Xi'an: The Muslim Quarter

In my post on the Guan Tang Baozi from Jia San, I mentioned the Muslim Quarter. Located behind the Drum Tower, the Muslim Quarter and the Xi'an Mosque was first mentioned in imperial records dating back to 742 AD.

 

Walking past the Drum Tower and down Bai Yuan Men Jie, the main street, you'll start to notice as subtle change in dress, women with their hair covered in scarves, men looking a bit less "Han" in appearance. The Missus notes that even the language here was different.

  Bai Yuan Men Jie is lined with shops. Many of them selling dried fruit, nuts, and other items that Xi'an is well known for....being that Xi'an was the Eastern terminus of the Silk Road, perhaps some of these items have a long history.

 

 

 

In one of the shops I came across the sesame and nut stuffed dried peppers we had in a dish in Jinan, One of the Missus's foodie uncle's had mentioned we'd be seeing this in Xi'an. I had a taste and man, this was pretty spicy....back of the throat spicy that got me coughing pretty good.

Quite a few snack shops along the street as well.

 

 

This one served up a bunch of different fried dough........

 

Which was actually pretty greasy and tasted rancid!

If you really want to see the "real action", it's all located on the side streets that branch out from Bai Yuan Men Jie.

 

This is where you'll see all of the produce, meat, and other vendors. We were told that there are folks who are raised, married, and die, who almost never leave this tiny enclave...... I'm not sure it's true, but it's quite a story.

 

The smells are intoxicating, there always seems to be a pot of something simmering or boiling over some pretty rustic stoves putting out some major heat.

 

 

And there were times where it didn't seem like we were in China.....

 

And of course, this was where most of the food stands were....like this one making Rou Jia Mo, often called "Chinese Hamburger" in signs, but more like a meat stir fry in pita bread. This stand was quite popular.....

 

It was pretty amazing the amont of heat that came out of this stove.......it looks simply like charcoal in a hole, but there is a fan contraption underneath.

 

As well as a bellow set-up......so things can get pretty hot.

 

 

I kinda enjoyed the Rou Jia Mo...

 

 

Though things get a bit crowded in the Muslim Quarter during the day, it was still pretty relaxed .

However, when the sun started going down......

 

Things behind the Drum Tower start heating up.....the crowds descend on the Muslim Quarter and it gets quite crowded.

 

 

I had to find areas to take a break from the mass of humanity at times.

 

I'm not a big fan of crowds, but we had to check things out because this was when all the grills came out!

 

 

 

The alleyways were full of little stands, all in turn filled with customers chewing away on skewers of yang rou chuan.

 

It was really amazing and somewhat alarming watching cars attempting to drive down the packed alleyways, but we saw no accidents.

I guess we enjoyed the Muslim Quarter, as we returned there on every day of our stay in Xi'an.......

 

Getting lost and wandering down the small streets that were like branches growing from the trunk that was Bai Yuan Men Jie.

Comments

[heidih]

Great shots. What is going on with those walnuts in the mixer? They look like they are still in their shell, but then there is paste surging around them?!?

[Su-Lin]

What a fantastic range of snack foods! I really enjoyed the Chinese-Muslim food I had in Beijing; now I just wish we also made it to Xian!

[Jason]

How were the skewers?

[Kirk]

Hi Heidi - They are being roasted in salt. That's how they roast walnuts.

Hi Su-Lin - You know, I do have a pretty nice Uyghur post from Beijing coming up....I hope I manage to get it done before the next year! ;o)

Hi Jason - Amazingly.....they aren't much better than what I make at home! Really cheap though....

[Passionate Eater]

What a plethora of street food! Sometimes you can get really lucky, and sometimes, you end up getting greasy and rancid dough like you did. :( I am bookmarking this in case I ever go to Xian!

[nhbilly]

Wow...

[Kirk]

Hi PE - It is a crap shoot of sorts. I don't think you'll have much problem finding the Muslim Quarter if you're in Xi'an, it seems like everyone is there!

Hi Bill - It was a fun place to visit!

[Andrea]

I just got back and ate LOTS of those dried crispy chili peppers (I have a high heat tolerance!), but was sad when I could not find them in either Beijing or Shanghai - do you know where to get them here in the states via mail-order??? (the photo I mean is of the tilted "sheet pan" full of just chilis with a few peanuts)

Thank you for the wonderful trip photos!!!

Here are mine:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/misstenacity/sets/72157629879031789/

[Kirk]

Hi Andrea - Love your photos. We saw those type of chilies in Jinan, but not Beijing, though it could be we weren't trying hard enough! Let me see if I can find at least the Chinese name nad we can start there.

[J.S. @ Sun Diego Eats]

Tried the Rou Jia Mo at Xi'an Famous Foods in NY (at least I think its the same thing it was called 'Spicy Cumin Lamb Burger' but looked a lot like that) and although I liked the filling the bread was a bit bland. Although I imagine that's how its supposed to be? The cumin lamb hand cut noodles were outstanding though, the texture is impressive.

Do you have any posts on Shanghai? Headed to Shanghai to visit my dad in November and would love to see any posts you have on where to eat. My dad is not really a food person ('food is fuel' etc etc) and I tried searching Shanghai but naturally that pulls up 11+ pages of posts!

[Kirk]

Hi JS - Sorry to say we haven't been to Shanghai yet.....though I've got a bunch of friends who are or have family there. You'll eat quite well! I can get you a list if you want.

[J.S. @ Sun Diego Eats]

Kirk - a list would be amazing if its not too much of a hassle!! I'll check back this post or else email to sundiegoeats@gmail.com would be lovely :)

[Kirk]

Ok JS. Let me see what I can do.