MELBOURNE | It seems like it was just the other day when I first tried Xi’an-style biang biang noodles, but it was actually a few years ago. In that time, several spots specialising in the noodles have popped across Melbourne. Biang! Biang! 古城秦味, who recently opened their second location in Swanston Street in the CBD, is one of them. I visited for What’s on Melbourne.
Biang biang noodles are made using wheat flour dough which is hand pulled until long and flat, like a belt, then cut wide. The name comes from the ‘biang’ sound that’s heard as the thick dough is slapped on the benchtop. Long an obscure Xi’an dish, enjoyed by workers lacking the time to make thinner noodles, they’ve recently become popular throughout China, and now abroad.
At Biang! Biang!, you’ll find several variations of the namesake noodles, along with other Shaanxi (the province of which Xi’an is the capital) noodle dishes and sides. Toppings for the biang biang noodles include things like chilli oil, dry roasted chilli, minced pork, slow cooked lamb, eggplant, and tomato. There are several combinations to choose from. The stewed lamb with both kinds of chilli is my pick of the lot.
Other noodles dishes are items like lamb offal soup; vermicelli with spicy blood tofu; and ramen noodles topped with chilli, pork, tomato, and egg. For sides, its things like sliced beef and ox tongue in chilli sauce, sliced pig’s ear in chilli oil, and dumplings in Xi’an-style broth.
Biang! Biang!’s other speciality is the popular Shaanxi street food roujiamo. It’s a meat-filled sandwich, sometimes referred to as a ‘Chinese hamburger’. The focus here is on the crispy pan-fried pastry roujiamo, rather than the baked, bready type that’s better known in Melbourne. Light, flaky, layered pastry is filled with things like pork; tofu skin and egg; and beef tripe. The traditional slow cooked cumin beef and chilli version is my favourite. Spicy and addictive.
To drink, there’s a selection of Western and Chinese sodas and tea, and soy milk.
Biang! Biang! 古城秦味 (Swanston Street)
255 Swanston Street
Melbourne CBD
Victoria 3000
Australia
Telephone: (03) 7012 0500
E-mail: n/a
Website
Open
Sun – Thu: 11:30am to 11:50pm
Fri – Sat: 11:30am to 1:00am