Cold Beef Noodles

Last updated 2026-11-14 — Cold Beef Noodles were created by the Hui people, which is why they are commonly referred to as "Gao Laoma Zi Noodles." Her son, Gao Dengfa, inherited her business, and thus the cold beef noodles of Langzhong have been passed down through the generations. During the Republican era, Tang Liansan opened a restaurant on Langjia Guai Street selling these cold beef noodles, and people started calling them "Tang’s Cold Noodles." The method involves first cutting lean beef into small pieces to make a hot filling broth; then, the thin cold noodles are placed in a bowl, seasoned—especially with ground dried chili—and mixed with the hot beef filling broth before eating. Its distinctive feature is that the noodles aren’t cold, the filling isn’t scalding, and the numbing-spicy fragrance lingers long. Back then, even British missionaries would take some of these cold beef noodles back home as travel food. During the Anti-Japanese War, American air force personnel stationed in Chengdu often came to Langzhong and would come specifically to buy Tang’s Cold Noodles, pack them in lunchboxes, and fly back to Chengdu. It’s said the filling was still warm when they ate it, and they couldn’t stop praising it.