Three Dishes to Devour at Xi’an Famous Foods

After a prolonged pandemic closure, the Xi’an Famous Foods outpost at 8 Liberty Place reopened in the fall to the delight of diners throughout the neighborhood. The local chainlet, which has over a dozen locations in the city, has been serving up delectable hand-pulled noodles doused in signature chili oil since founder Jason Wang opened its first stall in the basement of Flushing’s Golden Mall in 2005. Lower Manhattanites lucky enough to be in the area for lunch or dinner can opt for one or 15 of Xi’an’s incredible Shaanxi-style dishes, which range from spicy lamb burgers, to pork dumplings in soup, to thick, hearty noodles with pork and vegetables. 

Here are three of our favorite dishes to try.

Spicy And Sour Spinach Dumplings

An order of these bad boys nets you six classic boiled Chinese dumplings filled with ground spinach, eggs, wood-ear mushrooms and vermicelli noodles, and wrapped in a spinach-infused dough. The dumplings are good, but the real treat is the spicy-and-sour sauce they’re drenched in — tangy and heat-packing in all the right ways. 

Liang Pi “Cold-Skin Noodles”

Don’t let the concept of cold noodles scare you — this refreshing vegan dish is one of Xi’an’s highlights. Steamed wheat flour noodles are tossed with bean sprouts, cucumbers, cilantro and house-made gluten, and steeped in a mix of soy sauce, black rice vinegar, garlic and chili oil. You can opt to request one “not spicy,” but the chili oil helps make this dish, so we recommend you stick with the regular heat level.

Spicy Cumin Lamb Hand-Ripped Noodles

This might be Xi’an’s most celebrated dish, and it deserves all the accolades. Wide hand-ripped biang-biang noodles complement sauteed slices of spicy cumin lamb, and the whole shabang is doused with Xi’an’s proprietary soy and black rice vinegar sauce. The lamb is tender, the noodles are perfectly spiced and one container should last you a couple of days. Though it’s best to at least try the noodles ASAP so you get them at their freshest.