Xi'an Is So Good-Ci!
——A ramble before the story. “Xi’an, is it fun?” a friend asked. I racked my brains, digging deep into my head’s few literary, geographic and historical scraps, mulled them over and finally came to a conclusion: “Good ci!” Delicious – that’s the most direct definition this uncultured foodie can give of Xi’an. I left on the spur of the moment, asked for leave the day before, and booked a hotel on the road. Originally I planned to get some culture at the Shaanxi History Museum, but only found out on Baidu that day that you need to reserve in advance, so this trip can be crowned a “pure eating” trip. My weight shot from 53.5 kg to 59.3 kg over three days (actually two, if you take out the travel day) of arduous eating – proof enough. Another round of dieting, KO. But back to the point. I’ve been to Xi’an so many times that I, a directionally challenged person, can navigate the alleys without GPS and head straight for a time-honored eatery, describing routes by north-south-east-west rather than left and right from some landmark. Every time I come to Xi’an, I automatically switch into a “chomp-chomp-chomp” mode, which makes me suspect I was a train in my previous life. After so many visits, there are still things I haven’t tried; each time brings surprises that excite my restless taste buds, so that this ancient capital of thirteen dynasties haunts me with nothing more than a single roujiamo.
——Getting There
Outbound: The main purpose of this trip was to ship our little Monkey, who is on summer vacation, off to his grandparents’ place, so the whole gang – my parents, my husband, Monkey and me – drove out. We set off at 5am, took the Chuxin–Xinyang–Hushaan expressway, and arrived at Lianhu District at 3:30pm. Return: K60 train, Xi’an–Huainan, 14:16–05:08 next morning, sleeper berth ¥222.5. Summer tickets are usually tight, so book in advance.
——Accommodation
I’ve stayed in Lianhu District twice before, close to the Drum Tower, convenient for strolling and eating a few small bites I crave. I remembered the Century Landscape Hotel had a decent location, at the crossing of Beidajie and Erfu Street. From Erfu Street south to Maixian Street, past Beiyuanmen, you’re at Huimin Street. Ctrip member discounts gave a deluxe king at ¥162/night and a deluxe family room at ¥202/night – booked two nights without hesitation. Apartment-style hotel, fairly clean, family room with a 1.8m + 1.2m bed, spacious enough; at this price in the city centre, I was more than satisfied. Best of all: free underground parking.
——Weather
Normally I don’t like talking about the weather because I always roast like a dog here; last July it was so hot the pavement seemed to burn my feet. This year the weather was surprisingly kind. We arrived on an overcast day. Day two stayed overcast with rain in the afternoon; my parents rested in the hotel with Monkey while my husband and I had afternoon tea. The rain stopped by dinnertime, so eating was not disrupted. Day three was sunny, with an extraordinarily blue sky; despite the strong sun, a breeze under the umbrella felt cool. In short, amazing weather.
——The Eating, in Earnest
DAY 1: We checked in a little after 4pm, freshened up for over an hour, then marched towards Huimin Street to hunt for food. People say don’t eat on Huimin Street, that it’s too commercialised, but in a tourist city, I think Huimin Street – one of China’s top ten food streets – is pretty fair. The ubiquitous stinky tofu and giant squid skewers – you can easily skip them. Just because they appear elsewhere doesn’t mean you should write the whole place off. Prices are indeed a tad higher than outside, but rent is high; if prices were below cost, would you dare eat it? Around Huimin Street the food is concentrated, choices are many, so for visitors short on time, it’s a great option. That said, we usually don’t eat right on Huimin Street; the little alleys branching off are less crowded and still offer plenty, like Dapiyuan. Considering my aging parents were tired from the long journey, we chose the time-honoured Yizhenlou at the end of Maixian Street for “xiaochao” – the legendary yangrou paomo – and grabbed a portion of meatball hulatang from Dapiyuan on the side. Four adults and one child: ordered two bowls of paomo – a regular and a premium – plus a cold side dish, ¥58 + ¥38 + ¥15. The premium probably had more meat. Taste? No complaints. A little pricey. As for portion size… well, Shaanxi’s “ten oddities” say bowls and basins are hard to tell apart. Let’s just say, five people sharing two bowls left my parents so stuffed they had to walk from Huimin Street to Zhonglou and then back to the hotel along Beidajie.
