When it comes to the Silk Road, the idea of long-distance trade and cultural exchange between East and West centuries ago immediately comes to mind.

Indeed the 6,437-kilometer overland Silk Road, which began in the Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220), carried silk and other goods from China, bringing back products and new ways of thinking from Europe. Today, East-West trade is getting renewed emphasis under President Xi Jinping’s “Belt and Road” initiative.

Although Shanghai was not directly a stop on the ancient Silk Road, it was greatly influenced by cities and countries beyond its borders. Today, that influence can still be seen in the restaurants of Shanghai.

Shanghai Daily visited six of the restaurants in the city that serve regional cuisines from points along the old Silk Road to see how the flavors have held up over time.

The flavor of Xi’an

Suzakumon

My first stop was the Suzakumon restaurant in the Putuo District, which features cuisines from Xi’an, the start of the ancient Silk Road and the modern-day capital of Shaanxi Province.

This small restaurant on Zhenping Road is best known for its roujiamo, which is sometimes called the Chinese hamburger, and for various noodle specialties from the northwest. It’s a popular place. At noon on a Sunday, there was hardly a seat to be found.

I ordered roujiamo, biang biang noodles and noodles in boiling oil. Wrapped in a paper bag, the roujiamo consisted of two round, white buns stuffed with minced meat. A bit of meat broth is poured on the meat just before the dish is served.

It’s quite delicious and surprisingly not too greasy. The toasted bun was a bit on the hard side but still very appetizing.

Biang biang, or “belt noodles,” are about 5 centimeters wide. They are served in a large bowl of clear broth, with an accompanying bowl of thick tomato and egg soup that serves as a counterpoint to the cayenne pepper spiciness of the broth.

The noodles in boiling oil aren’t as odd as they may sound.

Oil sprayed on the noodles has cooled by the time the dish is served. Added to the noodles are vinegar, cayenne pepper, bean sprouts, garlic and spices.

Suzakumon also provides cold rice noodle dishes, Chinese dumplings and some traditional Shaanxi wines.

Tel:5291-2385

Address: 101 Zhenping Rd

Another two

Xi’an-style choices:

Shiheji

Tel: 6076-6171

Address: 28 Hexuan Rd, Jiangqiao Wanda Plaza

Xi’an Snacks

Tel: 158-0185-8932

Address: 982 Jingqiu Rd

The flavor of Lanzhou

Dunhuanglou

Lanzhou, the capital and largest city of Gansu Province, is renowned for its hand-pulled beef noodles.

The province has an ethnic Muslim minority.

People who love this food pack into Dunhuanglou, a halal restaurant on Zhongshan Road N.

Bowls of specialty beef noodles are priced at only 15 yuan (US$2.4) each. The noodles, which come in different widths and shapes, are served with soup, flecked with beef bits, minced cilantro and a few radish slices. The clear soup has a strong flavor.

Dunhuanglou also serves other specialties from China’s northwest, such as stewed lamb, whole lamb roasted and some specially flavored steak.

Tel: 5290-4792

Address: 2212 Zhongshan Rd N.

Another two
Langzhou-style
choices:

Lanzhou Noodles

Address: 316 Nanchang Rd

Dongfanggong

Tel: 5404-3039

Address: 2006 Zhongshan Rd W.

The flavor of Xinjiang

Yershari

Yershari Restaurant is a halal restaurant chain offering typical dishes from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It has more than 10 outlets around the city.

The name of the restaurant means “earth of the Uighur,” a reference to the Muslim ethnic people of the region. For appetizers, try lamb shashlik and roasted lamb chops. You can specify how spicy you want your food. The chops are served with a dish of paprika and cumin, and a dish of vinegar and chili as condiments.

This restaurant is a meat-eater’s delight, except that no pork is served. I ordered tomato and beef stew, nang (a crusty pancake), lamb pilaf and cold rice noodles.

The soup was dense with flavor and also makes a nice accompaniment to rice, if ordered. Nang is a typical Xinjiang food, often eaten for breakfast by Xinjiang locals. It is fried and sprinkled with spices.

The cold rice noodles are bit spicy because of the chili oil in the dish, but the smoothness of the noodles really makes this dish a treat.

And if you have a sweet tooth, don’t miss the desserts at Yershari. A special Uygur cake with layers of ice cream is very popular among diners. And the milk rice, which is a version of rice pudding, was also tasty. Or can try some of Yershari’s specialty yoghurt.

