Biang!

Basically the same as X’ian but in an actual restaurant setting. The ambience here is nice, and food taste as good as x’ian. There are a few more options here as well.
I typically order the liang pi (cold noodles) and it’s delicious! For those who can’t handle spice, I would recommend that you tell the waiter first since the dishes are rather spicy. The skewers were tasty as well.

When you want to have some authentic Xi’an hand pulled noodle, you get authentic Xi’an dish. (Optional) hot and spicy, woooohooo! What a battle I have to put up with but it was worth it.
This restaurant has a modern chinese vibe, wood panel ceiling giving a feel that you are eating under a hut. On top of that, the three treasure tea that I’ve ordered was genuine tea that is just awesome, cool, tasty, light and it helps washes down the food with ease.

What drew me into Biang were the skewers. I could go on and on about why skewers are my guilty pleasure but let’s just sum it up that food tastes better when its served on a stick.
All the skewers are served in quantities of 3, prices are pretty fair it comes out to about $ 2 — $ 3 a stick. Tip is included in the price so there’s no need to pay gratuity afterward unless you really want to. You’ll still get good service and you’ll be offered water on the rocks.
Lamb — Chewy, tender and juicy. The meat is a bit fattier compared to the beef skewers.
Beef — A bit dry compared to the lamb but the meat is pretty tender.
Enoki Mushroom –The sauce was pretty good, although a bit spicy. It’s the first time I’ve seen an enoki mushroom skewer made without bacon.
A table next to me had endless bottles of booze so I believe this place is BYOB. Cool spot to have skewers that’s not a hole in a wall kind of place and it’s not overpriced. Me likes.

As everyone knows, Biang is essentially the same food as my longtime favorite and extremely popular Xi’an Famous Foods, and has recently relocated to the East Village. And this is a very good thing because Xi’an has perfect food, which you can now get with alcohol and a few other special dishes in a space that’s appropriately nice for a date or Friday night dinner.
Aside from the outstanding noodles and dumplings from Xi’an, Biang offers delicious BBQ skewers (the beef tripe is to die for) — these are also available at the Flushing Xi’an, Biang’s old location, as well as a special noodle dish, the Young Chicken Longevity noodle, which is absolutely awesome.

I’ve been wanting to come here for so long, and last week I finally made it! We had a short wait, just about ten minutes on a Tuesday night — surprisingly packed for a weeknight. We soon found out why.
The interior is beautiful: not too dark but with a more somber, traditional ambience, light pouring in slightly from the street. There’s a bar area when you walk in, or, as we did, you can be seated at a proper table.
We ordered the quail eggs and pork on bun, lamb and chicken skewers, cold stirred noodles, and veggie biang noodles (extra spicy). Of those, the quail eggs were my favorite, followed by the spicy biang noodles. The skewers fell a bit short for me, but I spent four months in Shangahi last year eating proper street food chuar a little too often, so I have a lot to compare it to.
The prices are extremely competitive — even with tip added into the menu price (no extra tipping allowed!), the menu is very affordable! Service was attentive and patient, rounding out a great dining experience.
Overall, very authentic to what I’m used to from Shangahi, true to its Shangahinese claims. Will be back!

I absolutely love this place, from the top to the bottom, and the bottom back to the top, please allow me to explain.
1. Soonest I sat down, I look over the menu, the first thing I notice on the bottom of the first page, it says «Please no tipping, your tip already included in on your bill»
WOW, I wish more restaurants in the U. S, especially NYC be more like you all, I travel throughout the world, and NOBODY ever ask for 20% tip as mandatory, and if we don’t, the server will chase you out the door and tackle you down, no joke there.
But now my question is, is the Server working for the restaurant or working for us the individual that dined there? So for this, I THANK YOU BIANG not like any other restaurants in Manhattan.
2. You know the restaurant is offering good food if they noted clearly on their menu «NO TAKEOUT»
LOL, I loving it, I eaten one of the best restaurant in Hong Kong, and is serving the same attitude, eat here or don’t eat at all. Loving, loving, loving it.
3. I ordered the Beef Stick, Chicken Wing, and the Beef noodles, to be honest, the spice is a little too hot for me, but I love it, the Beef stick is so… good, is one of those thing you must order. I love Chicken Wing, so the one piece of Chicken Wing is $ 3.5, is a little expensive, but is good. Beef Noodles, their noodles is not buy from the store, they make it from scratch, you can taste the different soonest you put in your mouth, YUM, YUM, YUM.
BIANG, YOU ARE GREAT, AND I THANK YOU!

