While in the first installment in the Beyond Sichuan series I went south, this time I’m going north – to Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province. This city, a large proportion of whose population are of the Hui Muslim minority, is home to the famous Lanzhou Lamian, a.k.a Lanzhou ‘Pulled Noodles’: fresh wheat dough pulled by hand into long, even strands, and served in a plain meat broth. It is a cheap, filling and delicious meal.

Luckily, I don’t have to go all the way to Lanzhou to eat Lamian, as they are found in cities across China and Chengdu is no exception. My local Lamian joint is run by a friendly family, whose littlest member is particularly cute.

Like most Lamian restaurants, my local is open much later than many other eating establishments, so is particularly convenient for a midnight snack. But the absolute best thing about Lamian is its preparation, which is visually wonderful and usually done within eyesight of the diners. Through a magical and mind-boggling process of twisting, folding, pulling and loud slapping of the dough onto the work-board, the chef creates perfect noodles from raw dough in mere seconds. He also makes it all seem ridiculously easy, which, I am quite sure, it’s not.

Here are some photos of the making of Lamian at my local restaurant. The finished dish itself isn’t that much of a looker – just noodle soup with some sliced beef and fresh coriander; it’s the making of the noodles, right in front of you, and the visual spectacle it involves, that makes Lamian so special.