Restaurant: The Spicy Noodle Guan

When we have a craving for a little bit of spice in a our lives, we head over to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant we fondly call, "The Spicy Noodle Guan." Guan, or 馆 means "shop" or "house."

B, A, BFF, & J walking to the noodle place

Before I came to China, I was a bit of a spice wimp. I tear up when eating buffalo wings and I can't handle hot wings without regretting it later. But the BFF has a way of encouraging me to try things I haven't before (for example, Indian food!). At the noodle shop, I don't get the 辣面 là miàn, literally "spicy noodle," because it's killer spicy for me. But I do enjoy the other dishes that back a good spice punch themselves. 

From right to left:
土豆丝 tǔdòu sī - literally "potato silk;" actually potato strips in a hot vinegar sauce
干煸四季豆 gān biān sìjì dòu - dry stir-fried green beans with bits of pork and Chinese peppercorns
地三鮮 de sān xiān - literally "earth three fresh;" actually fried eggplant, green peppers, and potato
The 辣面 là miàn in the background is the big soup-like dish with noodles and HOT RED BROTH.

Want some spice?

When you walk into a restaurant that has racks of hanging hot red peppers by the stringful, you know that everything is going to taste spicy. Normally this restaurant is crowded with people, all enjoying their daily dose of hot. The 老板 lǎobǎn (cook/owner/boss) is a young lady who knows our group and our orders (for example, she knows I don't get the noodles but order a small cup of rice instead). I assume we're probably the only Westerners that frequent this joint, and we stick out pretty bad when the place is full of locals. 

It's not much, but it's our Spicy Noodle Guan

Today, because of the snow, the Spicy Noodle Guan was empty! Only a small group of girls was finishing up when we came in; by the time we left, we were the only ones there.

The best thing about this place (and a general awesome fact about hole-in-the-wall eateries in China) is that the entire meal, everything pictured above and two more spicy noodles, cost 45 RMB (USD $7.25). And I've never left this place unsatisfied with what I ate: tasty, spicy, salty goodness.