Six Alley Xi’an Biang Biang Noodle

Over the past several years, numerous regional Chinese noodle shops have opened across central Orange County – one-offs such as Dun Huang (now Noodle Nest), Taibat Noodle House, and Xishang Roodle, small chains like Noodle St., and bigger chains including Mian. Operating on the edge of Santa Ana near Irvine, Six Alley (also known as Six Alley Xi’an Biang Biang Noodle or Six Alley Noodle & AsianBurger) is another option, though it’s arguably more appealing in concept than execution.

As its names suggest, Six Alley specializes in two things: handmade noodles and roujiamo “burgers” from Xi’an, China. Most of the two-sided single-page menu consists of noodle dishes – most offered with your choice of “finger-wide,” even wider biang biang (+$1), or spinach noodles – plus two roujiamo (mild pork or cumin-spiced beef) and a handful of appetizers ranging from cold cucumbers to hot tripe skewers. You can order from a slightly larger menu by using your smartphone and a QR code at the table, or a server will stop over with a tablet to help walk you through the choices.

We ordered three appetizers and three different noodle dishes, each ranging from okay to good. Despite selecting noodle dishes that looked and sounded unique, the results reminded us of ordering a latte, cappuccino, and mocha at a coffee shop – their flavors were similar, even though the proportions of ingredients differed a little. One bowl had a large beef rib, another chunks of beef, and a third minced pork, each flavored with a chili oil and spice mix that was oil-heavy in one bowl, chili heavy in the next, and cilantro-spiced in another. Two of the bowls had finger-wide noodles, the third biang biang noodles that only looked a little bigger than the others. 

Despite the menu’s promise of a “bold and aromatic” taste, the most expensive ($19) bowl – “oil-poured noodle with braised beef rib” – had the mildest flavor and little more than its larger portion of meat to distinguish it from the others. As you can see from the photo above, it looks nearly majestic, but isn’t much more than the sum of its parts.