1 MA'ER YOUZHI SUANTANG JIAOZI SOUR AND SPICY DUMPLINGS

These are some of the best dumplings you will ever eat. They are stuffed plump with beef and garlic chives and poured steaming hot into a bowl of vinegar, chili oil, sesame, cilantro, and garlic. When you bite into one and the juice pops into your mouth, you will feel the true soul of Xi’an in your mouth and never want to leave!

• Name: MA'ER YOUZHI SUANTANG DUMPLINGS 马二优质酸汤水饺
• Address: 洒金桥131号路东 131 Sajinqiao Street
• Phone: 84231396
• Price: 15 RMB/person

2 YANGROU PAOMO LAMB AND PITA SOUP

You really have to try this one.  There are two ways to get your paomo. You can either get a fresh pita bread unbroken, and break it into your empty bowl, then hand it back to the chef, which he will then add into the wok and cook for you, or, you can get it pre-broken up. For your first time, you should break it up yourself, so you can get the true feel for the pita and have a little fun too. The locals say that you should break it as small as possible, so that each piece can soak in the richness of the lamb stock. Just say “ziji bai 自己摆” I visited a few paomo restaurants, and all of them were amazing! The one we found on our last night in Xi’an was probably the best. The address is below. Apart from the one below, you can also visit 老白家水盆羊肉 (北广济街 76号) if you want to try another one after at a different location. The stock was full of aroma!

• Name: LIUXIN NIUYANGROU PAOMO 刘信牛羊肉泡馍
• Address: 洒金桥129号(老关庙什字旁) 129 Sajinqiao, right beside the Suantang jiaozi joint
• Price: ~23 RMB/person
• Hours: Come at night for the best experience

3 XIAOCHAO PAOMO SPICY LAMB AND PITA SOUP

Apart from the Yangrou paomo, there is another dish, the xiaochao paomo (小炒泡馍）, a very similar but spicier version, that is also worth ordering. I ate it at the same place as the Yangrou paomo place, and it was super delicious and spicy and garlicky.

• Name: 刘信牛羊肉泡馍 LIUXIN NIUYANGROU PAOMO
• Address: 洒金桥129号(老关庙什字旁) 129 Sajinqiao, right beside the Suantang jiaozi joint
• Price: ~23 RMB/person
• Hours: Come at night for the best experience

4 HULA TANG PEPPERY BEEF BALL SOUP

The hulatang is a classic Hui street food found on a lot of corners in the Hui district of Xi’an. The first time I tried it, I was surprised by how numbing the flavour was. The Sichuan peppercorn they add into the thick porridge like broth gives it a real kick, and when you add chili oil in as well, it’s quite spicy!

• Name:HAOZAILAI HULATANG 好再来肉丸子胡辣汤
• Address: At the intersection of Miaohoujie and Damaishijie – 庙后街与大麦市街交汇十字的东北角
• Hours: Early AM is best, before 9am ideally

5 DELICIOUS LAMB AND BEEF KEBABS

Eating BBQ lamb kebabs on the streets of Xi’an late at night is one of the most satisfying and enjoyable things you can do in the city. The portion of meat on the kebabs is quite small at many places, so it’s a good idea to order at least 20 kebabs to get a good filling of meat. In the Huiminjie area there are many late night kebab joints, but my favourite is at xinliang kaorou, where the cumin and chili mix is perfect and where they also serve you these beautiful wide nang breads also put on the BBQ and covered in spice.

• Name: XINLIANG KAOROU – 新亮烤串
• Must Order: Lamb kebabs – Yangrouchuan 羊肉串, Beef Kebabs – 牛肉串, nang bread – 馕
• Comments: Order 20 or more kebabs and you'll be in heaven.
• Address: 大麦市街106号
• Price: 2 RMB/chuan
• Hours: Come late at night 8 or 9 PM for the best time.

