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Providing a taste of a rugged land
By Wu Huixin |
December 20, 2012, Thursday
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Print Edition
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XINJIANG Uygur Autonomous Region, the largest region in China, spans more than 1.6 million square kilometers - one sixth of China's land area.
This vast land features diverse terrain, including plateaus, mountain ranges, basins and desert.
Although some high-altitude and extremely hot or cold areas are unsuitable for habitation, its inhabited zones include pasture ideal for raising livestock.
Weather in Xinjiang is classic continental climate, which is comparatively hot and dry, and red meat forms a large part of the daily diet of locals.
Xinjiang is home to many of China's Muslims, so pork and alcohol do not feature in their cuisine.
Hangzhou is geographically far from Xinjiang, but here are three Uygur restaurants serving up the region's diversified cuisine and providing a taste of this rugged land.
Tarim Restaurant
This restaurant is also named after a Xinjiang geographic feature - the Tarim Basin, which occupies an area of about 906,500 square kilometers.
The restaurant's decor showcases traditional Uygur style. Uygur carpets and the morin khuur - a bowed stringed instrument traditionally played by north China nomads - are hung on the walls and artificial grape vines are entwined around pillars.
Recommended dishes include Xinjiang big-plate chicken and Xinjiang hand pilaf.
Xinjiang big plate chicken - stewed chicken, potatoes and fettuccine - is the signature traditional northwestern dish offered here. It is said that before the liberation in 1945, a Sichuan man escaped to Xinjiang and opened a restaurant beside the No 312 national highway.
As drivers tasted the delicious dish he had created, its renown spread and soon Xinjiang big plate chicken enjoyed huge popularity across the country.
Xinjiang hand pilaf makes a frequent appearance on Uygurs dinner tables and is considered an essential dish to serve to guests at banquets. Ingredients include onions, carrot, mutton and rice.
It is so named because originally people ate it using their hands, however, nowadays spoons and chopsticks are provided.
Address: 175 Hedong Rd
Tel: (0571) 8523-9054
Pamir Restaurant
This restaurant is named after the famous Pamir Plateau, which ranges in the border of China, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The area belonging to China is located in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The staff are Uygur and frequent customers include Xinjiang natives working or studying in Hangzhou who drop in for a taste of home.
In the restaurant, naan flat bread is taken as the staple. While some versions are 50 centimeters in diameter, the ones on offer here are a more wieldy 15 centimeters.
Homemade yogurt is the favorite drink of many Uygur people and the variety offered here has fresher more mellow taste than ones sold in supermarkets.
Beef and mutton dishes form the bulk of the menu. Roast whole lamb, the most famous Xinjiang dish, is available for 1,688 yuan (US$270).
Address: 9-5 Qiutao Rd N.
Tel: (0571) 8652-0381
Dong Yi Shun
Centuries ago in Hangzhou, Zhongshan Road was a rendezvous for Persian merchants whose business took them between China and Middle East and the area became home to a number of mosques and Muslim restaurants.
It is still a location for old and new Muslim restaurants, with Dong Yi Shun one of the most popular.
Evidence for this is found in the long queues that form every afternoon in front of its barbecue booth which sells freshly made shish kebabs, Xinjiang naan, steamed buns and other northwestern snacks.
The tasty, reasonably priced naan is a particular favorite, with locals and foreign customers alike happy to wait in line for the hot flat bread.
Dong Yi Yun is easy to spot as the facade features Islamic arches, making it stand out from neighbors.
The decoration is simple and plain but the portions are huge and tasty - a small portion of Xinjiang big plate chicken is enough for five people.
Like other Uygur restaurants, its menu is based on mutton, beef and chicken, with fewer vegetables. Salad and pasta dishes are also available.
A must order is its authentic tasting yogurt, which comes accompanied with sugar.
Address: 99 Gaoyin St
Tel: (0571) 8780-5163
This vast land features diverse terrain, including plateaus, mountain ranges, basins and desert.
Although some high-altitude and extremely hot or cold areas are unsuitable for habitation, its inhabited zones include pasture ideal for raising livestock.
Weather in Xinjiang is classic continental climate, which is comparatively hot and dry, and red meat forms a large part of the daily diet of locals.
Xinjiang is home to many of China's Muslims, so pork and alcohol do not feature in their cuisine.
Hangzhou is geographically far from Xinjiang, but here are three Uygur restaurants serving up the region's diversified cuisine and providing a taste of this rugged land.
Tarim Restaurant
This restaurant is also named after a Xinjiang geographic feature - the Tarim Basin, which occupies an area of about 906,500 square kilometers.
The restaurant's decor showcases traditional Uygur style. Uygur carpets and the morin khuur - a bowed stringed instrument traditionally played by north China nomads - are hung on the walls and artificial grape vines are entwined around pillars.
Recommended dishes include Xinjiang big-plate chicken and Xinjiang hand pilaf.
Xinjiang big plate chicken - stewed chicken, potatoes and fettuccine - is the signature traditional northwestern dish offered here. It is said that before the liberation in 1945, a Sichuan man escaped to Xinjiang and opened a restaurant beside the No 312 national highway.
As drivers tasted the delicious dish he had created, its renown spread and soon Xinjiang big plate chicken enjoyed huge popularity across the country.
Xinjiang hand pilaf makes a frequent appearance on Uygurs dinner tables and is considered an essential dish to serve to guests at banquets. Ingredients include onions, carrot, mutton and rice.
It is so named because originally people ate it using their hands, however, nowadays spoons and chopsticks are provided.
Address: 175 Hedong Rd
Tel: (0571) 8523-9054
Pamir Restaurant
This restaurant is named after the famous Pamir Plateau, which ranges in the border of China, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The area belonging to China is located in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The staff are Uygur and frequent customers include Xinjiang natives working or studying in Hangzhou who drop in for a taste of home.
In the restaurant, naan flat bread is taken as the staple. While some versions are 50 centimeters in diameter, the ones on offer here are a more wieldy 15 centimeters.
Homemade yogurt is the favorite drink of many Uygur people and the variety offered here has fresher more mellow taste than ones sold in supermarkets.
Beef and mutton dishes form the bulk of the menu. Roast whole lamb, the most famous Xinjiang dish, is available for 1,688 yuan (US$270).
Address: 9-5 Qiutao Rd N.
Tel: (0571) 8652-0381
Dong Yi Shun
Centuries ago in Hangzhou, Zhongshan Road was a rendezvous for Persian merchants whose business took them between China and Middle East and the area became home to a number of mosques and Muslim restaurants.
It is still a location for old and new Muslim restaurants, with Dong Yi Shun one of the most popular.
Evidence for this is found in the long queues that form every afternoon in front of its barbecue booth which sells freshly made shish kebabs, Xinjiang naan, steamed buns and other northwestern snacks.
The tasty, reasonably priced naan is a particular favorite, with locals and foreign customers alike happy to wait in line for the hot flat bread.
Dong Yi Yun is easy to spot as the facade features Islamic arches, making it stand out from neighbors.
The decoration is simple and plain but the portions are huge and tasty - a small portion of Xinjiang big plate chicken is enough for five people.
Like other Uygur restaurants, its menu is based on mutton, beef and chicken, with fewer vegetables. Salad and pasta dishes are also available.
A must order is its authentic tasting yogurt, which comes accompanied with sugar.
Address: 99 Gaoyin St
Tel: (0571) 8780-5163
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