The Guardian
Grace Dent found herself queuing on a Monday morning for hand-pulled, oil- and chilli-drenched Xi’an biang biang noodles outside an 80-seater off the Charing Cross Road. This “no-frills canteen” is a viral internet sensation, so Grace just had to try it because “to ruin that Kate Moss adage: ‘Nothing tastes as good as eating a viral sensation feels’.”
But are they, she wondered, the best biang biang noodles in town? It’s hard to say, she answered herself, because all biang biang noodles are pretty good – even the lacklustre ones – but the braised chicken was “a dream. I think of it often, sitting there paddling in an inch of spicy oil. But for God’s sake, don’t wear white and don’t take a first date here.”
If Noodle Inn is “utterly delicious”, it is also the case that “there are equally wonderful noodles available just streets away, where you can book a table, linger and order as much as you desire. Frankly, though, that isn’t the point.”
Grace Dent - 2024-11-24
