Went in planning to get the liang pi but the Liuzhou soup seemed more exciting. Nice combination of spicy and various sour elements and lots of different textures in a complex broth. $20 bill for scale but it doesn’t really give the proper impression of what a huge serving this is. Ordered regular (maximum) spicy but the receipt said medium, well within my asbestos-palate comfort zone.
I’ve been ordering takeout from the Chinatown location and, if you can believe it, the portions are even bigger than ordering in-house. I got two noodle soups and a mo for about $20 and was able to make four solid meals out of it.
And yes, the liuzhou said it was made with seas snails which I could taste though I didn’t find any in the soup.
I went there on Chinese New Year and asked the waitress if it was actually possible to have the snails they use to make the broth, and she seemed a little taken aback by that question like why would anyone eat snails. Strange.
For me - as one who has bemoaned the lack of “real” Chinese food on the Westside for more than 2 decades - it is so hard to believe this plate of food is available in this location. Not to mention the soups and noodles.
I agree. I wouldn’t have found it strange if the waitress just said they don’t actually have the snails, but I just found it curious that she seemed a little put off (not personally, but generally) at the idea of eating the snails that they use to make the stock…
FWIW, the Liuzhou rice noodles are called 螺蛳粉/luo si fen. The variations of “Liuzhou” above are… misspelled, and the Liuzhouers don’t call it Liuzhou rice noodles (like Thais don’t call the noodles “pad Thai”). See “luo si fen”:
The snails aren’t “necessarily” eaten along with the fen, but traditionally “definitely” used in stock.
Also, new “dry” Guilin mi fen being added to both stores this week:
i know for sure that some of their other sauces are made in a different location.
possibly the snail boxes are used to transport the containers of prepared sauce/broth from the cooking location to the restaurant?
or maybe not.
Got the liang pi this time. Wow. We were halfway through the dish before I realized it might be vegan. (Not sure what’s in the sauce.) An Italian place could be proud of those noodles.
Tried the roujiamo. Nice little meaty sandwich. Did a rerun on the cold plate, awesome as before.
@robert, you’re in town? I didn’t care for the roujiamo that much, and I think they retooled their luo si fen a little last time I was there (flavor profile and toppings slightly different) but still delicious!