6 XI'AN JIANBING CREPE

If you’re exploring the old alleyways of Xi’an in the morning, chances are you’ll find a delicious Hui Chinese Xi’an jianbing. It’s loaded up with 0ne or two eggs and wrapped up with a selection of pickled vegetables, peanuts, chicken, carrots, and more. You simply point at what you want! For ordering, you will say either “one egg” as “yi ge ji dan”, or “two eggs” as “liang ge ji dan”.

• Name: LAODINGJIA JIANBING 老丁家
• Address: Miaohoujie 191 – 庙后街191号
• Hours: Come early before 930 AM

7 GUANTANG JIAOZI PLUMP STEAMED DUMPLINGS FROM HEAVEN

These are some of the best steamed dumplings you will ever eat. They are stuffed with beef, and I think I tasted a little cumin and spices in there as well. Their shape is a signature style which I haven’t been able to find in other places in China. They are so plump and round and served with a chili and vinegar dip goes along perfectly! Their restaurant recently moved to a bigger location, which is much larger and cleaner. It’s still in the old hui neighbourhood of central Xi’an, and is walking distance to Alley Youth Hostel. When you visit, make sure to also order their majiang liangfen 麻酱凉粉 cold rice noodles with sesame paste, chili oil, and vinegar, along with their sweet and refreshing babaozhou 八宝粥  a cold date, lotus petal, seeds and nuts porridge. And don’t forget to order their majiang liangpi 麻酱凉皮!

• Name: ZHILIANG GUANTANG JIAOZI 志亮灌汤饺子
• Address: 200 Miaohou Street 庙后街200号
• Price: 20 RMB +

8 BIANG BIANG MIAN – BIANGBIANG

If you were to choose one noodle dish to try in Xi’an, the Biang biang mian would be the champion. These noodles are so good you could move here just to eat them every day! I would love to do that! The fat hand pulled noodles are covered in a rich chili oil with a strong cinnamon and star anise flavour and topped with carrots, celery, cilantro, beans, and nice big chunks of beef. There are hundreds of biang biang noodle shops in Xi’an all lining the huiminjie area, making it a really easy bowl of noodles to find. I personally really enjoyed the noodles at Liu laosi 刘老四牛肉擀面庄.

• Name: LIU LAOSI NIUROU GAN MIAN ZHUANG 刘老四牛肉擀面庄
• Must Order: Biangbiang Noodles
• Address: 20m beside the police station on Miaohoujie street. 庙后街派出所向西20米
• Price: 15 + RMB

9 LUZHI LIANGFEN RICE JELLY NOODLES WITH CHILI OIL + MUSTARD

This is another classic Xi’an street food, and one of the most flavourful too! There are many different places to try it on the streets of Xi’an, especially in the Huiminjie area. You will find a high concentration on Sajinqiao street. It’s essentially a bowl filled with a broken up pita bread, fat rice jelly noodles, their specialty five spice thick soup, vinegar, chili oil, sesame paste, and a half boiled egg. It’s a lot of flavours in one bite, and definitely worth a try! The place we found was deep in a local alley and was the best I’ve ever had. It also turned out to be quite a famous place, and we didnt’ even research it or plan it. Go try it out!

• Name: LAOHEJIA LUZHI LIANGFEN 老何家卤汁凉粉
• Address: 西大街287号 287 Xidajie street

10LIANGFEN RICE JELLY WITH VINEGAR AND CHILI

Liangfen is one of Xi’ans most satisfying flavour combos. Thick sesame paste is paired with hot chili oil and cold jelly noodles with vinegar to give you a sour, spicy, nutty, refreshing slurp that will bring you into another dimension

11 XIAOSUROU THICK LAMB STEW

This is one meal that tastes way better than it looks. The Xiaosurou is a somewhat oily lamb stew concoction that is full of peppery and smooth gravy like flavour. You can add chili oil to it and eat it with a bowl of rice and it will fill you up and give you energy. It’s one of my favourite foods in Xi’an.

