Noodle Nostalgia

Lin Xi takes every opportunity she gets to visit her hometown， Hengyang， a city of 6.5 million people in central China’s Hunan province. Whether it’s a public holiday or just a regular weekend when she doesn’t have too much school work， Lin hops on the one-hour train from Changsha， the provincial capital where she relocated for college four years ago， to spend more time with family， reconnect with old friends， and most importantly， have a bowl of the local delicacy：lufen （鹵粉， literally “brined rice noodles”）.

Even though Changsha boasts around 6，000 rice noodle， or fen （粉）， restaurants， Lin can’t find a bowl oflufen， usually made with a mixture of cooked rice noodles， master stock， and toppings like beef slices， that tastes just like home. “There aren’t so manylufen restaurants in Changsha compared to Hengyang， and they’re different in a subtle way that I can’t explain，” Lin tells TWOC over a bowl of the stuff at Zizhulin， a famous locallufen chain near Hengyang Railway Station. The restaurant is her first stop after getting off the train， and she has been coming here since she was a child. Despite not living in the city for the past four years， Lin still considers herself a regular at the restaurant.

Hengyang’s affinity for fen is not surprising， since rice noodles have enjoyed a long history in rice-planting southern China， dating back at least 2，200 years to the Western Han dynasty—“rice noodles in the south and noodles in the north （南粉北面），” goes a common saying. Archeological findings from that period reveal that the process of making rice noodles has stayed remarkably consistent over the years： grind the rice with a mill， cook it with a steamer—or a zeng （甑） in ancient times—and finally cut it into thin slices with a knife. While rice noodle’s exact place of origin remains unclear， many provinces and regions in central and southern China， including Hunan， Jiangxi， Sichuan， and Guangxi， have claimed to be “the hometown of rice noodles （米粉之鄉(xiāng)）.”

Historically， Lin’s hometown Hengyang was better known for another kind of rice noodle dish called tangfen （湯粉）， a general term for rice noodles served with soup and various toppings such as minced meat， black fungus， and other vegetables. It was not until the 1990s thatlufen began to make its way into the local food scene as a staple breakfast food. Derived from Guilin-style rice noodles of southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region，lufen quickly gained popularity among Hengyang locals for its strong aromatic flavor thanks to the use of the master stock， or lushui （鹵水）， which is typically made by simmering pork and beef bones with a blend of spices and traditional Chinese herbs. Served with the addition of cooking oil， braised beef slices， and fried peanuts，lufen has become a symbol of nostalgia for those born after 1980， including Lin who grew up eating the dish， despite its short history.

Under the thread “How does it feel like to havelufen in Hengyang？” on the online Qamp;A platform Zhihu， thousands of people who grew up in Hengyang have shared how much they miss the authentic Hengyanglufen and complained about rice noodles in other places. “I look forward to the Spring Festival and the National Day holidays every year so I can return to Hengyang and have as muchlufen as I want，” wrote one user under the handle Lei Wang.

Li Gaoxiang， the founder of Zizhulin， remembers opening her first store， the one that Lin still frequents， by Hengyang Railway Station in 1995. “The store was very small， only around 10 square meters. [We only prepared] around 100 bowls oflufen on the opening day and they all sold out，” Li says. Zizhulin was one of the city’s first restaurants to specialize in the delicacy and has now grown into one of the best-knownlufen brands， with over 30 stores in Hengyang alone.

By the late 1990s， almost all the existing rice noodle restaurants had addedlufen to their menus， according to Liu Xiaole， a Hengyang local in her 30s who wished to use a pseudonym for this piece. Liu recalls that， back in 1998， some stores even came up with a more affordable version oflufen for middle school students like her by removing the beef slices.

The hype over the dish shows no signs of fading even now. In Qidong county， an hour’s drive from downtown Hengyang， Zhang Shuangqiao claims to have opened the county’s firstlufen shop 33 years ago with a recipe he brought back from Guilin. Even though his store is no longer in a prime spot （since the nearby railway station was moved to a different location in 2013）， he still sells around 400 portions oflufen every morning.

