Sichuan-style hand-pulled noodles with lamb

I wanted to go to Gene’s Chinese Flatbread Cafe for lunch yesterday, but they are closed on Mondays, so my wife suggested we go to Sichuan Gourmet instead. I didn’t need my arm twisted.

Sichuan Gourmet has a specials menu that changes up from time to time, and I think this is the first time we’d ever seen hand-pulled noodles on their menu. I was primed for noodles, so I ordered the hand-pulled noodles with lamb (pork intestines being the other meat option), and Bridget ordered “sweet-and-spicy”. The waiter pointed out to her that her choice was a “two-pepper” dish (everything at SG comes in either HOT or VERY HOT), but she waved him off because we know how spicy the food is.

I’m not sure that I believe that the noodles I got were hand-pulled, because they seemed a lot like regular wide noodles to me, but maybe that’s just the differene between Sichuan-style and Xi’an-style (the noodles we get at Gene’s). The dish was decidely Sichuan, though. Plenty of Sichuan peppercorns, and a thin, peppery sauce filled with chopped red chilies. It also had several whole baby bok choy in it, and thinly-sliced lamb. It was really good, but I think I like the thick noodles and heavy garlic of the Xi’an noodles a little bit better.