LIke spicy food? No, I mean ACTUALLY spicy food? Well this is the place for you! I am so glad to see a place that stays true to the actual spices used in the cuisine and does not tone it down (they will if you ask, however) !! I ordered the spinach dumplings in broth and not only were the dumpling amazing — large size, full of spinach, 6 in bowl but more than enough– but the broth stole the show, so fresh, so bold, so full of that spice bang! This is the type of food that will give that good spice feel; lips might start to feel tingly and sinuses will clear up! The service was good, we were attended to carefully and the waiter answered any questions we had about the menu. The wait time for food is pretty short but the food comes out at different times rather than all at once which can be a bit tough when you are eating with a larger group.
Overall — yes yes and YES! Go to this restaurant, stimulate your taste buds!

As die hard Xian lovers, my bf and I were very excited to try out Biang, its sit down restaurant counterpart. We came at 7pm on a Thursday night and it was probably about half full, though it filled up by the time we left. It’s spacious and clean, definitely a different feel from Xian’s cramped and casual atmosphere.
As I browsed the menu, I realized that all the noodle dishes were identical to the ones on Xian’s menu except one — the chicken longevity noodles. In addition to noodles, there were various appetizers and skewers. We decided to go for the longevity noodles, the quail egg toast, and the beef skewers.
The skewers (3 of them per order) came out first and they were very good. The meat was well cooked and seasoned generously. Good ratio of fat and lean meat.
Then came the quail egg toast — probably my favorite! So unique and cutely presented. It also came 3 per order. The egg yolk was perfectly runny and sitting atop a really flavorful piece of sausage and a crispy piece of mantou. It brought back memories of the grilled mantou that my grandma used to make.
Lastly came the longevity noodles. The waiter brought it out on a huge plate and made a big show of cutting the noodles with a pair of scissors. The noodles were long and cylindrical, different from the wide noodles in all their other noodle dishes. Super slippery and chewy, which I loved. There was also a good amount of chicken and veggies. The taste of the dish was mediocre though, mainly tasting of slightly spicy soy sauce. The dish was also the most expensive by far — $ 19. I don’t think that it was worth that much especially when all the other noodle dishes were $ 10-​$ 12.
Overall Biang was a good experience but fell just slightly below my expectations. Food was on the expensive side (but tip is included which is a plus). I expected more menu items unique from Xian’s menu, but most are the same. I do want to see how the same items compare at Biang vs Xian’s so I could see myself returning to do that. Otherwise I feel like the speed and ease of Xian’s is enough to satisfy my spicy noodle cravings.

This place is awesome. How can you not like a restaurant with a name like «Biang!»?
Great vibe and great food. Maybe it’s the exclamation point, but it just feels like a fun spot. I’ve been here twice, both on weekends, and both times I think I got the last open table. The portions are good and it’s pretty cheap — a good biang for your buck, if you will. My boyfriend and I each got an order of dumplings, then split two skewers (the cauliflower ones were great!), and it was plenty. Gotta come back and try the noodles!

Food is authentic. It’s a regional Chinese cuisine characterized by strong spices (cumin, pepper, chili etc), lots of lamb, noodle dishes, oily, spicy, salty. Pretty good for what it is but not everyone’s digestive system can handle it so be forewarned.
I liked the lamb skewers (pretty solid, without making a trek out to Flushing, though there is a food cart by Columbia that does it better), fern salad (fern tossed with a pretty good vinegary salty spicy sauce — sourness is a good balance to all the other oily dishes). I’m not really big on noodles/​carbs as a whole but theirs did seem very fresh and hand made.
Also had lamb dumplings, chicken heart skewers, squid skewers, enoki mushrooms. All in all it was a little too oily/​salty/​spicy for my palate — without quite enough other tastes to refresh/​counter balance. Which isn’t to say the food isn’t good, just wasn’t for me. (I ended up drinking like a bucket of water.)
Environment is urban trendy — pretty interesting décor, clean and bright, but cramped and very loud. Could barely hear due to other tables around me all speaking at the top of their lungs. (This is St Mark’s though so arguably not a minus per se. Just personal annoyance.)
Service is hit and miss. (Given that they don’t take tips, I guess service is pretty good.)
Good — Some waiters really knowledgeable and helpful (important if you have no idea what you’re looking at — no photos on the menu, I for one could barely tell the difference between all the noodle variations, and I read Chinese).
Bad — Waiters kept trying to squeeze by to get to other tables, with a couple of close calls almost spilling food on us in the process.
Overall a pretty interesting experience. Definitely some unique dishes. I can see they put thought into making it welcoming to non-​Chinese. Main suggestion on the menu side may be to think about how to balance the heavy/​salty food a little more — drinks, side dishes, or whatnot, so it’s less overwhelming when consuming 5Xs my daily allowance of sodium.