Qiu Yufang， anotherlufen restaurant owner from Qidong county， attributes the popularity of the delicacy to its “strong flavor，” “quickness to serve，” and “easiness to package for takeaway and consumption in the summer， as it doesn’t contain much soup.”

Though some restaurants， especially those in counties and towns， still keep the “authentic Guilinlufen” part in their name and branding， most Hengyang people already considerlufen as part of their own local cuisine.

“People always tell me that they like to have a bowl oflufen with the ‘hometown flavor’ before and after a trip. Many locals who grew up with our rice noodles bring their children here now as well，” Li， the Zizhulin founder， brags.

Li has made some tweaks to the original Guilin-style recipe： Herlufen is spicier and more aromatic so it caters better to the pallet of Hengyang locals. According to her， the lushui used in her restaurants is made with 20 different spices and boiled for 24 hours to give it a richer flavor.

Over the last decade or so， business owners have also tried to bring Hengyanglufen to a wider audience. Li tells TWOC that Zizhulin now has around 50 franchise outlets， some as far away as Guangzhou in Guangdong province. They’ve also set up a factory to produce packaged Hengyanglufen so more people can get a taste of the proud local delicacy without needing to visit a restaurant.

Qiu， who has opened fivelufen shops since 2017， is also planning to expand her business to Guangzhou， a city with many Hunan migrant workers but much lighter and less spicy local food. “We’ll localizelufen for the people there. But it won’t be too light or it’s notlufen anymore，” she says.

The Zizhulin restaurant by Hengyang Railway Station is open 24-hours aday for traveling locals and tourists to have a taste of authentic lufen

The core flavor （and some would say soul） of lufen lies in the master stock， or lushui

Most rice noodle restaurants in Hengyang have a self-serving table with free pickles， chili oil， and other seasonings

Three Foods With Misunderstood Origins

Hangzhou Xiaolongbao

Hangzhou xiaolongbao， small steamed buns with savory fillings usually found at budget breakfast stalls bearing the same name across China， actually originate from Shengzhou， a small city of 600，000 people about 100 kilometers southwest of Hangzhou. The migrant workers from Shengzhou， who opened shops selling steamed buns in their adopted cities， believed that nobody would have heard of their hometown， so they borrowed the more famous name of the provincial capital to popularize the snack.

That being said， Hangzhou， as well as many other cities in the Yangtze Delta region， has its own version of xiaolongbao. Compared to the Shengzhou variety， the skin of Hangzhou’s steamed buns tends to be thinner and more translucent， and the fillings tend to contain more meat broth.

Anhui Flat Beef Noodles

Banmian （板面）—a type of wide noodle so-called because the dough is stretched out on a board to give it its flat shape—exists in its purported birthplace： In Taihe county， administered by the city of Fuyang in Anhui province， there’s a type of banmian usually consumed with lamb in a broth seasoned with up to 20 different spices.

However， the “Anhui beef banmian” familiar to budget diners across China， usually served at no-frills restaurants bearing the same name， actually originates 600 kilometers north of Anhui in Hebei province. A quick search for the dish in the provincial capital， Shijiazhuang， turns up nearly 2，000 results on review app Dianping. The Hebei version of the noodles replaces the lamb with beef， allegedly to save on costs， and became popular among migrant workers who came from all over the country to work in Shijiazhuang.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Despite the name， this dish does not even originate from China—in fact， it’s one of the characteristic dishes of Singapore， the destination of many emigrants from southern China， including the island of Hainan， in the 19th and 20th centuries. The cooking method is inspired by Wenchang chicken from the northwest of Hainan， with chicken blanched in boiling water and served over a bed of rice with red chili sauce dip. In Hainan itself， Wenchang chicken is also eaten with rice or ginger and garlic dip， or inside a pot of coconut water. In December 2022， the province launched its first three-day “Hainan Chicken Rice Festival，” a part of the 22nd Hainan Island Carnival， a large-scale tourism event， to promote local chicken-themed delicacies.

– Hatty Liu