Columbus is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States; according to the US Census Bureau, it is the only city in the Midwest to be among the top-15 in population gains between 2017 and 2018. Despite (or because of) the increase, I have mixed feelings about the Columbus dining scene, with my primary critiques being that there’s too much emphasis on Modern American bar/grill fare and that quality has not caught up with the notable increase in prices.
However, one exception to this ambivalence is the city’s Chinese cuisine, which is both growing and producing good food. In some sense, this should not be a surprise: in addition to Columbus’s overall population growth, the behemoth university in the city, Ohio State, is also growing, fuelled in part by overseas Chinese students. Based on 2018 numbers, of the roughly 66,000 students at Ohio State, 6399 of them were international students; of this number, 4150 were from China. Combined with growing numbers of long-term residents of Chinese ethnicity and broader interest in Chinese cuisine, that means the central Ohio region can serve as a platform for Chinese eateries, particularly those that offer a break from older American Chinese paradigms. This recent upsurge in Chinese cuisine includes two noodle-centric shops, Noodle Topia and Sha Luzhou’s Xi Xia Western Chinese Cuisine.
However, one exception to this ambivalence is the city’s Chinese cuisine, which is both growing and producing good food. In some sense, this should not be a surprise: in addition to Columbus’s overall population growth, the behemoth university in the city, Ohio State, is also growing, fuelled in part by overseas Chinese students. Based on 2018 numbers, of the roughly 66,000 students at Ohio State, 6399 of them were international students; of this number, 4150 were from China. Combined with growing numbers of long-term residents of Chinese ethnicity and broader interest in Chinese cuisine, that means the central Ohio region can serve as a platform for Chinese eateries, particularly those that offer a break from older American Chinese paradigms. This recent upsurge in Chinese cuisine includes two noodle-centric shops, Noodle Topia and Sha Luzhou’s Xi Xia Western Chinese Cuisine.
Sha came to Columbus 10 years ago to study photography, but given the challenges of that field, decided to open a restaurant dedicated to the cuisine of his home, the northwest Chinese autonomous region of Ningxia. Ningxia is known for being the center of the 11th/12th century Western Xia dynasty–the origin of Xi Xia’s name–as well as a large number of Muslims because the region’s role as a gateway to Central Asia. The large Muslim population and Ningxia’s proximity to the city of Lanzhou, famed for its hand-stretched noodles, which means that Xi Xia’s strengths lies in lamb and noodles. Unfortunately, I’ve never taken to the flavor of lamb and declined to select such dishes from Xi Xia’s menu, such as its Minced Lamb Noodles or its Signature Rice Pilaf, with the latter signalling Ningxia’s Central Asian links with its use of lamb, raisins, and carrots. I would have to make do with just the noodles.
That was no loss, since Xi Xia’s Stirred Noodles is a standout dish due to a terrific brothless combination of garlic, chili pepper, cumin, scallions, and cilantro that is then paired with slices of blanched beef and stretchy yet snappy medium-wide/thick noodles. The noodles are undoubtedly the star of the show, but praise must also be given to such a simple yet effective combination of ingredients and flavors. Likewise could also be said for its Dapanji Stirred Noodles, which features chopped-up, bone-in chicken cooked with potatoes, peppers, onion, and cilantro in hot chili sauce, then poured over the same noodles. It’s similarly tasty, though the problem here is that it arrives steaming hot, and diners have to balance their desire to wolf down their bowls quickly against the dangerous trifecta of: 1) steam rising from the dish; 2) the tendency of the sauce to splatter onto shirts; 3) chicken bones preventing quicker bites. If I could change one thing about this dish, it would be to use boneless chicken and use the time saved to go home and scrub my shirts.
Though Xi Xia, according to Nicole Rasul’s excellent review, did not originally offer the Chinese mainstay of pork due to Ningxia’s Muslim-influenced cooking, the restaurant has since adopted a number of dishes that appeal to a wider dining audience. This includes items such as Sichuan hot pot, Kimchi fried rice, and Miso Noodles. This is a wise business decision, but the results can be hit-or-miss. For instance, the Taiwanese specialty of Salt & Pepper (Fried) Chicken was a fairly poor rendition: the chicken felt limp, not freshly cooked, and the basil aroma was muted, if even present at all. More successful was the Shanghainese Hong Shao Rou (Braised Pork Belly) over rice, cooked in a sauce with peppers, onions, and fried tofu. However anatopic such a dish might be for a northwest Chinese restaurant, it was awfully tasty.
Xi Xia was recently selected as one of Columbus Monthly’s 15 Best New Restaurants, and the shop’s burgeoning popularity over the past year has already prompted Sha to source his originally made-in-house noodles to National Noodles in Powell (I might have the supplier’s name wrong) and to consider looking for a larger space where he might be able to make noodles in-house again. The restaurant’s menu is relatively simple–it features a tomato and egg dish that even I could make as a teen–but the items are affordable, have distinct flavors that combine well with with each other, and are paired with stretchy, snappy, delicious noodles. It doesn’t need to be any more complicated than that.
Rating: Highly Recommended
Items of Note: Any of the noodles, particularly the Signature Xi Xia Noodles; Hong Shao Rou over Rice
To Try: Signature Beef noodles; Tomato and Egg Stirred noodles
Xi Xia Western Chinese Cuisine
1140 Kenny Centre Mall
Columbus, OH 43220