A cool bowl of Gui Zhou liang fen–sour, spicy, slippery–just the thing for the dog days.

There was a time and place when cold noodles meant one thing—and one thing only—sesame noodles. The time: circa 1976. The place: any number of strip mall Chinese joints in Nassau County. These days, here in Queens, the cold noodle choices are far more diverse from Korean naeng myun and Tibetan laphing serpo to Sichuan cold noodles and liang pi.  The latest entry into Queens’ polyglot noodle pantheon is Gui Zhou liang fen.

The $5 bowl of mung bean noodles is listed on the menu of Gui Zhou Miao Jia as “Gui zhou vermicelli.” The broad slippery strands topped with salty roasted peanuts, piquant pickled radish, chili, green onions, and preserved greens are hardly vermicelli.

After mixing up the entire lot I was pleasantly surprised to find myself digging into a bowl of cold noodles that was simultaneously sour, spicy, and crunchy. It’s just the thing for the dog days of summer. FYI Gui Zhou cuisine is pretty under represented in Queens, I can’t wait to eat my through the rest of the menu at this newish spot. For now, though, I might just stick to the liana fen until things cool off.

Gui Zhou Miao Jia, 136-55 Roosevelt Ave., Flushing, 917-285-2535