Popular Shaanxi street foods found at Rock Paper Scissors
Handmade noodles and signature northwest Chinese flavours served up piping hot in hearty bowls
It’s easy to dismiss the University District for its franchises and ‘unswanky’ student eateries. But we know better. Beyond popularized and generalized menus, in the thicket of condominiums, there are also small student-friendly spots that offer regional dishes to satisfy specific cravings for home. With plenty of Cantonese options around, and none offering Shaanxi’s and Ningxia’s salty-fiery-sharpness, Chency Luo and Siqi Wang opened Rock Paper Scissors after graduation.
The 28-seat diner sits at the foot of a tower on Lester Street between University and Seagram. It’s cute in a familiar Pan-Asian way: A black and white palette. Line drawings and sampuru (shiny plastic food replicas) adorn chalkboard menus. Stuffed toys, pompom hats, and little cat-shaped change purses sit in the market corner. Play a game of rock paper scissors against the staff: if you win, five per cent is knocked off your bill.
There’s a dizzying array of menus and options: each bilingual, some with scant descriptions. Just head to the laminated sheets taped to the counter — these seem to be the most complete and the most straightforward, although a bit haphazard (a stew and desserts appear under appetizers). No worries if you’re lost: the friendly staff are adept guides.
There are plenty of hearty noodle dishes, some with lamb, pork, or fish, others with vegetables. Long-cooked casseroles emerge from the kitchen. The owners make long, flat wheat noodles, something they learned (along with filling and pinching dumplings) as children in China. Toppings for congee (rice porridge) include rousong (fluffy, floss-like dried meat), beans or seafood. You can build your own malatang (hot pot) with vegetables, mushrooms, meats, tofu, and noodles from the buffet. There are about a dozen vegetarian options, but soup broths are made with pork.
Shaanxi (pronounced “shaahn-tsee”) cuisine borrows from its neighbours (Shanxi and Sichuan) and absorbs centuries of Silk Road caravans. Soy sauce and salt temper vinegary and garlicky flavours; cumin’s earthy warmth appears. Pay attention to heat-level markers (they’re bang-on) as chili’s anger ranges from barely peeved to furious. Mild dishes are available, but the kitchen doesn’t decrease heat. (You can, however, add more from small lidded pots of ground chilies on the tables.)
Drinks and beautifully composed, generous bowls arrive with chopsticks and Asian soup spoons relatively quickly and all at once. If you need them, ask for plastic cutlery. The Mango Green Tea ($4.50) tempers the meal’s salty-sourness, and the Blueberry Smoothie ($4.79) combats the chili’s heat.
The Pork Momo’s (a.k.a. Roujiamo, $4.49) finely chopped mild stewed pork belly is stuffed in a split mo (a yeasted bun, a bit bigger than an English muffin). The Steamed Cold Noodles’ (a.k.a. Liangpi, $6.99) malty black vinegar and soy dressing cuts the sandwich’s richness and helps make the pungent garlic-chili heat fleeting memories. Flat noodles bed crisp bean sprouts, cubes of firm, airy gluten, and finely sliced cucumber strips.
Lamb Soup with Mo Bread ($10.99) fortifies on a chilly night. Tiny bits of mo swell and drink up the mild, wellseasoned lamb broth, thickening the stew of vermicelli, tender lamb slices, and wood ear mushrooms. A sprinkling of chopped coriander leaf floats on top.
Beautifully blanched, vividly green baby bok choy frame the Yo Po Mian ($7.99). Similar to biangbiang noodles, lengths of thick, wide flat noodles mix with chopped garlic, sliced green onion, and ground chilies to create an unapologetically escalating nose-tingling heat. A later visit proved it’s a fine meal with a tea egg.
We’d have happily eaten through more of the menu — specifically to slurp the malatang ordered by other tables — but we call it with an Eggette (with one scoop ice cream, $4.49). The egg-enriched waffle bakes into a crisp golden exterior, contrasting the tender pockets.
Named for the owners’ favourite game, Rock Paper Scissors’ northwest Chinese cuisine is here, though only for so long. Change is afoot, but for now, Shaanxi street food is ours to sample.
Assessing food, atmosphere, service and prices. Dining Out restaurant reviews are based on unannounced visits to the establishments. Restaurants do not pay for any portion of the reviewer’s meal. Jasmine Mangalaseril is on Twitter as @cardamomaddict.