Xi Xia Chinese Cuisine — Restaurant in Columbus

I decided to check this place out after noticing the flood of positive reviews. The restaurant is best known for its noodle dishes, which was exactly what I was in the mood for, especially something with a kick.

One thing to note: there are no paper menus. You either order upfront on an electronic kiosk or use the QR code at your table to order online. I actually appreciated how smooth the digital process was. What’s even better? If you’re dining with friends and each person wants to order from their own phone, the system automatically links all the individual orders to your table, no fuss, no confusion. It’s a nice touch, especially for group meals where everyone's doing their own thing.

A quick heads-up, most of the dishes here are served as individual meals rather than family-style. Just something to keep in mind depending on how you like to dine.

I went with the spicy beef stew noodles, opting for the wide noodle option. The noodles were well-cooked with a great texture, soft, but not mushy or chewy. The spice level definitely caught me off guard at first (and I’ve got a pretty high spice tolerance). I use Huy Fong Sriracha or Chinese chili oil as ketchup, but still, it hit with an unexpected punch. That said, it wasn’t overwhelming or unpleasant, just bold and flavorful. Overall, the dish was thoughtfully put together and satisfying.

The staff was attentive throughout our meal. They made regular rounds to refill water and check in on how we were doing, which I appreciated. The restaurant itself is bright, clean, and had a comfortable vibe, nothing too fancy, but definitely well-kept.

The restaurant is located inside Kenny Centre Mall, which is home to several other Asian-owned businesses, think bakery, restaurants, a grocery store, etc. So if you're planning to grab dinner and knock out some errands or shopping, it’s a super convenient stop.

If you’re craving bold, spicy noodles and enjoy a no-nonsense digital ordering experience, this place is worth a visit. It’s efficient, the food delivers, and the atmosphere is clean and welcoming. Just know what you’re signing up for, individual portions and some serious heat if you go the...

We went here twice. The first time was a weekend late afternoon. We were the only ones there at that time. The server told us about the scanning the QR code for the menu and was super attentive. We ordered the pork rice bowl and the spicy beef noodle soup. The pork rice bowl was similar to Lu Roy Fan (Taiwanese Braised Pork Bowl) but of course a little different since I don’t think it’s supposed to be the same exact thing. It was perfectly savory and sweet. The meat was tender and the sauce was excellent with rice. The beef noodle soup was perfectly spiced. The beef was tender. The noodles were a perfect texture.

The second time we went was on a Saturday around lunch, about 30 minutes after they opened. We were able to get seated. But within 10 minutes, all but one table was filled. We ordered the salt and pepper chicken, Xi Xia stirred noodles, and the spicy beef noodle soup again. Once again, the spicy beef noodle soup was excellent, all the same comments as our first time. The Xi Xia Stirred Noodles had a sauce on the bottom and it was topped with spices. You stir it together. This has a little bit of a spice, but not as much as the soup. The sauce was a soy sauce base with oil and flavorful garlic and other spices/herbs. It was ever so slightly salty for me, but I tend to like a little less salt. The salt and pepper chicken wasn’t too salty nor too peppery. But it was just enough seasoning to add flavor, but not so much that it would cover the chicken taste. The chicken was excellently fried. Crisp, but not cut your mouth hard. The meat was also very tender. We had a different server this second time, but they were still very attentive. Though the tables filled it fast, the service was also very fast and the food came out even faster! This restaurant was ran super efficiently. Throughout the 30-45 minutes we there there, multiple tables were seated from start to finish while still keeping up with...

What a disappointment!

I was searching online for a new Asian restaurant to try and found a listing for this place that had many positive reviews and a menu that excited me as I love to try new foods.

And even more importantly, since my Mrs. does not share my taste in food, they offered a limited menu of "American Chinese" food including her go-to choice of Beef & Broccoli.

So I eagerly went to place an order for pickup using their website only to find that it wasn't working so I went to Plan B and called in an order for the one dish that I was very excited to try and I was told that they no longer offered it and I was also informed that their menu had been charged and they had not updated it on their website so I was forced to create and implement Plan C by going to the restaurant in person to view their updated menu. A plan that once again failed as they did not have any printed menus but they loaned me an I-Pad which apparently contained the only copy of their current menu in existence!

Gone were all the Stir Fry and Hotpot items that could have interested me as well as the"American Chinese" offerings and the place had been converted to yet another noodle place.

While I still think of myself as an adventurous eater, even I have to draw a line somewhere which in this case was that most of the " meat" used was Offal AKA made from the internal organs of the animal and normally would go into making Dog Food.

The place was a huge disappointment and I will not be going back...EVER!

But I did give them 2 stars because the...