5 Must Eat Dishes at the Muslim Quarter in Xi’an

Xi’an Muslim Quarter China Street Food

Xi’an, the capitol of the Shaanxi Province, is well-known for it’s amazing food! One of the most popular places to try Shaanxi cuisine in Xi’an is in the Muslim Quarter, a famous walking street area inside the old city wall.

Walking Around the Muslim Quarter

There’s one large main street in the center filled with restaurants and stalls, but along the sides of the area are many little alleys with even more food and shop options.

Tip: It can be difficult to choose where to go first. People told me to look for the longest queue where Chinese people are lined up and that will be the best!

Watch my video below to see all the foods we tried during my latest trip here!

Here are 5 Top Foods to Try at the Xi’an Muslim Quarter

1. Chinese Hamburger – 肉夹馍 (Rou jia mo)

Roujiamo is basically a Chinese hamburger. Most commonly you’ll roujiamo consists of pulled pork meat inside a bun. You can find many variations of it though depending where you buy it – some vendors will use different meats and spices to change the flavor. It’s a quick, cheap, and delicious!

2. Biang Biang Noodles (You Po Che Mian) – 油泼扯面

Biang Biang mian is a special noodle dish in Shaanxi that is famous because of the noodles thickness and length. Street vendors will hand pull the dough into thick noodles, cook them fresh for you, then top the noodles with lamb meat, vegetables, and peppers.

Many people say that Biang biang noodles are named for the sound the chef makes when he pulls the dough into noodle shapes and slaps it on the table.

Fun fact: Biang is actually one of the most complicated characters in China, with more than 56 strokes used to write it!

3. Bread Soup – 泡馍 Pao Mo

Pao Mo is a special soup in Shaanxi. When eating this dish, you will break up pieces of bread to put into your soup.

4. Grilled Meat Skewers – 烤肉串 (kao rou chuan)

Chuanr is a classic Chinese street food – juicy pieces of lamb and other meats are skewered and grilled, then topped with spices like cumin and chili for a delicious street snack. You’ll find these all over China of course, but they’re a classic for a reason.

5. Dumplings – 饺子 Jiaozi

Dumplings are another classic street food you can find everywhere in China – but you should still try them here! There are many variations, like fried or steamed, vegetable or meat, and so on!