It takes a while for a diner to find the end of the one long noodle used to make "xiaomian," the dish being served at the "One Strand Noodle" restaurant in Chongqing's Nan'an District that is gaining popularity. [Photo: Chongqing Evening News]

A chef throws a strand of dough high into the air to make each noodle. This display captivates diners and nearby residents, who compare it to an acrobatics show.[Photo: Chongqing Evening News]

Each "one-strand" noodle takes hours to prepare. [Photo: Chongqing Evening News]

A special kind of dish, named "xiaomian," is gaining popularity in Chongqing not only for its taste, but for the way it's prepared; the entire is made with one extremely long noodle.

Located in the city's Nan'an district, the "One Strand Noodle" restaurant has made xiaomian with noodles as long as 50 meters. Preparing each xiaomian noodle requires the chef to toss the dough up to three meters in the air, attracting the awe and curiosity of diners and passersby, according to chef Zhao Mingxi, who says that those watching describe the display as something of an acrobatic show.

Although he makes it look easy, Zhao needs a couple of hours to prepare each noodle. The key to tossing the dough for each noodle high into the sky without it landing on the ground is in the kneading process. Zhao said he spent two years mastering the proper way to prepare the dough.

The talented noodle-maker Zhao hopes that his "One Strand Noodle" dish will rope in more customers and become a mainstay of Chongqing's tourist attractions.

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