Peaceful Cafe on East 5th

I first visited Peaceful Cafe about two years ago at their original location on Broadway, before their debut on Diners, Drive-ins an Dives. That time, someone stole my food but this time, I had strength in numbers on my side. There were five of us so we were vigilant making sure we got our food, and no one was going to take it away from us!  

Our experience at the original location featured some of the same dishes as well as some new ones. The first common one is their Peaceful Beef Rolls. It's a multi-layered pancake rolled with some sliced beef shank, as well as some green onions and hoi sin sauce. Again, these were delicious, a good balance of pancake and filling, and I really liked the sear they got on the pancake. It had a good crisp, but the inside was tender. And there was a lot of filling, giving the rolls a great toothsome feel.

Again, another item that we ordered before, the Xiao Long Bao (XLB) - Steamed Buns. The buns explode with a lovely soup when you bite into them, so beware. The pork filling is a bit savory while the soup gives it a nice umami touch. Key to a good XLB is the skin and these didn't disappoint, the skin was unctuous with just the slightest hint of chewiness, but not so much as to be doughy.  Another dish that strayed from our original visit is the Xi'an Cold Steamed Noodles. Okay, if you don't like "cold" noodles, stay away. But if you're a fan, then be sure to give this refreshing dish a try. The cucumber and bean sprouts add a much needed  crunch. The noodles are well sauced but could be a bit spicier (personal preference). I'd vouch for this as a great summer dish.   This is another of our first new items, the Sian-Xi Spicy & Tangy Soup Noodles. These handmade noodles were definitely toothsome and cooked to perfection, al dente but still very slippery. There were some diced pork and tofu, along with a smattering of frozen veggies...those veggies ruined the dish for me. Mind you, the noodles and the broth were good, but frozen veggies were a true disappointment.   Thankfully, the next dish we got was the Chinese Rice Cakes (funny cuz I thought we were having Chinese food so far) and that totally redeemed them in my eyes. No frozen veggies here! Slivers of pork and fresh Asian greens complement the traditional rice cakes to that and you have one of my all-time comfort foods. These are way better than any "rice cakes" you'd find in a Western grocery store. These are like extra wide noodles, served in an ergonomic shape. Give it a try, even people without chopsticks skill can make this work!  And our last repeat dish from the Broadway location, this is the Mandarin Mu-Shu Shredded Pork. There are a ton of veggies here, as well as egg, but at $10+, I didn't think this was wrth it. The dish was lacking flavour, needing some hot sauce to salvage it. The ingredients were good, with lots of veggies rounding out the shredded pork. 
If you like playing with your food, then pay the extra few bucks and add the Steamed Crepe. Six really is enough for the serving of Mu Shu, just be sure to load up each wrap with all the pork.

Take note:

• Service needs work.
• Their XLBs are a "must eat".
• Prepare for lineups.