Where did the Thirsty Pig Go?
While thinking about trying something different, we scoured the blogosphere for something unique. I had remembered a couple of articles that caught my eye – one from the Shanghai Foodist and another from CNNGo. There was an image of a bamboo steamer with these little honeycomb doughy things. It immediately caught my eye, since you never see anything so geometrical that you eat. After researching, we found our target – Xibei YouMian Cun (meaning Northwestern Noodle Village – but I could be off about the noodle part).
After researching, I found out that this is a small chain owned by Canadians, with a couple outlets here in Shanghai and a few in Beijing. Unfortunately, their website doesn’t work. The restaurant itself is brightly lit, with colorful images of the province of Shanxi and lamb. You could see lots of people having the bamboo steamers of the noodles.
What did I grub on?
The colorful menu featured the bamboo steamers of the noodles, which I later found out is made from oats. We ordered a bunch of other different things like the tofu, cold spicy noodles, lamb slices, lamb ribs, and lamb skewers. The noodles, which I still think is a bit strange to call it that, has the same consistency of noodles and dipped in a vegetable or lamb light sauce. It has an interesting consistency that is ever so slightly grainy – yet acceptable. I like it. The tofu, which is steamed as well, is drenched in a sauce. The tofu has a weak constitution and falls apart easy. The sauce with the tofu makes for a better combination. The lamb, with different amounts of cumin, presents different tastes and textures. I enjoyed the lamb ribs the most. I had forgotten about the suggestion to get the Flinstonian-size lamb leg – which I will do most definitely next time.
Parting Shots
If you are ever in the mood to try something different, I do strongly suggest Xibei YouMian Cun. But if you are afraid of lamb, you may want to avoid at all costs.
What to Order: Steamed Oat Noodles, Lamb Ribs, Tofu
What not to Order: Sliced Lamb
Rating
2 Pigs
Price Range 1 $/¥/NT
Links
Shanghai Foodist, Dining Secretary, Dining Secretary, Time Out Shanghai, CNN Go, Smart Shanghai, The Beijinger, Smart Shanghai, Dian Ping Listing
西贝莜面村
Xibei YouMian Cun
5/f West Wing, Hongxin Plaza, 762 Tianshan Lu, near Gubei Lu, Shanghai
天山路762号近古北路
+86 21 58752999
www.xibei.con.cn
Popularity: 6% [?]