Biang biang noodles come from the Shaanxi province of China, and are wheat flour hand pulled noodles that are long and thick. I love noodles so there was much excitement when the signage and menus went up for Biang Biang at the Canberra Centre. Some social media stalking led me to the Biang Biang Sydney account, announcing the opening of a store in Canberra.
Located on Bunda Street, it had quite a queue when it first opened and limited seating especially given the social distancing requirements. It still remains busy but there doesn’t seem to be a queue anymore.
I dined in early for lunch one day with my friend M of Brontosaurus Bites. We shared a pork rougamo (unsure of price), basically a Chinese burger, filled with meat. I loved the flakiness of the pastry, but found the pulled pork filling quite dry. It needed some kind of sauce or gravy.
I ordered the Biang Biang noodles with beef ($16.80) and was not disappointed. The beef is tender and there’s enough meat for me. The menu indicates one chilli for the spiciness level so I really hoped it wasn’t too spicy. I had nothing to worry about, it was very very mild and I could have handled a lot more spice.
The noodles have an awesome chewy yet firm elasticity – cooked perfectly and there are plenty of noodles in the bowl. Some of the noodles clump together making it difficult to separate with chopsticks without it sliding back into the bowl and splashing sauce everywhere (or maybe I need a bib).
M got the noodles with tomato and egg in meat sauce ($14.20). She also really enjoyed the dish and the delicious thick noodles.
On a solo lunch outing, I ordered the noodles with pork, tomato, egg, and vegies topped with meat sauce ($15.50). The ‘meat sauce’ is mince so you get double meat with a hit of tomato and some stir fried vegies. Mix it altogether and it all works.
Another lunch outing, and I ordered the noodles with Xinjiang chicken ($14.80). There really wasn’t that much chicken in the bowl which was a shame as the chicken was so succulent and had been marinated in some kind of sauce beforehand.
Biang Biang is definitely worth a try if you love thick handmade noodles. Suggest getting there early to grab a table. Order and pay at the counter, collect your buzzer, and grab your bowl when the buzzer goes off. Noodles come out quickly. There’s tap water provided at the front too (self-service). Sometimes they put a lemon/orange in the water to make it level-up fancy.
Biang Biang
148 Bunda St, Canberra ACT 2601
Opening hours:
Seven days a week – 11.00am – 9.00pm
Foodgasm 8/10
Service 8/10
Value for money 7/10
FPJ score 23/30
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