Where to find the best food in Xian, China’s ancient capital, from pancakes to persimmon doughnuts
The influence of merchants from the Middle East, Europe, and Central Asia who brought with them the cuisine and flavours of their regions can be seen to this day in the street food of Xian
For a culinary treat in Xian, home of China’s Terracotta Warriors, look no further than the western city’s Beiyuanmen Muslim Market.
Walk among the tourists in the tangle of streets just north of the ancient Chinese capital’s Drum Tower and roughly one in 10 is wielding a kebab skewer jammed with chunks of lamb or beef.
Hot steam floats up from the giant woks and vats of boiling broth lining the streets. Cool mist rises from the piles of bright pink sliced pomegranate displayed atop boxes of dry ice. Vendors crowded in front of their carts shout their offerings: “Lamb skewer!” “Fresh pomegranate juice!” “Persimmon doughnuts!” Men with hazel eyes wearing white caps and brandishing short daggers butcher lamb carcasses. Blood drips onto the cobblestone streets. The market gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “open kitchen”.
The Muslim market is a stone’s throw away from the city’s Bell Tower, and one subway stop from the south gate of the old city wall. From inside the market, follow small blue signs through narrow alleyways lined with vendors selling kitsch bejewelled caps, mini terracotta warriors, woven slippers and Obamao T-shirts, and you’ll arrive at the city’s Great Mosque – a 12,000 square metre compound built in the Ming dynasty style. It is the largest mosque in China.