My husband and I then took Monkey on a mission to Ximu Yogurt. I got myself an Oreo stir-fried yogurt and a milk laozao egg. Ximu’s fried yogurt is my must-eat-every-time obsession; it’s a chain, I buy one whenever I see a branch. The milk laozao egg was new this year; my husband said life needs experiments, so we tried it. Laozao is fermented rice wine, with egg, goji berries, sesame seeds, crushed peanuts and a bit of extra sugar. I thought it was fine, suited my taste; my husband remarked that there’s always someone who eats weird stuff – and got smacked by me for that.
We walked to Zhonglou metro station, Line 2 transfer to Line 3, 30–40 minutes, destination: Dayanta. Arrived at 8pm; the sky was still bright, but the fountain area was already packed – hard to even find a gap for a photo. The music fountain starts at 9pm, so we wandered and took some posed shots. Datang Night City is right next door; I wanted to see the lady on the roly-poly toy, but it still hadn’t opened after the fountain show, so we decisively crossed the street to find something to eat.
Maybe even my input method has given up on “biangbiang” – I certainly can’t write it. It’s supposed to be a calling card of Xi’an’s noodles. How did it taste? Let my son’s picture answer. Three of us shared one bowl of biangbiang noodles, one portion of cold skin noodles, an ice jelly all for me, and a roujiamo all for Monkey. After eating, we retraced our metro route and got back to the hotel after midnight.
DAY 2: Early, though not too early – 8am out the door for food. At the corner of Erfu Street and Maixian Street, there’s a meatball hulatang place I’ve always patronised. I’m partial to it: beef meatballs, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, beans, chayote… all sorts of veg, seasoned with pepper, chilli DIY – you’ve got to ladle on two big spoonfuls, eat until you sweat and cry “awesome”.
Then we wandered towards Huimin Street. Because it was still early, there were few tourists, and I finally got that tourist-free shot of the “Second Place” plaque. The Gao Family Mansion opposite has an entrance fee, so we skipped it. I led my husband into Huajue Alley, behind the main street. Same goods, prices at least a third cheaper, and far fewer people. From the Drum Tower entrance into Huimin Street, on the left there’s an archway that leads straight to Xiyang Market; it’s very narrow, just wide enough for a tricycle. My husband insisted on buying a few terracotta warriors to take back to “my girls” – almost got himself killed.
A bit after 10am, Mom and Monkey were ready; my dad, who’d gone out on his own, had returned, so we regrouped and cabbed to Beilin. Its full name is the Xi’an Beilin Museum, said to house stele, epitaphs and all sorts of artefacts from different dynasties. It’s at Wenchang Gate in the city’s southeast corner. Taxi from the hotel cost ¥8.5, the flagfall is ¥8. Dad goes in every time he visits Xi’an, and he’ll spend hours there; I can’t be cultured that way, so I sent Monkey to accompany him – start young, maybe some culture will seep in. My mom, husband and I played about on the city wall, walking along the outer moat from Wenchang Gate west to Yongning Gate, then looping back along the inner wall base. We took endless posed photos, browsed shops, and when we finally arrived back at the Beilin entrance, the culture-bathed grandpa and grandson still hadn’t come out.
After 1pm, they emerged. I was craving huimashe, another kind of noodle, so we followed the GPS into a small alley and stumbled upon Liuxiang Noodles. Big place, crowded, spotless, looking good – so we sat down and ate. Proudly, they serve only one kind of noodle. Based on our yangrou paomo experience, two small bowls would suffice. The taste was beyond reproach. It’s on Jixian Lane; walking out west brings you to Beidajie.
