Restaurant: Lanzhou Beef Noodle
Location: F7 Markaz, Islamabad
Rating: 3/5
Items and Pricing:
1. Beef Noodle - Rs 600
2. Dao Xiao Mian -Rs 600
Chinese cuisine has unremittingly been enjoyed all throughout Pakistan for quite some time. Many renditions of culturally famous dishes have been tried and tested by restaurants all over the city. Places such as Asian Wok, Chinatown, Asia Hong and Kim-Mun have concocted versions of Chinese food through a Pakistani lens, yet can they actually hold a candle to its authentic, good old-fashioned originator? Lanzhou Beef Noodle, a Chinese-owned restaurant, may just be the determining factor.
Located in the crevices of Jinnah Super, Lanzhou Beef Noodle sits on the first floor of an emporium that serves as the restaurant’s foundation. The dainty spot welcomes customers to a full-scale view of the entire market upon first entry. Visually, the restaurant was comparable to the interior of a mess, with dated seating arrangements that lacked proper maintenance. The open kitchen provides customers with a glimpse into how the food is prepared, but the counters were covered with various ingredients that made it look extremely cluttered and unkempt. The windows that overlooked the market were covered in dried up rain streaks, giving customers a murky view of Jinnah Super.
The Beef Noodle and the Dao Xiao Mian were the two main courses that were tested to see how they would contrast each other. Ironically, the two dishes were unexpectedly similar with the only discernible feature being the width of the noodles. Priced at 600 rupees each, the base ingredient of both items was the wheat noodles, one of which was hand-pulled while the Dao Xiao Mian noodles were knife-cut. Through the kitchen looking glass, customers could see the entire noodle-making process. A chunk of plain dough was stretched to opposite ends, brought back together, and stretched again until they morphed into individual strands of noodles that were ready to be boiled. Following its brief encounter with the boiler, the noodles were then added into a sizeable bowl, filled with vegetable broth to the brim and finally garnished with sliced beef, radishes and chopped coriander leaves.
The chewiness of the noodles blended perfectly with the tenderly seared beef. The radishes added a crunchiness that was immediately followed by a spicy aftertaste. All the main constituents were finally washed down by the rich vegetable broth, giving customers a multi-tiered, textural adventure. The Dao Xiao Mian, though very similar in ingredients, outranked the Beef Noodle due to the addition of Lanzhou’s special homemade chili oil that enhanced the flavors and presented an extra spicy seasoning, tying the entire dish together. The scarcity of beef slices on the other hand, may have been the only downfall of an otherwise delightful dish.
In comparison to Pakistani-owned Chinese restaurants, Lanzhou Beef Noodle stays truer to its cultural roots, but this bonafide and accurate version of Chinese food may not be suited for the average Pakistani taste buds. Locals of the twin cities have grown accustomed to an overwhelming amount of spices in their food irrespective of the cultural category it falls under. Lanzhou Beef Noodle leans towards a milder, more reserved combination of spices and instead relies on natural additives such as freshly cut vegetables to achieve maximum flavour.
Be that as it may, Lanzhou Beef Noodle receives a felicitous 3 out of 5 stars for an overall dining experience, affordability, and aesthetics. On the other hand, locals that are searching for spicier as well as more familiar options should check out restaurants such as Kim Mun and Chinatown that offer a wide variety of flavorful dishes that fall within a similar price range.
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