Why, oh why does this amazing little find of a restaurant have to be so far away from where I live?
Remember how I’ve been hunting for hand-pulled noodles since like, forever? How, after not being able to find any in Boston, I set out to learn how to make them, culminating in this crazy video that I made for Project Food Blog Round 7? And how I even went to Beijing and tried to learn the art of noodle pulling from a real master?
It’s been a tough decade since Noodle Alcove closed.
But the days of waiting are now over . . . sort of.
This past November, a tiny little hole-in-the-wall Chinese “cafe” quietly opened up in Chelmsford, a suburb about 45-minutes outside of Boston. Gene Wu, the proprietor of this humble place, cranks out some insanely incredible hand-pulled noodles, along with several other authentic and very tasty dishes from the region of Xi’an, most famous for its terra cotta warriors.
The lamb stew (羊肉泡沫 yang rou pao muo) is a classic Xi’an style dish. Traditionally, the server brings out the dense bread for the diner to break up into small pieces.
According to Mrs. Wu, Gene’s wife (who worked front of the counter and also served us our food), breaking bread is a very social affair in Xi’an. People will sit together at the table and slowly break up the break into tiny, tiny pieces while chatting. It’s time consuming, but sort of fun because you’re also socializing.
When I initially broke up the bread (see pic above), Mrs. Wu told me that my pieces were too big.
“The smaller the pieces, the better it absorbs the soup, which makes for a much more flavorful dish overall.”
She handed it back to us and told us to keep on shredding. When the pieces are finally of sufficient acceptable size (about 1 cm squares!), the server takes the bread back and moments later, brings you this amazing soup.
This lamb stew consists of slices of lamb, various mushrooms (e.g., woodear), vermicelli, and a really flavorful broth.
It was warm and hearty, yet not at all greasy. I really felt healthy eating this, like I was being nourished. I really, really enjoyed this soup, and could totally see myself craving this on a cold winter night.
But wait, what about the hand-pulled noodles?
These noodles, called “Biang Biang Mian”, are so named because the hand-pulling action make this “bang bang” sound when you slap the noodle dough against the table.
These were awesome. The texture was far better than any noodle in Boston – period. It was thick, chewy, and had that perfect “QQ” bite to it. Tossed with tons of garlic, chili powder, cilantro, and scallions, it is absolutely loaded with flavor, and really quite addictive, might I add.
Oh it’s so hard to pick a favorite, because I loved the Xi’an Chilled Noodles (“Liang pi”) as well, which are only available on weekends. These noodles are lighter yet also have a really neat, chewy texture that’s also quite addictive. The chili oil in which they are tossed is garlicky, spicy, and vinegary. It was refreshing and would be perfect on a hot summer day.
This place is a true gem and I’m so so sad that it’s so far away. I’m a little jealous of Bryan, actually, whose office is only 4 miles away from this place. Grrrr – he could eat here for lunch once a week if he wanted!
I had a chance to chat with Gene himself (in pure Mandarin!), who is a really, really friendly guy. He told me he had originally wanted to open up his restaurant in Boston, but alas he couldn’t find the right space. So when this space opened up in Chelmsford, he was so anxious to open something by that point, he just took it.
I asked him if he would consider opening up a place in Boston.
He looked at his daughter (a little girl around five years old) and said, “maybe when she goes to college I can move.”
That kind of broke my heart right there.
But it’s OK, really. I shouldn’t be so demanding. Seriously, I’m thrilled that I can drive less than an hour and access some pretty incredible Chinese food. This really has become one of my new favorite Chinese restaurants in the Boston area. The food is excellent, the prices are dirt cheap (the most expensive item is $6.50), and the owners are really, really cool people.
We ended up going back up and ordering second helpings of our favorite dishes – both the Biang Biang Noodles and the Xi’an Cold Noodles!
I guess 13 years is a long time to wait for this place to come to Boston. For now, I’m at Bryan’s mercy on whether he chooses to drive there after work to pick up noodles for me.
If you have a car and enjoy trying out new, unusual, and interesting Chinese food, definitely check this place out. There’s definitely nothing in Boston quite like it, and I think we are so fortunate to finally have hand pulled noodles in (greater) Boston, once again.
Update: the restaurant moved to Woburn
466 Main St, Woburn, MA 01801
(781) 938-6888
Second location in Boston open Monday – Saturday
86 Bedford St
Boston, MA 02111
(617) 482-1888
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I must say it’s good to see a review of this place. I live very near the restaurant – I tend to frequent the Thai restaurant up the street, which I highly recommend by the way. I’ve never however been to the cafe. “Flatbread Cafe” always left me wondering what exactly they specialized in. It’s been several different restaurants in the past few years but it seems I’ll have to try it out.
Thanks!
You’re so lucky to live so close! I hope you like it. 🙂
wow, those dishes look like the real deal. 🙂 i love the story about breaking bread — and that she told you to keep on shredding! the owners seem to really care about what they do. what a special place.
This is super close to some of the other places I’ve ate for lunch during the week! Going to give this a shot today, I’ve got a serious noodle craving going! Thanks for the post!
Glad to see you made it out to Gene’s – the biang biang mian and the lamb skewers are my two favorite dishes.
I have driven past Gene’s many times as I live in the area, but never ventured in to eat. I recently looked for reviews and came across your post and yesterday I decided to give it a try. I loved the House Noodles so much I went back again today for lunch! Probably going to do take out from Gene’s on Monday – they are usually closed on Mondays but will be open for New Year’s Eve. I met Gene yesterday and today was lucky to see Gene again and meet his wife and daughter. They are all so lovely. I told Mrs. Wu that I was in for the first time yesterday and dreamed about the House Noodles so I came back today. She asked if I lived close by and I told her yes. She said, “You are lucky. Some people drive here from Boston.”, and I thought of you. I agree with her – I am lucky to live close!
This past November, a tiny little hole-in-the-wall Chinese “cafe”
quietly opened up in Chelmsford, a suburb about 45-minutes outside of
Boston. Gene Wu, the proprietor of this humble place.
I am so lucky. Could walk there if I had to. It’s wonderful when someplace wonderful is out in the sticks for us. Almost don’t want them to be famous ’cause they’ll move in town. Couldn’t be sadder for me and happier for them to be a success!
Did you hear? Sounds like he’s opening in Boston after all!
Gene’s is awesome. My son and I were there today.
There is now a Boston Location. The Chelmsford location has closed, replaced by a location in Woburn center.