanced/seasoned, with just enough heat to make things interesting but not to the point where I was coughing from it. 8.5/10
There's many more Lanzhou noodle spots now then there used to be and while I don't want to carb-out like this on a regular basis, I'm tempted to work my way through more of them so I have more points of comparison.
by soulsides
5 Comments
This might be a Chinese food that benefits from leaving China.
Lanzhou La Mian in China is almost always the cheapest and crappiest raw materials – tiny scraps of meat, a pinch of cilantro, tiny bowl – all for under 10 RMB. My local one was patronized almost exclusively by construction workers and food delivery couriers (they had really good rou bing – fried meat patties – that I would get to go)
The noodles were pretty bad, and this tended to be a nationwide epidemic of “cheap noodles”
In the US, where you can charge more, and have access to better ingredients, and nothing as bad as low end Chinese ingredients, might be a way to try this again for me.
Also, I don’t think Taiwanese beef noodles are necessarily spicy, spice isn’t a quality inherent to Taiwanese food, and some of my favorite versions are of the more clear broth variety,
Thanks for the tip – will check this place out
Will definitely give try looks delicious
Atlantic Times Square mall is slowly crawling back to life. Thanks to Heytea, Meet Fresh, and Hong Kong Cafe. There will be a iwagyu and Mongolian meat pie place opening soon!
I’m laid up with covid right now and I would do bad things to have this inside me.
Damn. This looks like the noodles I lived off of when I lived in Chiba for six months.
Thanks for sharing. Adding it to my list.