A Culinary Silk Road: Eating Your Way Through Xi'an's Muslim Quarter
Just steps from Xi'an's ancient Drum Tower, a different world awaits. The Muslim Quarter is a vibrant, chaotic, and wonderfully fragrant labyrinth of lanes that has been home to the city's Hui community for over a thousand years. Today, it’s a living culinary Silk Road, where the air is thick with the smoke of charcoal grills, the scent of exotic spices, and the promise of your next great meal.
A walk here is a food tour in itself. Start with Xi’an’s most famous export, the roujiamo, often called a "Chinese hamburger." It’s a crispy, oven-baked flatbread stuffed with succulent, slow-stewed, and finely chopped beef or lamb. Next, seek out a bowl of hand-pulled biang biang noodles, wide, chewy ribbons of dough served with a topping of fiery chili flakes. Watch vendors sizzle lamb skewers over open flames, rhythmically smashing giant blocks of peanut brittle, or artfully stretching dough into the paper-thin strands of "dragon's beard" candy.
Insider Tip:
The main street is exciting but can be a tourist trap. For the most authentic and delicious food, duck into the smaller, less-crowded side alleys like Damaishi Street or Xiyangshi Street. Look for the stalls with the longest lines of locals—they are your most reliable guide to what’s truly good.
