No no, the name of the restaurant wasn’t called Local Restaurant. By the time I remembered that I didn’t copy down the name of our last restaurant in Xi’an, we were pulling away from the street on our way to the airport. Here’s a fleeting glance of the restaurant through the window of our car:

Grick, Jenkins, and I went to this restaurant on our last morning in Xi’an before we headed to the airport. My parents weren’t hungry so they didn’t join us and our tour guide recommended this place because it was very popular with the locals and was very close to our hotel. When we entered the restaurant at around 11AM, it was pretty empty but it was packed with people by the time we left (around 12).

It was quite the ordeal for us to order on our own. There was a lot of broken Mandarin, pointing at pictures, and general gesturing. We started first with some bean thread noodles with mushrooms and pork. This was quite oily but still very tasty. The noodles had a nice and chewy consistency. When done correctly like this, bean thread noodles are one of my favourite types of noodles.

Next, we had some braised pork. We actually thought from the picture that this would look like the Shanghainese version of this braised pork but it actually tasted quite different. The sauce was slightly tangy and went very well with rice. Even though the pork looked fatty, it was actually a bit on the dry side. The sauce also went very well with rice.

For some reason, our last dish took quite a while to come. It was a very spicy chicken dish that probably would have gone very well with rice. Unfortunately, we ate all our rice with the pork. You have to be able to take spicy stuff though because our mouths were burning by the time we were done with this.

This restaurant was definitely one of the better ones we went to in Xi’an as evidenced by the packed tables. And best yet, the total cost for this meal was less than $11 for the three of us.

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 2 out of 5 stars
Price: $

Our tour guide took us to Horse Street to do some strolling and shopping. Horse Street is right in the city centre of Xi’an and was recently turned into a pedestrian-only area. Even though we were there on a week day, it was bustling with people and also had a lively row of food stalls. Before we started exploring the food stalls, we made a quick stop into Wal-Mart, which had just opened earlier that month.

We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside but Jenkins likened this Wal-Mart to a gigantic T&T. Whereas the Wal-Mart’s in the Vancouver area have a variety of electronics, clothing, and food, the Xi’an Wal-Mart’s food section definitely took up the majority of the space. We had a great time wandering through the aisles looking at all the yummy and cheap snacks, including Japanese steak-flavoured Cheetos.

Once we were back outside on Horse Street, we started looking around the food stalls. Our tour guide, Cherry, said that the stalls represented food from all the different parts of China. I could smell the stinky tofu stall so that was the first place I checked out.

This was one of the best stinky tofus I had ever had. It was super fresh, not oily, and very stinky. I poured a variety of sauces over it but I was probably too liberal with the sauce. Believe it or not, but I got about 8-10 pieces of tofu for $0.70. I have a picture but it’s on Grick’s camera so check back in a couple of days.

Next, we all shared several lamb skewers. Cherry explained that these were very popular in Xi’an, as was evidenced by the huge crowd.

These lamb skewers were delicious. They were very spicy and the lamb was super juicy. Even though your mouth starts to burn from the spiciness after a while, you just can’t stop eating them. It was less than 50 cents per skewer.

I actually enjoyed the food on Horse Street more than the food I had had in the Xi’an restaurants so far. If I hadn’t stuffed myself on stinky tofu and lamb skewers, I definitely would have gone and tried all the other stalls as well.

Summary:
Food: 4 out of 5 stars
Service: n/a
Price: $

After spending the morning touring the Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an, we were off to lunch. Hantang Era turned out to be my favourite restaurant while we were in Xi’an. The inside had a modern design and was busy with several tables that were packed for lunch.

We started off with a tomato-based vegetable soup. This actually reminded me of the vegetable soup that is available in many set meals at Hong Kong-style cafes in the Vancouver area.

The stir-fried tofu with veggies and wood ear fungus was slightly spicy and went very well with rice.

These chicken popsicles were very tasty. Too bad there was only enough for one per person! The chicken was lightly battered and then deep fried.

The lemon chicken was very lemon-y and gooey. Jenkins and I liked it quite a bit and the lemon sauce went very well with rice. Grick wasn’t too much of a fan of this one though.

The squid was celery was quite tasty. Similar to the other celery dishes I had in Xi’an, I liked it quite a bit because the celery taste was milder than what I was accustomed to in North America. Notice the super red carrots again in the picture below.

The cold cucumbers were very tasty. The dressing was slightly tangy and I really liked the crunch of the cucumbers.

The cold vermicelli had a light sesame oil dressing and since it was cold, it was actually quite refreshing.

The duck in herbal sauce was not fatty at all. The herbal taste stood out well to the duck and was actually done quite well. However, I did find the duck to be on the dry side.

The pork in this next dish was nice and juicy and contrasted nicely with the crunchy, fresh vegetables. This was another dish that went really well with rice.

Finally, as if we hadn’t eaten enough, we were presented with some pork and mushroom dumplings. I wasn’t too impressed with the dumplings…they were dry and kind of tasteless.

My favourite dishes here were definitely the lemon chicken, pork and veggies, and the cold vermicelli noodles. They were all simply made but still very tasty.

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 3 out of 5 stars

One of the interesting things we discovered about Xi’an was that it actually has a fairly large Islamic community. We toured the city’s mosque in the morning, which was right next to the Islamic street market. During the summer months, it is extremely busy but since we were there during low season, it was not too bad.

The Islamic street is actually a cluster of streets that have a variety of goods for sale and of course, food. One street that we went on was especially packed with street stalls selling some pretty yummy stuff.

