A new restaurant aims to bring a taste of regional food from one of China’s oldest and largest cities to Northern Virginia.
Chin’s Xi’An Style Restaurant plans to bring hand-ripped noodles, prepared in a home style inspired by foods in Xi’An — the capital city of Shaanxi, a province in northwestern central China — when it opens its third location this August in Fairfax City. The new location will be based inside the 99 Ranch Market at 10780 Fairfax Blvd, with takeout or seating available in the grocery store.
The Maryland-based company, which already has locations in Ellicott City and Jersey City, New Jersey, was founded during the pandemic by Landy Zhang. He would make liangpi — a cold, springy noodle dish — and pack it up in containers, leaving it at friends’ doors to cheer them up.
“I wanted to eat something that just makes me happy,” Landy told FFXnow in a recent interview.
By 2023, he had opened the restaurant’s first location in Ellicott City, and named the business Chin — a reference to the imperial “Qin” dynasty that ruled China around 221 BC and also the everyday name for the Shaanxi region.
One of his customers was Shuyan Zhang, a student from the Shaanxi region working towards his master’s degree in Maryland (despite sharing a last name, the two are not related).
While the graduate student could find foods that reminded him of his hometown, they felt a little commercial — not quite the right amount and blends of spices, he said.
“I wanted something sweet. I wanted something a little sour, and a little spicy flavor,” recalled Shuyan.
So, Shuyan drove 40 minutes from Rockville, where he lives, to Ellicott City, to try the hand-ripped wheat noodles.
He was quickly hooked — and is now the general manager for the Fairfax location.
For a first-time visitor, Shuyan recommends pairing a plum juice with the three-in-one hand-ripped noodles, for “the Korean style zhajiang, for the protein, the tomato for the color and for the juicy flavor, and also the hot oil spots.”
Landy recommends his favorite: the 12-hour braised pork murger, a sandwich-style dish made with a flatbread.
The two said they hope that customers will walk away from a meal feeling like they had the chance to sample a traditional meal.
“The house-made and commercial product is totally different,” said Shuyan. “House-made will have more flavor.”
