Zhajiangmian
You know zhajiangmian. It’s that dish of springy wheat noodles tossed with bean sauce, ground pork and usually some other stuff that you find in some of the better Chinese noodle restaurants. In Korean noodle houses like Mandarin House and Lee Man Gu, where it is spelled something like jajangmyun, the sauce is as dark and thick as motor oil, although the noodles remain hand- pulled. And now there’s the truly excellent Chengdu zhajiangmian at Mian in San Gabriel, the brand- new Chongqing- style noodle house opened by Tony Xu, the chef behind the astonishingly popular Chengdu Taste restaurants in Alhambra, Rosemead and Rowland Heights. The zhajiangmian looks like versions you may have had before, a bowl whose surface is frosted with ground pork and scallions, and the chewy pull is familiar. These are noodles with a mean streak, a potent lashing of hot chile and oil, laced with Sichuan peppercorn that numbs your palate just enough to make the next bite not just tolerable but actually kind of great. If for some reason Chengdu zhajiangmian doesn’t seem like your thing, the short menu also includes seafood noodles, spicy gizzard noodles, and noodles in bone broth with fried egg, as well as dumplings in chile oil. The side dishes of spicy dried radish and tingly- tart pickled cabbage are reasons enough to visit on their own.