• Name: DINGJIA XIAOSUROU 定家小酥肉
• Must Order: Order the Xiaosurou 小酥肉. If you like you can order a liangpi and roujiamo from the restaurant directly beside it.
• Address: Dapiyuan Xikou 223 hao 大皮院西口223号
• Price: ~23 RMB/bowl
• Hours: Open all day

12 FENZHENGROU STEAMED BEEF WITH RICE FLOUR

The fenzhengrou is one of my favourite foods to have in China. It’s found all around China, served spicy and numbing in Sichuan, and Xi’an, where it’s a little more mild but served with raw cloves of garlic for an extra punch of flavour. It’s essentially steamed beef with chunks of rice flour with some spices served with a soft bun. The place I go to in Xi’an is run by a friendly Hui woman who is proud of her bowl.

• Name: MAJIA FENZHENGROU HUNDUN 马家粉蒸肉馄炖
• Must Order: Fenzhengrou 粉蒸肉
• Comments: Directly across from here is a famous Hulatang place. Come in the morning if you want it.
• Address: Dapiyuan 48 hao 大皮院48号
• Hours: Open all day.

13 DAPANJI BIG CHICKEN PLATE

Originally from Xinjiang in Northwest China, the Dapanji big chicken plate is another famous dish you can eat in Xian. It’s one of the best noodle dishes you can try in all of China. A huge bed of hand stretched noodles is covered in huge chunks of chicken, dried red chilies, potatoes, and bell peppers, and the flavour is full of cinnamon and star anise. It’s one of the most enjoyable noodle experiences in the world!

• Name: ERNAISI BIG PLATE CHICKEN 尔奈斯大盘鸡
• Address: On the corner of maixianjie street, #96 – 麦苋街96号十字路口西南角
• Price: 68 RMB for a small, 88 RMB for a big dapanji

14 ROUJIAMO PORK SANDWICH

This is absolutely the best street snack you need to try when you travel to Xi’an. There are two versions, one which is halal style made by Hui people, usually made with beef, and another style made by Han Chinese, usually made with pork. After visiting Xi’an a few times, I’ve found the most incredible pork roujiamo at a little restaurant that is worth the walk out of the huimin district. It is so packed with flavour and it is the perfect mix of both fatty and lean meat, served inside a crispy and fluffy hot pita. When I visited, we got a look into the back kitchen and witnessed the chopping of this ultra rich, fatty pork meat. It was insane! The way they scoop it into each steaming hot bun one after another with all the juices bursting and the meat overflowing from each bun gets you so hungry!

• Name: QINYU ROUJIAMO RESTAURANT 秦豫肉夹馍(东木头市店)
• Comments: Order it “Youzhi de”, premium extra pork!
• Address: 东木头市19号(东木头市幼儿园附近) 19 Dongmutou Street
• Price: 8 RMB and up
• Hours: 07:00-13:30

15 XI'AN SPINACH NOODLES

One thing you really have to eat in Xi’an is the beautiful spinach noodles. You can find the uncooked noodles sitting on shelves ready to buy and take home in shops all throughout the city, but your best option is to go to a shop that specializes in making them and preparing them fresh. You can choose from a bunch of different sauces to put on top, but I always choose either tomato and egg, or stewed pork. The place we found was great, and also sitting right across from a popular youth hostel, the Han Tang Inn. I’ve stayed there before and enjoyed it, especially being able to meet travellers from all over the world.

• Name: ZHANGJI JIAXIANG SPINACH NOODLES 张记家乡手擀菠菜面
• Address: 南长巷中段路北17号楼

16 HONGMIGAO STUFFED STICKY RICE WITH ROSE JAM

I found this while exploring the back lanes on our way to eat the luzhi liangfen dish. It’s this massively plump sticky rice ball stuffed with a very sweet brown sugar and rose jam combo. The best part is how it is super gooey and soft when you bite into it, and the sweet floral rose jam just gushes out as you eat it!

