Help me find this Chinese dish NOVA/DC

[nissenpa]

Beef wrapped in scallion pancake.

I've only had it out in California. Once at a fantastic whole in the wall chinese place that friends took me to and the again at a place that served Northern breakfast. SInce I don't speak Chinese I have a hard time asking for it here.

[Steve]

Here is the link for a photocopy of the A & J menu:

http://www.dc495.com/wiki/index.php?t...

I do not think you will find the beef pastry roll-up at A & J since I've eaten through the menu extensively. I highly recommend the niu rou xian bing.

[comestibles]

You should be able to find it at A & J Restaurant; Rockville and Annandale locations.

[Steve]

A & J definitely has niu ro xian bing, which is beef and boiling hot soup inside a fried bun. A great dish, but use caution when eating. They also have niu ro shao bing, which on the menu is described as sesame biscuit with sliced beef.

[nissenpa]

You are all lifesavers!!! Thank you so much. I'm going to copy the chinese characters onto a piece of paper and keep it in my purse!!

[huiray]

Did it look like this?
http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/carol-jay/...

[nissenpa]

Yes very similar. Is that the same as niu ro xian bing? If not could you let me know how to pronounce it or give me the chinese characters? I may even take my husbands ipad and ask the waitress if they have it.

Thanks!

[huiray]

Well, I doubt it is the same as "niu ro xian bing" [I don't know Mandarin; my "native" dialect, such as what I remember of it, is Cantonese] especially as Steve above described it as beef+soup in a bun. Perhaps "niu ro xian bing" is this: 牛肉馅饼 for which there is a CH thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/579908.

The stuff pictured in that link I posted is what Steve first posted about - 牛肉捲餅. In Cantonese according to the Yale system it would be ngau4 yuk6 gyun2 bing2; although in my approximation for the dialect i grew up with it would be "ngau yook kueen pang". That link is about "home-style" or "family style" (家常) beef rolls - see the title of article: 家常牛肉捲餅.

Hopefully Steve will jump in here and comment.

[Steve]

The niu rou xian bing at A & J have at least as much soup inside as Yang's Fry Dumplings in Shanghai. They are more dangerous to eat as they have two hard crusts and are difficult to puncture. Considering the convenience, they make a respectable replacement for shengjian bao.

OP, they are not similar to the beef wrapped in scallion pancake, but you might like them even better.

[nissenpa]

We're going to A&J on CHristmas so I plan to try the niu rou xian bing then. It sounds like it will fit the bill even if it is not the exact same thing.

I just came off of three months of living on gatorade and applesauce (hyper-emetic first trimester) so just about anything on the A&J menu will taste good to me.

Thank you again. :)

[Steve]

If you have not been to A & J before, you can order any of their noodle dishes with their homemade noodles, but you have to to ask for them. Ask for the big or wide noodles or write down this character for big: 大

i like the suan la mian.

[KWagle]

Download a copy of Pleco on your husband's iPad and then use it to learn to read and write Chinese characters. eStroke is also helpful in learning stroke order.

I commonly find "beef with scallion pancake" on Taiwanese menus. Occasionally it's called "beef wrap" or "beef spin." I *believe* I've had it at A&J in Annandale (never been to the one in Rockville.) The menu photos on Urbanspoon show something called niu ro shao bing or sesame biscuit with beef, which I've had before and enjoyed; it's similar to the beef in scallion pancakes. Joe's Noodle House lists a "black pepper and onion beef pastry which I've never had.

Perhaps we could impose upon Steve to do his chow hound duty and go check these two things out and post a report. :-)

[nissenpa]

Thanks for the website recs. My husband will be thrilled.

Just the other day I saw the same photos on Urbanspoon and it looks like the sesame biscuit with beef is pretty similar to what I'm searching for. I have not been to Joe's noodle in years but wondered if the black pepper and onion beef pastry might be similar. I'm hoping DH likes the sesame biscuit with beef at A&J---I'm trying t get him to move past the pan fried pork dumplings. They are delicious but there is so much more to CHinese food than pork dumplings!

[KWagle]

My guess is that the A&J's biscuit, despite the lack of scallion, is close to what you want. I've eaten a lot of Chinese food and I can't imagine what *else* Joe's pastry could be. So, try booth and post some pictures! and the sticky rice weekend special at A&J which I keep forgetting to get.

[nissenpa]

I will.

Is the sticky rice 'fan tuan'? I saw a picture from A&J labeled 'fan tuan' and it looked like something I would like. It's not on the menu so I am assuming it's a weekend Northern breakfast special.

[alkapal]

i've been noodling around looking at A&J in annandale and the menu, and came upon this "menuism" link -- which is pretty darn neat for those of us learning more about chinese food. http://www.menuism.com/menus/a-j-rest...

one reviewer says this: 4.0 star rating
Nyo Lo Sa Bing (Beef Pastry
)(3/5) I think i'm totally screwing up the english spelling for these chinese dishes, but whatever. It is beef in a chinese bread with sesame seeds on it. Nice little side item for the noodles. — turtley on May 14, 2007

[scoopG]

Or look like this nissenpa, with egg?

Scallion Pancake with Egg and Sliced Beef（葱油牛肉夾餅 - Cóng yóu niú ròu jiá bǐng)

[nissenpa]

I think that is what I had is SoCal. Any restaurants around here have it?

thanks!!

[nissenpa]

scoopG---I just pulled out a note from my friend and that is EXACTLY what I am after!!

Where did you take those pics? Anywhere in the DC area? Goodness I hope so!!!

I did venture to A&J on CHristmas and tried the beef in sesame pastry (hard cold beef and hard flavorless pastry) and the pan fried beef bun (moist, juicy, and tasty though not what I was initially after when I posted my original question.)

Anxiously awaiting your reply.

[Steve]

Here it is in Chinese:

牛肉捲餅 (pronounced: nyoo roh jen bing) Literally beef roll-up pastry, bing usually refers to pancake.

I don't know for sure who has it, but that is how to ask for it.

[panjuice]

Can try to explain it this way ..

Like a scallion pancake sandwiched w/ five spiced sliced leg of beef (五香牛肉/wu xiang niu ro)
They will most likely top this w/ julienne scallions and chinese parsley

GL!