Tel: 6333-8750

Address: 7/F, Bailian Shimao International Plaza Mall, 819 Nanjing Rd E.

Two other
Xingjiang-style choices:

Nawa Xinjiang Restaurant

Tel: 6237-1099

Address: 678 Huaihai Rd W.

Jiang

Tel: 6253-6061, 6215-5262

Address: 4, Lane 293, Jiaozhou Rd

The flavor of Russia

Red Square

Skipping across the border of the old Silk Road is Russian cuisine, and a good spot to savor it is Red Square restaurant.

The restaurant structure itself is worth a trip. There’s a spiral staircase leading into this Russian-style building.

At night, strings of small lamps twinkle at the gate.

As an appetizer, I chose the cake-like dressed herring, which consisted of several colorful layers of ingredients such as egg, vegetables and salted herring cut into very thin strips. If you don’t like fish, there are creative salads on the menu.

Home-style borsch is so Russian and here, it is so tasty.

The soup is clear and the color of a ruby. It contains sliced cabbage and small beef cubes. Sour cream tops the soup — a perfect pairing.

Red Square’s crepes come in salty versions for main dishes and sweet versions for dessert. I tried both the mushroom caramel crepes and crepes with caramel.

The mushroom ones were rolled crepes, while the dessert one was open, studded with caramel and strawberry pieces.

Roasted meat and vegetable kebabs are also a specialty of this restaurant. The chicken kebab I tried was tender and flavorful.

The Russian waitress who served me had one of the warmest welcoming smiles that any diner could hope for.

Tel: 5512-7007

Address: 308, 3/F, Bldg 1, 10 Shajing Rd

Another Russian-style choice:

Flying Elephant Restaurant

Tel: 6352-2000, 6351-0797

Address: 3/F The Bund Hotel, 525 Guangdong Rd

The flavor of Turkey

Pasha

The old Silk Road passed through Turkey on its way to Europe, lending a different cuisine to the route.

Pasha is one of Shanghai’s oldest Turkish restaurants. Its exotic décor and wooden tables give the impression of dining in a Turkish home. There’s a map of Turkey on the ceiling, made of geometric pieces. Traditional Byzantine music completes the setting.

I chose mucver, zucchini pancakes with homemade yoghurt, as a starter. The zucchini strips wrapped inside the pancake were delectable and the yoghurt dispelled any greasy taste.

Ayran, a salty yoghurt drink, is traditional in Turkey. The waitress who recommended it to me said I might find the taste a bit strange with the first sip, but that would quickly melt into a refreshing taste.

For main dishes, my friend and I ordered lahmacun, a Turkish pizza-style flat bread covered with minced meat, tomato and onion, and tvavuk sote, sauteed chicken with vegetables. Both were very good.

Pasha Turkish Restaurant is also known for its pizzas, kebabs and grilled meats. And for dessert, there’s firin sutlac, a baked sweet rice pudding served with ground almonds.

Tel: 6473-8113

Address: 262 Nanchang Rd

Another two
Turkish-style choices:

Garlic Turkish Restaurant

Tel:5424-3332

Address: 698 Yongjia Rd

TUK Turkish Restaurant

Tel: 5032-2571

Address: 526 Laoshan Rd, Pudong New Area

The flavor of Italy

Venice was a major port on the western end of the old Silk Road. We all remember Marco Polo.

There are so many Italian restaurants in Shanghai, but I rather like Porta Nova, on Lao Wai Jie, or “Foreigners’ Street,” in the Minhang District.

It’s famous for its pizzas, baked to perfection in a big oven. I ordered diavola, a pizza with salami, spicy chicken, mozzarella and chili peppers. While waiting for the pizza to come out of the oven, the restaurant’s wide array of antipasto goes down a treat. Try the delicious beef carpaccio ­­­­­­­­— raw beef slices served with black truffle oil and artichokes.

If you aren’t a pizza fan, the primo piatto, or spaghetti with squid ink, is a great alternative. Don’t be put off by the pitch-black appearance of this dish. It’s really tasty without any annoying fishy smell.

For diners who use the app Dianping, which is somewhat similar to Yelp, Porta Nova offers discount coupons on certain days.

Tel: 6465-6868, 6465-7788

Address: 40 Lao Wai Jie, Lane 3338, Hongmei Rd

Another two
Italian-style choices:

Bella Napoli

Tel: 6248-8985

Address: 4, Lane 946, Changle Rd

Goodfellas

Tel: 6323-2188

Address: 7 Yan’an Rd E.