Banged noodles (拌粉, bànfěn) are Nanchang's signature dish and the first thing most residents eat in the morning. The name refers to the technique of mixing — the cook tosses rice noodles with chilli paste, sesame paste, peanuts, pickled radish, and sometimes a slick of lard or a fried egg, combining ingredients by banging them together in the bowl. The result is intensely flavored, spicy, and chewy, and costs between 5 and 10 yuan depending on the shop and size.
Every neighborhood in the city has at least one dedicated bànfěn shop open from dawn. The best tend to be places with no signage in English and a queue out the door — any of the narrow shopfronts around Shengjin Tower or the markets around Bayi Square will serve a respectable bowl. Don't ask for recommendations and then choose based on ambience; the dingier the shop, the better the noodles tend to be.