Xi'an Cuisine is closed for remodeling for one month from whenever the sign on the front door went up, which looked recent. I have visited multiple times per month - I just love this place. Hope they rebound.

The sign was up before 9/20, which is when I tried to visit.

Xi'an Cuisine is back, similar layout (and perhaps the same tables) with just brighter walls and floors. Most importantly, the food is the same as the final pre-remodel menu, which is very comforting and reasonable. I thought that the hand-pulled noodles in hot and sour sauce with the (cold sliced) beef add-on were actually the best I've had them. Lamb and cumin flatbread sandwich just right.

I went this week for the first time and really enjoyed nearly all the food. I ordered much of what has been discussed here but an appetizer no one has mentioned is the pork stomach. It's served cold, in a slightly spicy sauce. It was very good.

However, I fail to understand the lamb soup with the hand-pulled noodles. I can't remember the last time I had something that bland at a restaurant. It was served with basically no seasoning. I'm assuming this was the intention, but adding chili oil or vinegar doesn't help if the soup isn't seasoned properly. There is a salt shaker at the table, but it would have needed a lot. I'm guessing there is something I'm just not getting here...

Made my first visit here for a late lunch on Monday, enjoying the brief respite from winter temps. Dining solo I didn't have much ordering power so stuck to a couple of the more recommended items. When I walked in a little before 2 there were about 5 tables and I was the only non-Asian in the place. No problem for me but it was funny what happened next. The server that approached me asked if I wanted take-out or dine-in. "Dine-in" I replied. He paused and sized me up and then said "We don't serve rice or eggroll!"; I replied "Good, didn't really want any" and he said pick your own seat. That out of the way I ordered the flatbread soup with lamb and one of the cumin lamb flatbread sandwiches. The soup came out first and that is one generous portion of soup at $8. It took a while before I could make a dent in it as it was practically boiling but I enjoyed the gentle lamb flavor of the milky broth filled with pebbles of flatbread, thin glassy noodles and pieces of lamb. Not long after came the "sandwich" - as others have described more of a pita-pocket style of ground seasoned lamb. Delicious; a delight both in flavor and texture, the seasoning of the lamb and the crispy flatbread made for a perfect sandwich. Only $3.50? Seriously? Take one of these to Al's and shame them. I knew I'd never be able to finish the soup and a server happily packaged it into a sturdy to-go container. $12 and change before tax for a delicious meal with leftovers that's an easy CTA ride from my office (bus there, "L" back) - I'll be returning to try more of the menu, starting with some of the noodle dishes (but always with the cumin lamb sandwich).

PSA: the tofu skin and celery dish ~my favorite celery dish in town~ has been replaced on the menu. And we found out the hard way– apparently they changed its Mandarin name, but it still reads in English as the other dish. We were served a dish of just tofu skins in a chile oil-based dressing. Lovers of the chewy ribbons of tofu will probably dig this, though I missed the tangy crunch of the celery. It also costs a whopping $6 (this should have piqued suspicion).

We had a 2nd ordering snafu and were served a wrong noodle dish + the one we thought we were ordering, which did give me the opportunity to sample a new-to-me item: the cold noodle, served in what was described as black vinegar and garlic sauce, though came dressed in a pleasurably creamy/tart sesame sauce not unlike the cucumbers we ordered to replace the missing roughage in the tofu dish. My typical order of hand-stretched noodles in hot oil, vinegar, & soy had more going on though.

Worth noting, I was dining with a strict vegetarian friend and our spread was an embarrassment of riches for him, there was a ton of variety and he loved it.

Enjoyable early lunch today at Xi'an Cuisine, friendly service, parking right in front, fresh, filling, flavors ranging from subtle to bold.





My noodle mixing was not aggressive enough for the server so she took matters into her own hands. Dish was piping hot and really popped with additions of hot chili paste and black vinegar.



Xi'an Cuisine, count me a fan!

Hit up Xi'an Cuisine last Friday before seeing Municipal Waste at Reggie's. Damn, what a great combo! The restaurant was packed around 8 PM, but we were able to grab a table (after a brief awkward period sharing a large table with a duo of strangers). I started with a lamb flatbread and couldn't wait to go back with an emptier stomach to just pound these things. For my main dish, I had the cold noodles with black vinegar and garlic sauce. Super refreshing and the noodles were fantastic.

Service was very attentive and everybody seemed willing to help, even with a wide language barrier at some points. We got the "no rice, no wontons" warning upon entry and the host was so pleased when we said that we came for flatbreads and noodles.

Xi'an Cuisine will definitely be a new regular in my Chinatown rotation, especially because I know that it will be impossible to break the bank, no matter how much I order.

I can't tell if I agree that this place got a GNR. When it is on, it is on and at a great price. However, like a third of the time they send out completely unseasoned food. Not underseasoned, unseasoned. Also the last two times I went, they essentially didn't have any of the cold dishes listed on the menu and instead I got a kind of mediocre sesame cucumber salad. Anyone else experienced this?

botd wrote:Anyone else experienced this?

Yes, but evidently, you and I are in the minority.

I left my beloved Phillies game early last night as they were getting crushed by the White Sox and got to Xi'an Cuisine shortly before closing - my first visit. I ordered the liang pi and yangrou paomo, both to go.

As for the liang pi, I loved the noodles themselves. They were thick, chewy and just about perfect. But I really found the sauce (which they gave me in a bag on the side, along with chiles in oil) to be rather bland. I compare this to liang pi I had at Xi'an Famous Foods in Queens, and then in Xi'an last year-the noodles certainly measured up, but the flavor did not come close.

I was more pleased with the yangrou paomo. I opened it up today to find it ridiculously gelatinous and cloudy. And once heated, a tremendous lamb flavor. The torn bread just as I remember it in Xi'an. Luckily, I got the bread on the side (as should be the case) so I could regulate how much I used. Once you add the bread though (assuming you add it), make sure to stir a bit, wait, and allow the bread to turn into mini dumplings.

Two quibbles: 1) the lamb in the soup was rather sparse, 2) no pickled garlic. To answer a previous question, I'm not quite sure if they offer pickled garlic. I thought she said they were out of it, but we were definitely having some communication issues. Anyway, still a nice bowl of yangrou paomo. Here's a look:





And by the way, when you head down to Chinatown, don't forget your phone and Waygo app . . . always helpful to read the Chinese (or Korean or Japanese) menus. Here are the screen shots I took last night:

just biked down from Humboldt Park to find a sign on the door reading:

"Xi'an Cuisine will be closed from August 12-25th for vacation. We will be open on the 26th. Sorry for the inconvenience."