Hunan Lion

Chronicle Finds Famed Korean Noodle Dish Hidden in a Strip Mall | Eater Austin

"I visited the unassuming Hunan Restaurant in a strip mall on North Lamar and found one of my favorite bites of the year. The place is a little too well-lit but everything felt clean and cheerfully no-nonsense, a reflection of their approach to Korean-style Chinese comfort food. I started with the “crispy-skinned” pan-fried dumplings and a vegetable fried rice elevated with black bean sauce. Inspired by other tables we tried the sweet and sour pork and were disappointed by meat that was intensely lemony in a gloopy, cornstarch-laden sauce. The mapo tofu was garlic-heavy but showed a real complexity of flavor. I was there for the jajangmyeon, noodles served in a sticky-sweet mixture of soybeans and flour, and I was not disappointed: the restaurant offers three iterations, I enjoyed the pan-fried version (which reminded me of spaghetti bolognese), but the gan janjaemung was my favorite — its sauce was thicker and sweeter than the sautéed jajangmyeon’s, shrimp joined with gingery little crumbles of fatty pork, and a side of daikon and raw onions offered a burn that cut through the rich sweetness while the crunch complemented the elasticity and woke up our palates. It’s one of the best things I’ve eaten all month, maybe all year." - Erin Russell