After the unpleasant time either Biang last time, the owner of Biang contacted my friend and me to explain the reason and invited us back for another visit with kind discount offer.
The new visit was great! Food, drinks, and service, we enjoyed everything. Instead of going with the most famous dish — noodles, we decided to go with a new brunch combinations from their menu: quail egg over mantou, authentic BBQ lamb skewers, and some MaLaTang spicy soup boiled veggies. The quail egg is inspired by egg Benedicts, but they creatively incorporated Chinese elements — beef meat cooked with Chinese spices and slightly toasted mantou.
Transformed from street food styled XiAn Famous Food to Biang! is slightly upscale and modern yet informal. Also an interesting spot to discover Chinese style brunch! (Quail egg over mantou is a must-​try).
Lastly, the service! We had a great time enjoy the whole meal and our waiters constantly combing back checking on us and refilling our teas. We are now happily returning the rest of the stars that Biang deserves! Will come back =)

So after our complaint about service about a month ago, manager of Biang! has communicated with us on the issue and was willing to provide some discount on our next meal; so my friend and I paid an extra visit.
We came in around noon, so decided to experience some small-​bite type of dishes rather than its signature hand-​pulled noodle. While my personal favorite was quail egg and sausage on mantou slices (so crispy and the egg yolk was melting in my mouth); both of us pretty much enjoyed everything. I guess what’s special about Biang! was that it was able to bring a street-​cart culture into a less-​than-​casual dining experience, while maintaining its authenticity.
Last but not least — service. Yeah I really saw improvement here as our waiter constantly coming back, checking on us and refilling our tea. After all, it was not difficult to provide an attentive service to match with their great food, and Biang! did that. Ok you deserve the rest of stars now and I’m willing to give them back.

The restaurant’s name is an onomatopoeia. It comes from the sound of when the dough is being banged against the counter in the noodle making process. I had the cumin lamb noodles, dry, with medium spice level and it was delicious; I can’t imagine what spicy would taste like. We also had the veggie skewers and cumin lamb burger as the appetizer and the veggie skewers won me over. The sauce they used has a slight peanut taste to it. The restaurant itself has ample amount of seating so it shouldn’t be a problem for customers to walk in and get seated right away. However for larger groups during prime dinner hours it may get a bit tricky since they do not take reservations.
Tip: This place does not take American Express cards

3.5 stars
I’ve never been to Xi’an’s because of my low tolerance for spicy food so I wasn’t adequately prepared for Biang! But $ 9 for noodles? It’s not as cheap as Chinatown or Flushing but definitely a bargain in the East Village! Plus, I liked the name and hip décor. (The restaurant is named after the sound the noodles make when they’re being pulled and slammed onto the counter.)
I ordered their Mt. Qi Vegetables Biang-​Biang Noodles without the soup (+$ 2 for soup). Our waitress said it was on the ³⁄₁₀ scale in terms of spiciness. That didn’t sound too bad. My friend ordered the Spicy Cumin Lamb Biang-​Biang Noodles, which was a mild to medium level.
My ³⁄₁₀ was HOT and more of a ⁸⁄₁₀ on my weak meter. My friend, who loves spicy food, was sweating from her mild/​medium. But it was good and I enjoyed the wide flat rice noodles immensely. Not coming back though.

I’m just saying you could do better
Arrived here on a Friday night around 7pm, and there was a line to the door already! Thank goodness, my friends waited earlier and we were able to a table.
Biang is infamously known for their noodles to be like Xi’an noodles (sure if they’re associated with each).
Ever since tasting Xi’an noodles, I have pretty high expectation for wide noodles.
Ordered the Vegetable Sauce noodles. The whole meal presumably satisfying BUT knowing that Xi’an is out there, may alter my judgement. The dish was lacking in vegetables, barely a 3 spoonfuls of vegetables. Noodles were wide but not chewy or full like Xi’an’s.
If I craved for spicy cozy noodles and wanted to sit down and eat, I would probably chose Biang. But no place has topped Xi’an noodles for me yet.

This place is extremely packed, which makes it hard to maneuver since everyone is in such a tight area. But it’s worth it when the food taste good!
I ordered the spicy cumin lamb noodles (dry version). The soup version is an extra $ 2. It was the perfect amount of spice! It wasn’t spicy to the point where I couldn’t even enjoy it, so I appreciate that. I liked that the noodles were broad and had a great texture to it. The only thing I would change is that the bottom of the bowl was too oily. It was a bit over whelming for the noodles on the bottom. Also, don’t expect a lot of meat for this dish. Comes with very little shredded pieces.
All in all, I enjoyed my food and would come back.

