Xi'an a streetfood heaven in the Shaanxi Province
Dinner with good company in Chinas Foodie Paradise aka Xian
The Xian City Centre is busy as can be in the evenings - small street food stands, and markets open around 6 pm and stay open to midnight, usually fully packed and the most famous one is in Down Town Xian at the Muslime Quarter.
The Restaurants here are famous for seafood of corse and traditional Chinese Cuisine. I am happy to have local company as I typically point one thing on the menu and pray it will be tasty. We shared many plates ate Spicy lotus which was a delight, quite a few fish variations and dumplings.
To find the best places to go scroll down and get the links to some great tour guides and free tours.
If the map doesn’t work please click here to show the location with Google maps.
Pointing out one restaurant and saying that's the best one to eat at is hardly manageable when it comes to Xian food. The culinary variety is wide and plentiful, and street food is everywhere. Food in China has been exceptionally interesting, with some extremely spicy, some extremely delicious, and some extremely new consistencies for my taste buds to explore.
Now, with translation apps, it is much easier to read the menu and order something you most likely enjoy. So get your passport out, plan a trip to one of those countries you have always wondered how they feel and taste, and get ready to discover something new. I didn't have a translate tool on my phone, and it was fine with me; most days, I pointed something out on the menu and order ,it's as simple as that. That's how I got to order rice with a red, green and orange pepper dish that swept me off my feet as it was and still is the spiciest thing I have ever eaten. Don't get me wrong, I was delicious, but my belly couldn't handle it, which I found out later.
I ordered soup once that had an extremely strange consistency, and I couldn't even swallow it, but that's how things are when you travel through a country and don't speak the language. Most days, the staff helped me or told me their favourite dish. And if you are visiting a new country, don’t overthink it and simply give something new a try, it may turn out to be your new favourite dish or something you will remember for life.
Photograph by Xiaolong Wong
I had a stroll through a local market and got to taste silken tofu, which had never tasted as good as it did on this day. I ate it from a box with the sauce dripping all over; this taste is burned into my memory, and I even remember the smell of the marked streets. Isn't it crazy how our memory works? I met a tremendous number of kind-hearted people who loved to introduce my Western tongue to the Chinese cuisine. Oh gosh I think I have lost myself in the great memories, so where did I even start? Hmmm, where to eat! Right? If you are like me, it's simple! -Take a walk and see what comes up, and snack your way through a country with all its flavours (except instinct animals, and some crazy soups please don’t any of those dishes). For everybody how likes to have a proper plan check out the following list of a few interesting foodblogs and some of Xians markets to not miss out on:
Xian Guided Tours:
China Xian Tours offers a wide range of tours and group sizes and is represented throughout the country.
and of corse we don’t want to miss out on free tours with Guru Walk
Xians Food market and Blog that will get you around the city without missing a thing:
Xian Night Market near Yongxingfang within the city walls.
Travel China Guide is a great blog where you will find night markets, street food, tours and much more, have a look.
Last update March 2026
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