Credit: Faiyaz Kara
My first visit to Slap Hand-Ripped Noodles happened to be on the night the restaurant (very quietly) opened. I popped in at around 8:30 p.m. — a pit stop on a late-night airport run — and took a seat at an empty booth in a largely empty restaurant. When I left, I was convinced it was the last time I’d shovel their food in such a hushed setting.
The next day, a wait for a lunchtime seat clocked in at 90 minutes, while an hour-long line — for four hours straight — greeted dinnertime guests. I’m sure the Instagram reel, however amateurish, I posted the night before didn’t help to shorten those queues, but it did reveal the mastery with which chef-owner Eric Yang, who also runs Ma Lu Bian Bian Hot Pot on West Colonial Drive, slapped and ripped those noodles before tossing them into a boiler basket.
Yang, you see, spent a fair bit of time in Xi’an, the capital city of Shaanxi Province in China, learning the art of ripping noodles and plating them into fetching, meat-filled heaps of pasta-rized porn. If you’re not transfixed by the signature three-way chili slap noodles with sliced pork cooked in vinegar and spices, lightly stewed tomato and egg, and a poached mix of potato, celery and carrot sitting atop biang biang noodles ($17), slap down an extra $8 for a luscious slab of short rib and your order will draw the envy of every waiting customer.
Slap Hand-Ripped Noodles dumplings Credit: Faiyaz Kara
Also in that bowl, apart from the bok choy, sprouts, cilantro, minced garlic and chopped scallions, is a spoonful of pulverized aromatics made from nine secret spices highlighted by the qin chili, a warming pepper, not overpoweringly intense but rich in flavor, that’s native to Shaanxi. Watching the powder being scalded by a pour of hot oil is as deeply gratifying as slurping those exemplary squigglers. Those who relish a bit of sweat trickling down the neck can reach out for the house-made chili oil spiked with 17 different spices. It’s as good as it gets. And really, you can’t miss with any of their noodle bowls — I’ve been just as wowed by the cumin lamb chili slap noodles ($16) as I’ve been by the all-vegetable version ($15).Â
And then there are fried skewers (chuan’r) of the highest order. Both the crispy beef ($6), flattened into mini cutlets before being fried, and the chicken gizzards ($6) are my absolute faves. I was surprised that a lamb skewer — a common sight in Xinjiang, where chuan’r originated — didn’t make the cut. Yang may add them in the coming weeks but, until then, enjoy any of the current 10 skewered options. Well, except maybe the fish tofu ($6). I’d be fine with that one being replaced with lamb. And all skewers are served with two dipping condiments — a sweet chili sauce and a barbecue dry rub made with cumin, chili powder and a bit of MSG.Â
No matter how full you are, just get the beef and onion dumplings ($13) in chili oil. I ran into Palm Beach Meats owner Eric San Pedro on one visit and he and I couldn’t get enough of these meat pockets, even after polishing off our noodle bowls. BTW: It’s always a good idea to have a plate of cooling cucumber-garlic salad ($8) on the table, in case things get overly heated. And a bottle of imported Arctic Ocean ($3.50), the Mexican Coke of orange soda.
Slap also serves Chinese hamburgers (roujiamao), a trend that’s sure to take off once Chinese chain Bingz establishes its presence in the U.S. I sampled the “crispy pancake” filled with braised beef ($9) and it was satisfying enough. My only issue was with the baijimo — the leavened, paratha-like flatbread sandwiching the meat. Unlike Bingz, the dough here is pre-bought, not made in-house, resulting in a stiff but not-so-crispy texture.
What is crispy is the restaurant’s interior. The numerous paper lanterns hanging from the restaurant’s low ceilings, as well as the Japandi decor, lend a very intimate and inviting slant to the clamor, energy and sounds of slurping.
At Slap, that hits hard.
Slap Hand-Ripped Noodles, 6532 Carrier Drive, 407-337-6999, instagram.com/slap.noodles.usa
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This article appears in Jan. 14-20, 2026.
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