Our tour guide recommended a stall that sold meat buns. Thin, half-moon shaped buns were cut in half and stuffed with shredded beef. I found the bun to be a bit dry but the meat was very tasty. In fact, it actually reminded me of Montreal smoked meat! If I recall correctly, this cost less than a dollar.

Next, we had a sweet dessert called a “mirror cake”. It is prepared for you when you order it and is on a hot steel plate. The cakes are lined up in the lower right hand corner of the picture below.

As the cakes are being heated, the stall owner sprays the cake with water to keep it moist.

When the cakes are finished heating up, they are sprinkled with sugar, peanuts, and sesame. I liked how they were not overly sweet and enjoyed their gooey but chunky texture. I forgot to take a close-up shot of the finished product…I dug in right away! But you can see in the picture below of the man sprinkling the cakes with goodies.

I am a huge fan of street food but since I was on vacation, I made sure to try only the hot foods. The snacks and food I saw on the Islamic street were totally different from what I see in markets anywhere else and I liked how everything was Chinese but with an Islamic twist. If I ever see any of these things here in Vancouver, I’ll be one of the first to line up.

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $ (I believe everything was under $1!! I would give half dollar signs if I could. )

After spending our morning looking at the terracotta soldiers, we were off to lunch. We ate on the second floor of the Xingshen International Hotel, which also housed a small market where you could buy souvenirs and knick knacks.

Before our main dishes arrived, we were directed over to a small buffet table of cold appetizers. My favourite dish at this table was a cold buckwheat salad with snow peas and red peppers. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it but it was very refreshing and the noodles had a nice crunch to them.

The chicken was a bit dry and had a slight herbal flavour to it. I think I would have enjoyed this more if the herbal taste was stronger and it would have made the dish stand out as being very unique. But because the taste was so mild, it made me uncertain as to whether or not the herbal taste was done on purpose.

My mom told me that these crystalized honey potatoes were a specialty of this region and that it was a favourite of both my mom and dad when they were in Xi’an a few years ago. Despite the honey, I did not find the potatoes to be overly sweet and really enjoyed the contrast of the crunchy outside with the meaty potato inside. I can really see this as a yummy snack to have if you’re at the movies or something. You had to eat this dish immediately though because it wasn’t as tasty once it cooled down.

The handmade noodles in sesame oil were eaten cold. Although it was a bit plain, it provided a nice base to eat with some of our other dishes, epseically the ones with more gravy/sauce.

The cauliflower was actually very tasty and I enjoyed the red carrots quite a bit. Does anyone know if there are red carrots available in Vancouver? The carrots are so red in the picture below that they almost look like tomatoes.

The spicy lamb dish was very tasty although on the oily side. I also felt that there should be more lamb in proportion to the onions and peppers.

Next came the celery and pork. I am normally not a big celery fan because I find the taste to be too strong…but I like the mild taste of the celery in this dish.

Our last dish of the day was a sweet and sour pork. I thought this dish looked good but it was easily the worst dish of our meal. There was way too much fried batter and it wasn’t even warm!

My favourite dishes here were the potatoes and the noodles. I’m going to have to investigate just how they make those honey potatoes…

Summary:
Food: 3 out of 5 stars
Service: 3 out of 5 stars

The first official city of our China/Hong Kong trip was Xi’an. Xi’an is the ancient capital city of China and is home to the terracotta warriors and the tomb of China’s first emperor. The region here is one of the agricultural centres of China and is full of rich farmland and we definitely had our fill of fresh and yummy vegetables while we were here.

To start our meal this evening, we had some Chinese beer. I’m not a big beer drinker back in Canada so I don’t have a point of comparison, but I found Chinese beer to be quite light and mild in taste.

To start our meal, we had a variety of cold dishes. The cold beef was thinly sliced and lightly seasoned.

The cold chicken was pretty standard and regular tasting…although I also found it to be a bit dry.

I enjoyed the cold lotus root quite a bit. It was lightly drizzled with sesame oil and was very crunchy.

The cold cucumber dish was also lightly drizzled with sesame oil. It was slightly salty and very crunchy. I don’t think it was cucumber season back in Vancouver so I actually hadn’t eaten any in quite a while but the cucumbers here in Xi’an were very fresh.

The soup was loaded with veggies and mushrooms…

These green gourds were slightly tangy and also very crunchy. As you can probably tell by now, I have a penchant for crunchy vegetables.

The chicken and chive dish was great with rice. The chives had a light onion/garlicky taste but was not too overwelming.

The beef and pepper dish was spicy and also very good with rice. Although it had quite a few chilli peppers in the dish, it was not too spicy.

The chicken cubes in the next dish were a bit dry but I enjoyed the cucumber and carrot chunks. Notice how red the carrots are…I suppose this is why they are called red turnips in Chinese?

My mom referred to these veggies as Chinese lettuce. It was lightly stir-fried and very fresh.

I think these noodles were one of the best dishes of the evening. The noodles were freshly made and al dente. The light soup broth perfectly complemented the noodles.

I wasn’t too impressed with these pork dumplings…they looked a bit sad all lined up on the plate like that.

For dessert, we had some steamed sweet rice cakes. These tasted almost exactly like the white steamed rice cakes available in Vancouver but I liked these more because they were a bit chewier and weren’t as watery.

All in all, I enjoyed our first meal in Xi’an. I had been warned previously that the food in the other Chinese cities I would visit were much better but maybe that was why I enjoyed the food here. The vegetables were all very fresh and what I liked the most was that the food appeared to be completely absent of MSG! The service was also very attentive and friendly.

Summary:
Food: 3 out of 5 stars
Service: 3.5 out of 5 stars