Xi'an Dining

Xi'an is honored as the "Capital of Delicacies". The chefs in the Shaanxi province have accumulated styles and tastes from around the country, and adjusted them to the local flavor. A trip to Xi'an will not be complete without trying out its local food. The mouth-watering cuisine and snacks listed below are available everywhere in Xi'an.

Xi'an Featured Cuisine

Dumpling Banquet
One of most visitors ' favorite meals is a Chinese dumpling feast. These dumplings are made in all kinds of shapes such as duck, chicken, rose flower, walnut, and pumpkin. Each pastry shell is stuffed with a different combination of meats and vegetables and then steamed or fried. The aroma, taste, culture, and exciting environment make it extremely popular and worth your while to join in the fun. The most celebrated dumpling banquet is served along with the glamourous Tang Dynasty Show in downtown Xi'an.

Rou Jia Mo (Chinese Hamburger)
Rou Jia Mo is very similar to the Western hamburger essentially. "Rou" means beef or mutton, which is stewed for hours in a soup consisting of over 20 kinds of spices and seasonings, while "Mo" is a type of flatbread, which is made of wheat flour. After "Rou" is finely chopped, mixed with coriander and mild peppers, and stuffed into "Mo". It can be found in many street food stalls or restaurants.

Liang Pi (Cold Rice Noodles)
Liang Pi is a specialty dish originating from Xi'an and has spread to the northern and central regions. It is like a kind of salad but made of wheat gluten chunks and wheat starch noodles, dressed with cucumber, cilantro, bean sprouts, chili oil and dark vinegar. This would be a perfect appetizer.

Yang Rou Pao Mo (Pancake in Mutton or Beef Soup)
The most popular local cuisine of Xi'an is Yang Rou Pao Mo. A large bowl and one or two flat-baked bread cakes are served to the visitor, who breaks the cake into tiny pieces and then sends the bowl back to the kitchen, where a mutton, or beef, and vegetable soup, is poured over the broken pieces. Then the mixture is eaten along with pickled garlic cloves.

Xi'an Popular Restaurants


Defachang Restaurant	Tongshengxiang Restaurant	Jiasan Soup Dumpling Restaurant

Defachang Restaurant(德发长 in Chinese): Famous for its sumptuous dumpling banquet. Its dumpling banquets came with as many as 8 types. All tastes and fashions can be found here.
Location: Bell Tower & Drum Tower Square

Tongshengxiang Restaurant (同盛祥): Known for its Yang Rou Pao Mo (Pancake in Mutton or Beef Soup).For the locals who love Yang Rou Pao Mo, Tongshengxiang is always their priority.
Location: Bell Tower & Drum Tower Square

Jiasan Soup Dumpling Restaurant (贾三灌汤包子馆): Features extraordinary tasty soup dumplings and is reputed as the No.1 soup dumpling restaurant in Xi'an. Unlike the traditional soup-less dumplings, this type of dumplings contain substantial fillings of beef or mutton and most significantly the nutrition-rich soup.
Location: Beiyuanmen Street, Muslim Quarter

Xi'an Restaurant Streets

Muslim Quarter

The over-1,000-year-old Muslim Quarter is absolutely the No.1 restaurant area in Xi'an. It's composed of several main streets such as Beiyuanmen (北院门 in Chinese), Beiguangjijie (北广济街), Xiyangshi (西羊市) and Dapiyuan (大皮院). Apart from the traditional Islamic cuisine, Muslim Quarter offers many other dining options. It's a huge assembly of Xi'an tastes and an exhibition of the Muslim inhabitants who live in Xi'an for years.

Fenxiang Snack Street

The Fenxiang Snack Street is actually a lane (粉巷 in Chinese) of assorted local snacks that hides itself in the South Street (南大街). Here you can find a wide range from the snack stands to the high-class restaurants/ tea houses. By the way, the lane is not only about snack but pretty boutiques. It's quite next to the famous bar street Defu Lane (德福巷)。