April Zheng said she and her husband, Ting Lin, come from a long line of restaurant owners.
So when Lin decided to open Xian—pronounced “Shin”—Sushi and Noodle after years of helping out at his family’s restaurant, Zheng said she was ready for business ownership.
Xian Sushi and Noodle in the Mueller development features such Asian cuisine as fried rice, sushi and hand-pulled noodles that can be ordered in soups or stir-fried. A children’s menu, happy hour menu and lunch specials are also offered.
Lin and Zheng met at age 15 in Pennsylvania after both relocated from China. At age 18, Zheng said they moved to New York to help Lin’s family in the restaurant business.
In 2007, Zheng and Lin moved to Austin, and in 2008 they opened Xian Sushi and Hibachi at 13201 RR 620, Ste. 208, Austin. In 2012, they opened their most recent location in Mueller at 1801 E. 51st St., Ste. C370, Austin, and added hand-pulled noodles, which Zheng said is a big hit with customers, and removed the hibachi grill from the first location and renaming it Xian Sushi and Noodle.
The Mueller restaurant’s walls are covered with hand-drawn scenes depicting traditional Chinese street food culture, and Xian’s sushi and pasta chefs can be seen working in the kitchen.
Zheng said Xian’s noodles are made the traditional Chinese way, in which the pasta dough—made with wheat flour—is pulled to the customer’s preference in six shapes and widths.
Xian’s signature Red Braised Beef Noodles ($11) are served in a broth with baby bok choy, potatoes, pickled vegetables and cilantro.[/caption]
She said some of the most popular dishes at the Mueller location include the Red Braised Beef Noodles ($11), served in a broth with baby bok choy, potatoes, pickled vegetables and cilantro; the Chinese-steamed pork buns ($7) with cilantro, crushed peanut, cucumber and hoisin sauce; and the Mochi ice cream ($3), a sweet rice cake filled with flavored ice cream.
Ye Lin, Zheng’s brother-in-law, helps out as a sushi chef, serving everything from escolar, a white tuna, to eel and octopus rolls.
Zheng said she and her husband go back to China every other year to find the latest national food trends.
“[Ting Lin] wants to bring a lot of the good food from China over here so everybody can get a taste of it. We like to eat,” she said with a smile.
Zheng and Ting Lin plan to open two more restaurants—one in The Domain and one behind the Thinkery in Mueller—in February 2017.
Chinese pork buns ($7) are served in a crushed peanut, cucumber and hoisin sauce.[/caption]
New locations opening in February
- Bao’dup will be located behind the Thinkery on Simond Avenue in Mueller and will serve steamed buns, called bao, with a savory or sweet filling, along with Xian’s signature hand-pulled pasta.
- A third Xian Sushi and Noodle location in The Domain will offer fresh dim sum, a traditional Chinese style of cuisine that serves bite-sized portions of food in steamer baskets or small plates.
