Dinner at Urumqi 乌鲁木齐 tonight was at a local restaurant (no foreign tourists seen and most of the staff only spoke the Uighur language). Almost Hansel and Gretel-like in its decor and charm.
The food is perceptibly less Han and has shades of India, the Stans and Iran: pilaf (so delicious I forgot to take a picture before consuming the whole bowl), mutton skewers, fresh yoghurt as well as the more familiar sauteed and soup noodles. The mutton skewers are a lot larger than those in Dunhuang, and far more tender and less spicy. Note: the mutton liver skewers are wrapped in fat before barbequing which renders the liver crispy outside and juicy inside. Not unlike a first bite into a crisply grilled sausage. I'm looking forward to more Xinjiang culinary explorations.
Check out the pics!
