XIN TASTE LAN ZHOU HAND PULL NOODLE

• 72-38 Austin Street

• Forest Hills, NY 11375

• (718) 520-5199 •

A late lunch brought Lutsy and I to Xin Taste a few days ago. We wanted cheap, good, fast, and not burgers. Neither of us had been to Xin Taste, the pulled noodle spot on Austin Street. Pulled noodles have become quite the trend in the last year, with restaurants popping up across the city; Chinese cuisine's answer to ramen. It makes sense. I won't get into politics, but life ain't cheap. Hence, the rise in demand for dining options that are. Enter Xin Taste. Huge portions and not a burger in sight.

Xin taste is small. It has just a few tables and one long counter. If you're like me, your inner nerd emerged began and you immediately thought of Blade Runner. If only it was pouring rain, pitch black out, and the cars flew. Definitely grab a seat along the wall, watch the chef through the window make the noodles from scratch and whip them like jump-rope stretching them out, and enjoy the coziness of eating at the only noodle bar in the area.

Lutsy and I both ordered soups with thin noodles. She ordered Roast Pork La Mein Soup, and I ordered the House Special La Mein Soup. All of the soups come with your choice of beef broth or clear broth. "The clear broth is pretty tasteless, but the vegans like it" said the girl taking our order with a no-accounting-for-taste look on her face. "Sometimes, they even just ask for plain hot water." I told her we'd go with the beef broth.

The soups both came loaded with cilantro and scallion and with a hard-boiled egg and some additional veggies. Throw in some hot pepper or vinegar and let your sinuses open up while you smell that deliciousness. The bowls are big. I'd say you get a solid quart's worth for your money. The main difference, if not the only difference, between our choices was the meat. The House Special comes with a variety: spare ribs, roast pork, roast beef, and sausage. I was most surprised by how good the sausage was. And if anyone ever asks you if you should throw your spare ribs into a soup, you now know that the answer was yes. The one downside was that the cuts are cheap and by the time the soup was done there was a little collection of fat or bone or cartilage to throw away on the side of the tray. All the same, this was a great bowl of soup. I couldn't wait to return.

So I did. I came back a few days later by myself to try a stir fry. I chose the Roast Pork Dao Xiao Mein (the wide noodle). Again, the amount you get is massive. The couple next to me, as they were leaving, remarked how full they were and probably won't need anything else for the rest of the day. This is clearly a common response. The wide noodles are thick and doughy and they stick together into delicious globs. The meal is essentially a stew. It's thick and syrupy. There were mushrooms, tomato, bok choi, and sprouts along with my roast pork, but not nearly as many as I would have liked. More vegetables are always a plus in my book, especially with a dish as starch-heavy as this. That doesn't mean it wasn't good. Even though I preferred the soup, and will likely stick to soup at Xin Taste from now on, I all but licked my plate clean.

"So how is this soup different from ramen?" Lutsy asked as we left. Well, I told her, it's hard to explain but you'll see for yourself when Tamashii opens up down the block.

Each bowl of soup or stir fry dish ranges from $10 to $13.