Xi’an BiangBiang Noodles-South Kensington Branch — Restaurant in London

This a noodle restaurant as is clear from its name. Anyone familiar with restaurants in Asia will know that restaurants, especially street-food style restaurants can have sometimes as little as one item on the menu but execute it to perfection. (A Singaporean food stall that does only popiah- a super-fresh Malaysian Singaporean never deep-fried spring roll that has been awarded one Michelin star springs to mind). I make this comment as a reviewer complained rather unfairly that there is little variety beyond noodles, no desserts even -- but what do you expect from a modest noodle restaurant----a 5 course gourmet tasting menu?).

Having made the point about this being a noodle restaurant, I tried and loved the black fungus and loved its slightly tangy flavour and crunchiness. But it might be too exotic for some western palates. We also had the boneless chicken in special sauce which had a rich nutty flavour and a delicious, not excessively spicy kick to it.

Xian Biang Biang does handmade noodles beautifully. Great texture with the right amount of bite to them and yet with a rich softness. Not over-cooked as sometimes happens with lesser restaurants. Although its signature dish is the Biang Biang or wide belt noodles of Xian, I actually prefer its regular sized thinner noodles. The dough is the same, but I find the sauce coats the finer noodles better. It is very much a question of personal preference. I ordered the Biang Biang noodles with the beef sauce. We were so pleased we went back two evenings later and I had the thin noodles with the special sesame sauce. Both...

Being from Shaanxi, I had high hopes for a taste of home with their Biang Biang Noodles and Pork Burger (Roujiamo). Unfortunately, the experience was a complete failure from start to finish.

The service was inattentive and slow. I was ignored when asking for a menu and had to wait 10 minutes just for tap water. One staff member stood idly by my table while another, who was kind enough to help, finally brought it. My order arrived in stages: the noodles after 20 minutes and the pork burger after a total of 40, which I had to ask for multiple times as no one ever checked on me.

As for the food, the Biang Biang noodles were a small, underwhelming portion with a vinegary tang that was far from authentic. The Pork Burger, however, was the real disappointment. It bore no resemblance to a genuine Roujiamo and was not what was advertised on the menu. After such terrible service, the poor quality of the food was the...

After traveling france for the past week, I just needed chinese food. The chinese lady who worked here as the hostest/waitress here is one of the sweetest person ever and she goes out of her way to deliver you top notch service. I heard her tell a customer not to worry about the mess they made and how it’s her job not theirs. Their job is to enjoy the food and enjoy themselves. She went out of her way to pack my takeaway even though I was in the midst of doing it myself.

The food itself was solid. I asked for the sauce on the dry beef noodles to be leas spicy and that was really good! My craving for chinese has...