I used to live one block away from Xi’an Famous Foods a few years ago, and the first thing Xi’an welcomes you with when you come in is «*WARNING: PLEASE READ
Food tastes best when fresh from the kitchen. When hot noodles cool down, they get bloated, mushy, and oily. If you must take your noodles to go, please at least try the noodles in the store or right out of the to-​go containers when it’s handed to you, so you can get the best possible Xi’an Famous Foods experience.»
So it only makes sense that they actually have a sit-​down restaurant, where you can relax– not sit crouched over your hot noodles Gollum-​style, and eat some cheap, good as$ Chinese.
Biang! (Onomatopoeia for the sound the hand pulled noodles make when you slap it. Ha, I totally did not sell that.) used to be in Flushing. Now it has gloriously moved into East Village and we (I’m speaking for all of us, right?) couldn’t be more thrilled.
Let’s get down and dirty–
Order (for two) for winter:
Spicy & Sour Pork Dumplings in Broth
Spicy Cumin Lamb Burger (one for each, if you’re hungry)
Stewed Pork Biang Biang Noodles (without broth)
Maybe throw in a Spicy Cumin Toasted Bun or two if you’re hangry.
Other possible noodle options I’d suggest rotating in:
Spicy Cumin Lamb Biang-​Biang Noodles
Stewed Oxtail Biang Biang Noodles
Order for summer:
Liang Pi «Cold Skin» Noodles: refreshing… more of a salad crunch mixed in with the chewy, soft noodles
What I’d skip:
Quail Eggs on Sausage & Toasted Mantou Slices: While quail eggs photograph well, the flavor was lacking, and the texture was a bit mushy and off putting. Maybe the fact that it’s served room temperature also accentuates the whole «meh» reaction I got.
Drinks:
— Sour hawberry tea — sweet, but slightly tart finish… great refreshing accompaniment to cut the spice level of your food
— Three treasures tea: the only hot tea they have. The whole experience is exciting as a hot tea can get, as they put these little «treasures» in a (very small) tea cup and cover it with water/​lid. I think they should put in more loose tea, because the flavor was incredibly mild.
*Notes: Definitely indicate your spice level when ordering. They know how to crank it up and will if you don’t specify.
* $ 10 min on one credit card
* I’m not a skewer person, so ask someone else about them. I just don’t love the whole meat on a stick situation.
I love this place. Your tummy might hurt from ingesting all the oils. I love this place.

Coming from the same magic that brought you Xian Famous Foods, comes BIANG! The Xian Hand Pulled Noodle Wonder!
Now this place has delicious hand pulled cumin lamb noodles, and their Lamb Burger is so cheap and tasty! The noodles have a nice spice making them even better! The only thing I have against this place is their Lamb Skewers. They were mediocre at best. I rushed over here once I heard that they were servincg these skewers and was so excited to finally have a place in around here serving Xian Skewers, rather than in Flushing.
This place is a couple dollars more than Xian Famous Foods, and with that coule dollars, you get a nicer ambiance, a quaint seating area, and some very friendly service. They had all the makings of a fantastic restaurant; however, the only thing that is bothering me is that the restaurant really isn’t different from Xian Famous Foods other than their skewers. That’s the only differential ply defining factor, and when you have mediocre defining factors, well, you get four stars not five. I’ll still definitely come back, but next time I’ll pass on the Lamb Skewers.

Food: 3.5÷5.0
Service: 2.5÷5.0
Value: 4.0÷5.0
Décor: 3.0÷5.0
Overall: 3.5÷5.0
Despite reasonable pricing, Biang, and more importantly Xi’an, are both over-​rated. That said, I’m a fan of skewers and hand pulled noodles, so my issue is not that the food is bad at all but that this place gets so much love. I’m a big fan of the chang’an spicy soft tofu.

Xi’An Famous Foods is one of my favorite places in NY, but the limited seating situation always gave me great anxiety. I am so glad to have a sit-​down alternative, and I think the food is actually better as well!
The sauteed young chicken longevity noodles is one of the best dishes I’ve had in a while. The chicken was tender, the potatoes were perfectly charred, and those hand-​pulled udon-​like noodles were EVERYTHING. We also had the enoki skewers (interesting), spicy and sour lamb dumplings in soup (delicious albeit slightly gamey), and the bok choy (something I could make at home, but my momma told me to always eat greens at dinner!).
Service is swift (we were there on a Friday night with a line of people waiting out the door), but our water glasses were always filled, which is great, since the food is spicy!