Food Hall 38 is becoming quite a destination for excellent, authentic, regional Chinese specialties in Midtown. A rich mixture of intoxicating smells delights and entices as soon as you walk in, and you're faced with the very difficult decision of deciding which stall seems most delicious to you at that moment. The decision just became even harder with the opening (soft opening?) of Xi'an Express in late December 2023, right next to Cozy Rice, a favorite.
On my early January 2024 visit, the gracious woman working at the stall told me that she hand made all of the food there. The painstakingly high quality of her work is evident in the unusually flakey, croissant-like bread for rou jia mo / Chinese "burgers"; the incredibly fabulous, rich broth that came with the mutton and vermicelli noodle soup; the hand pulled noodles.
On a cold winter's day in NYC, the sky dark with yet another winter storm rolling in, that noodle soup was pure comfort. Bone broth -- rich with collagen and, like a proper pho or ramen broth, just the right amount of good fat -- had been made with no shortcuts, served with little salt and little chili sauce so you could taste the purity and quality of the ingredients and then customize to your preference. (In this regard, it was quite similar to Korean Seolleongtang.) I took a few sips plain, but since I am an unabashed salt fiend and chili head, I had to try some with salt and chili sauce as well, and the result was excellent. You can order noodle soups with hand pulled noodles, but I chose to have mine with cellophane / vermicelli noodles. Also in the mix: a generous amount of small diced, meltingly tender, stewed mutton; sweet pops of goji berries; cilantro; and a few bits of wood ear. I can't imagine a better cold weather meal.
Rou jia mo -- the pork and beef versions we tried -- were generously filled, the beef version made with thin slices of stewed beef laced through with tendon, just a bit of crisp, pickled green cabbage for crunch, a touch of mala heat. The pork version included incredibly moist shredded pork. The "mo" or bread used for these sandwiches was unusual -- so much flakier and more layered than the norm. It reminded me more of shao bing (https://cookinginchinglish.com/chinese-sesame-flatbread-shaobing/) than the traditional bread used in most rou jia mos.
Sesame peanut liang pi were springy and toothsome, topped with cubes of wheat gluten, which deliciously soaked up the sesame paste and chili oil; crisp bean sprouts; and fresh, crisp, finely julienned cucumbers. My only nitpick: I could've used a lot more sauce for the volume of noodles.
From what we tried, Xi'an Express seems to use very fresh, very high quality ingredients prepared with a great deal of care. I'm coming back for everything else that's on the menu. read more
