Northwestern Chinese Cuisine - no frills, fill up

Are you sufficiently adventurous to deviate from central Chinese food to frontier cuisine? The impoverished and harsh terrain of northwest China (xi bei) are translated into simple fare using very basic and locally produced ingredients. Do not expect elaborate flavours or decoration for the main purpose is to eat to live, not the other way around. For the fussy eater, this may turn out to be a little disappointing but it gives you an idea of the living conditions of people in Xinjiang regions. However, you are planning to explore the exotic Silk Route, this is a preview and training to adjust your tastebuds. I heard that for the most part of the trip, tourists have lamb as the staple diet.

Giganti spring rolls wrapped in wheat crepe with lettuce, cucumber, fungus and mung bean noodle filling. The only seasoning is dark soy sauce so you might want to ask for chilli sauce to spice it up.

My preference or prejudice is for the southern version which I believe is more delicate and flavoursome with more ingredients such as turnip, carrot, prawn and dried squid in it.

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La Mian - noodle soup

The texture of the handmade noodles are chewy and refreshing. But the taste is rather bland. It is quite a healthy dish considering it's cooked in chicken and egg flower soup with wood sliced fungus, tofu cubes, carrot, tomato.

This stir fried chicken and cabbage dish is tastier. We were told it's popular and highly recommended.


The long awaited finale of the meal is the pan-fried lamb bun. Quite similar to murtabak, this dish is on the greasy side and the crepe is thick and tough. Since we've ordered so much food, we didn't get to try the skewer lamb or beef.

Despite the distinctive and strong aroma of lamb and spices the moment you enter the restaurant, the place is usually packed with hungry crowds during their extended lunch hours. The menu also offers other northern delights such as meat dumplings. The prices are reasonable and the serving portions are huge, which could partly explain why it's so popular with students and those who miss homecooked food of the northwestern regions (Gansu, Qinghai, Shanxi, Ningxia, Xinjiang).