• Name: HONGMIGAO 红米糕
• Address: This one is a little more difficult to find, but not too bad. Just go to the intersection of Miaohoujie 庙后街 and Xiaoxuexixiang 小学西巷. It's in the Xiaoxuexixiang. You can also keep walking and take a left at the first intersection and you'll find the Luzhiliangfen.

17 BABAOZHOU COLD AND SWEET PORRIDGE

This is one of the most refreshing things you’ll ever put in your mouth. It’s essentially a cold rice porridge with seeds, nuts, and dried fruits. It goes along perfectly with the guantang jiaozi dumplings, so order one of each and a liangfen at the same restaurant as above.

• Name: ZHILIANG GUANTANG JIAOZI 志亮灌汤饺子
• Address: 200 Miaohou Street 庙后街200号
• Price: Spend around 20 RMB here for a full meal

18 BAOZI

If you love plump dumplings, juicy buns, and all the different types of dim sum and bao’s in China, you’re going to love these baozi in Xi’an. They offer a huge selection of fillings, which you can point at and try to your heart’s delight. Definitely order the pumpkin baozi, my personal favourite, AKA nangua baozi.

• PLUMP BAO'S AT XIAOYANG DABAO
• Name: 小杨大包
• Must Order: Order the pumpkin baozi AKA nangua baozi
• Comments: It's a little bit outside of the huiminjie district, but it's sure worth it if you want the best bao's in China!
• Address: Nandajie Dongmutoushi 南大街东木头市
• Price: 1.5 RMB per baozi
• Price: Come early in the AM for the freshest Baos

19 ZENGGAO STICKY RICE AND DATE CAKE

The zenggao is my favourite Xi’an dessert. It’s made with sticky rice, dates, and beans, and it’s super sweet and filling. You can find it all around the huiminjie district. I found one offered by a man selling it from a giant tricycle! It was super delicious!

• Name: ZENGGAO ON THE STREETS
• Comments: You can find it in the huiminjie district. Or, you can walk around the back streets of Xi'an and probably find a vendor selling it.
• Price: 4+ RMB

20 LIUXIANG NOODLES AKA GUNGUN NOODLES

After the biang biang mian, also known as biang biang noodles, these noodles were my favourite in Xi’an. The noodles are coated in a rich beef, carrot, cinnamon, and star anise gravy and they are all hand pulled by noodle masters in the back kitchen! This is a little outside of the Xi’an huiminjie district, but so worth coming for! The coolest part is watching the guys in the back kitchen pull the noodles. It’s a noodle heaven! They pull thousands and thousands of noodles each day and they have hundreds of bowls waiting on the counter ready to pour the hot noodles on top of! You’ll be so excited as soon as you see these!

• Name: LIUXIANGMIAN 柳巷面
• Must Order: Liuxiangmian
• Comments: Slightly outside of the huiminjie district, but very worth coming to visit!
• Address: Jiqing xiang jiqing daxia B Zuo 吉庆巷吉庆大夏B座
• Price: 10 RMB +
• Hours: Come for lunch or dinner

21 JINGGAO

The jinggao is another of Xi’an’s best desserts, made from sticky rice, rose jam, and some nuts. It’s very cheap for one stick, usually one or two RMB, and is found all over the huiminjie area. While I did’t find a specific spot with the best jinggao, you can find it so easily everywhere and they are all quite similar.

• JINGGAO ON THE STREETS OF XI'AN
• Address: Walk around the huiminjie area and you will find many stalls selling jinggao sticky rice dessert
• Price: 1 or 2 RMB per stick

My Xi’an Street Food Tour Videos

Watch the playlist above and enjoy these FULL-ON Chinese Street Food Tour videos in Xi’an!

Make sure to check out my other China Food Guides. My Xi’an food guide, Chengdu food guide, Hong Kong food guide, and Guangzhou food guide are all really useful!