Xian

A good way if you do not want the expensive hotel food or just want to try real Chinese cuisine, is to simply go into a small restaurant and point to a dish somebody else is having and you will get a meal for less than ¥10 seldom ¥20 per person.

A good street for eating is Xiyang Shi running east-west near the mosque in the Muslim quarter. However, be warned that the food that is sold may have been exposed to heat and sun for a longer period of time without cooling, so particularly meat, fish or egg products may cause trouble to Western stomachs that are not accustomed to this.

Delhi Darbar (新德里餐厅)

Authentic North Indian food run by a wonderful Indian manager. Service is good, food is devinely delicious, and prices are very affordable. Mango Lassi for only ¥10 is a must have. Average meal price is about ¥40 per person. Highly Recommended.

McDonalds, Pizza Hut, KFC or its Chinese brother, Dicos, are widely available within city walls for a change from the daily Chinese cuisine. There are also three Starbucks within a 5-minute walk of the Bell Tower.

Xiao long bao-zi

Å°ç¬¼åŒ…子 are basket-steamed dumplings one basket â¥3, common as a midnight snack. look for its big brother "da bao-zi" only available first thing in the mornings, like a steamed cornish pastie, but very nice.

Yang Rou Pao Muo

ϼˆç¾Šè‚‰æ³¡é¦ï¼‰ is one of the signature dishes of the area, it consists of a piece of thick, chewy bread and a kettle of lamb soup. the diner shreds the bread with his hands and places the shreds in a bowl, the soup is then poured over the shreds along with meat, maybe some noodles or scallion, etc. the trick is to shred the bread into pieces that are "as small as possible", like the size of your pinky fingernail. most first-timers will shred their bread in pieces that are too large. in some restaurants, they have already shredded the bread for you. it is normally also served with pickled garlic and chili. if you don't like lamb, some restaurants also offer a beef version. tong sheng xiang restaurant and the lao mi jia are recommended.

Biang Biang Mian

Is a local provincial specialty noodle dish that is extremely good. the wide noodles are spiced, have a broth, and include toppings such as eggs, tomatoes, beef, etc. the character for "biang" isn't yet possible to type into a computer, but look for a complex character with about 57 strokes repeated twice before "面". a popular chain has a red sign with white characters, and includes the face of the "noodle king".

Shi Zi Bing

Ɵ¿å­é¥¼ are buns made from persimmons, stuffed with something e.g. black sesame paste, and deep-fried, so they're quite sticky-sweet. you can find many sellers in the muslim quarter, and they are only ¥1 each!

The Muslim Quarter

Close to the drum tower is a vibrant area with many restaurants spilling out onto the street and mixing with the street sellers. if you're looking for snacks, this area is also full of people selling dried fruit especially dates and nuts/seeds sunflower, melon, pumpkin, etc. prices are per jin 500 g and are pretty much standardized throughout the area, so you can't really bargain unless you're buying a lot but who wants 1 kg of peanuts anyway? watch out for the pits in the dates!

Rou Jia Mo

Ȃ‰å¤¹é¦ is the closest thing to a beefburger. this is a local tradition and should be very easy to locate. sandwich-like, with pork, beef or lamb, this is a must-try item for anyone who is in this area.

Some good places to look for restaurants are:

Lu dou gao

Ç»¿è±†ç³• are literally green bean cakes come in small cubes, but they're more moist than you may find elsewhere and also come with a variety of mixings e.g. sesame. half a jin should be about six cubes and cost about ¥5 at a cart in the muslim quarter.

Xi'an specialties include: