I've busted my knee thanks to my vigorous regime of Asian food and Playstation 3. We drive to Ashfield where we can park close as possible to food. It feels so American.
We stop in the first available car park on Liverpool Road, and voila, across the road is Xin Jiang Noodle Restaurant. It's Northern Chinese: handmade noodles, dumplings, lovely stodge on a winter's day. The joy of Northern Chinese is that every restaurant is different, which makes sense considering North China is a freaking huge region. The walls and the takeaway menu are adorned with inspiring pictures of mountains, grassy plains, clear rivers, happy cows and no paint factories. The music is this kooky kind of sea shanty, Russian inspired we guess. This place is tops.
The sign out the front says the noodles are 100% handmade so we have to try them. We order 'handmade noodles with meat'. The noodles are excellent and the 'meat' is lightly spiced chopped lamb. It's a winner. $10.80.
We give the cucumber salad a whirl. Cucumber salad is the perfect accompaniment to a North Chinese meal, the fresh greens cut the stodge perfectly. It is chopped cucumber, with tomato, coriander, shallots, green chili with a soy and vinegar dressing. Oh yeah! $9.80.
Roast lamb buns.
Lovely pan fried crispy pancake with lightly spiced chopped lamb filling. The bottom is soft and the juices slurpy. Fantastic. $8.80.
Beef dumpling soup. A clear, salty, lightly beefy broth with generous slices of roast beef, huge meaty dumplings and fresh cabbage. This is quite a different soup, very hearty, thumbs up! $8.80
We walk away with change from $40. We could only get through half of all this, we have enough leftovers for dinner, the servings are HUGE! This is another great cheap and cheeful hole in the wall restaurant. Extra points for the kooky, sea-shanty music.
Xin Jian Noodle Restaurant is ad 205 Liverpool Road Ashfield, the first joint at the City end of the strip. Ph 9799 9989. Open 7 days 10am-10pm.
Northern Chinese restaurant and no hanging plastic grapes from the ceiling like they all seem to do in town? The food looks really good here!
ReplyDeleteThe sea shanty music and decor make up for the lack of ceiling grapes :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my absolute favourites. After eating their handmade ones here, regular old noodles just don't cut it anymore.
ReplyDeleteYou're right Livvie. Once handmade noodles wrap their glorious slippery tentacles around you there's no turning back.
ReplyDeleteI went here on Friday....really good food. You must try the lamb skewers and the spicy chicken salad is really firey!!
ReplyDeleteOn the front glass door they had a little white board with chinese writing....the extra special specials i am guessing....one of the lines had a doodle of a little kitty cat! LOL (no joke). I might order that one next time!