Joanna James
Xian is the oldest from the four ancient capitals found in China, and as such is home to an exciting variety of offering in food. Let's look at some of the must eats when you visit Xian.
This could easily be one of the best things you'll ever try here. Rou Jia Mo which could be classified as a Chinese burger is a thick pita bread that is filled with pork meat braised in lots of chilli oil. While the chilli oil is optional based on the restaurant you pick, it is a wonderful addition. Rou Jia Mo can be found both in restaurants as well as at many street vendors.
These tiny morsels of soup dumplings come packed with a mouth-watering broth inside. To do this, they mix gelatine to the broth so that it thickens into a jelly. Once the jelly is placed inside the dumpling and steamed it loosens back into a liquid state. While most soup dumplings come filled with a pork filling, the ones Xian is famous for are of the lamb variety. Even though the dumpling skin is soft and thin, it can easily be picked up and eaten without breaking apart. The broth is made of vinegar and chilli oil is guaranteed to be delicious.
Biang the Chinese character it is named after is the one with the most strokes in traditional Chinese, containing a total of 58. Biang biang noodles are known to be really long and thick and have a very chewy texture with the sauce being quite gloopy and thick. Being a speciality of the region, it is definitely a must try.
Liang Pi literally translates to cold skin; however, it is made with rice or wheat flour. The soft dough is first place in a bowl where water is added. It is then rinsed so that the starch turns the water into a milky colour. This water is left in the bowl overnight where the starch separates into a paste. This starch paste is poured into a tray and steamed before being cut into noodles. It is known to be rougher in texture in comparison to normal noodles. Liang pi is delicious when paired up with a sesame peanut sauce and drenched in chilli oil. If you're on the hunt for a Xian restaurant or hotel, there are many to pick from, such as Grand Park Xian for instance.
This dish is extremely interesting. It is essentially a lamb soup that has meat and vermicelli as well as broken bits of bread that soak up the soup. The dish dates all the way back to the Song Dynasty where its first emperor, Zhao Kuangyin who upon returning home with little money stopped by a shop for some lamb soup. Having only 2 pieces of hard bread on him which he added into the soup, he enjoyed his meal. When he became emperor, later on, he revisited the shop and had the dish remade for him. This is how paomo came to be.
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A travel writer who has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world.
