Thanks for the pointer! I didn’t know there was Shaanxi food in Belmont Center but also hadn’t been recently and figured it was new. Yes and no, it turns out; 30 Leonard Street is also Shine’s Fresh Asian and has been there a while. GMaps describes it as a “relaxed spot for sushi & Pan-Asian eats,” the kind of place I’d look at near home but generally don’t travel for.
Shine’s still offers Americanized Chinese and Asian fusion (gotta keep your regulars happy) but dropped the sushi in early 2021 and started focusing more on “a Northern Chinese menu in partnership with a chain from China called Xi’an Rougamo” and may be changing their name soon (per Yelp reviews). That explains my initial confusion.
We already had Saturday take-out dinner plans with an area friend so Shine’s / Xi’An Rougamo #3 was an obvious target. We ordered from their toasttab menu, which includes the Shaanxi offerings and a nice assortment of Sichuan dishes. Our order was ready when we arrived a good ten minutes before the 17:40 pick-up time (early dinnertime probably helped). Short form: we liked it and friend is already planning lunches from there.
For our Shaanxi sampler we went with a Cumin Lamb Rougamo (very good bread indeed, lamb a bit under-seasoned, will try a different filling), Ma Jiang Liang Pi (Spicy) (not very hot but good with lots of veg and sesame), and the Hand-pulled Biang biang noodle with pork (item as described above, minus the egg which we forgot; next time). My heart will always belong to Gene’s liang pi and hand-pulled noodles (I guess you never forget your first) but Shine’s are definitely worth exploring more.
Also, a hot day called for more cold dishes: friend was curious about the Mouthwatering Chicken and enjoyed it, and the Cold Noodles With Sesame Sauce (a comfort-food favorite) were deemed excellent and vanished in short order. I expect those will be a repeat item for us.
Lastly, the Fish Filets With Dry Chili Sauce were tasty; loved the mix of hua jiao, green & red chilis, and flavorful onions. I think our next fried target will be the Deep Fried Chicken With Spicy Capsicum, which I hope will have similar seasoning. Dan dan noodles are going on the “try” list too.
I rarely get pics before the food disappears but managed this one: fish fillets and liang pi.