After eating, around 2pm, I still hankered for mashe, so our group of five kept walking north along Beidajie towards the hotel. The next junction north of our hotel, on Guanghui Lane, we’d tried to eat at in the morning but were told it only opens at 10am, so we decided to go eat again. One portion of stewed mashe, one stir-fried mashe, a bottle of Ice Peak each for Monkey and me. Dad barely ate, my husband barely touched the stir-fried mashe – their combat power worrying. I devoured everything with great delight. Who else? I can really “suffer” the first part of “endure hardship” – who else? Taste-wise, it was great – I love all noodles. The stewed mashe had a tomato sauce, the stir-fried one a hint of cumin, a bit like fried noodles back home.
The five of us were absurdly full. My parents took Monkey for a nap. It was drizzling, so my husband and I mulled it over and decided to go out for afternoon tea. Earlier we’d passed Yizhenlou and the doorman at the adjacent Shaan Thirteen was shouting about chilli oil ice cream, which had me extremely interested. So we strolled along Erfu Street and Maixian Street again. Every time I walk Erfu Street, I tell my husband: today eat a little less, tonight I want a late-night snack at the barbecue joint I went to with Fatty last time – but in the end my stomach couldn’t handle it and it didn’t happen. Next time, I must have that midnight meal. Anyway, check out this ice cream: Maixian Street to the end, next to Yizhenlou in Dapiyuan. Give a Shaanxi person a bowl of chilli oil, there’s nothing they won’t mix it into. Spicy – truly spicy. Luckily I was smart and ordered two sweet ones to balance. After dinner we brought my parents and Monkey to experience it; little Monkey gave up because of the heat. Shaan Thirteen ice cream, drinks, pastries – there’s a prominent branch at the Beiyuanmen entrance, but I’d never been in. The Dapiyuan branch has real soul; upstairs displays old objects, and the third floor has a few booth seats – a great spot to chat, read, zone out or take photos.
After afternoon tea, my husband and I strolled towards Zhonglou again. Xiyang Market was emptier than I’d ever seen. On the street I spotted a heartwarming security uncle holding an umbrella for a little boy; I quietly snapped a shot of their backs. It has to be said, good people abound.
At 7pm, a proper dinner. Halal restaurants don’t allow alcohol, but my husband felt like a glass, so we picked a Chinese place on Erfu Street. Next door at Red Red BBQ we got 20 skewers at ¥1 each, a small portion of quick-fried tripe for ¥20. Lamb chops in a small hot pot, ¥58 a serving – really hearty portions, touching prices. Five people, four dishes, one soup, one bottle of wine – just over ¥200.
DAY 3: Today I got up really early, a bit after six, to queue for breakfast. The previous morning I’d seen a long line of locals and was convinced it would be good.
Oil tea and dough twists – walk to the end of Erfu Street, and on the left that long queue is the place. The line moves fast, less than five minutes. A portion with dough twists is ¥4; we ordered two, planning to take one back. The uncle very warmly reminded us it’s better to just try one first, we might not be used to it. The oil tea tasted good, crispy and fragrant, but I wasn’t fond of the dough twist – it reminded me of day-old deep-fried dough, soft and limp.
On Maixian Street, these beef pies are absolutely incredible – number one, no contest. Crispy outside, tender inside, one bite floods your mouth with oil. Yesterday afternoon we passed and there was no line; I figured we’d buy some on our way back in the evening, but by 6ish it was closed. Today we waited about twenty minutes, ¥10 each; we bought four, and I polished off one all by myself…
Back at the hotel, my parents and Monkey finished breakfast, we checked out and set off. We handed the three over to my in-laws, then my husband and I took the metro to the railway station Wanda just to kill time before our 2pm train. The Xi’an metro was unusually empty – had to commemorate that.
Decathlon opened at 10am; we browsed for almost an hour, then crossed over to the Wanda Plaza opposite. Lunchtime again. Started with a bit of Mixue Bingcheng’s nationwide chain to take the edge off, then cold-skin noodles, baked cold noodles, clay-pot mashe, stewed mashe – I really gave it my all.
At 1pm, a ten-minute walk to the station. I discovered the whole country is short of type B blood; last week I happened to donate a bag, so looks like I’m somewhat useful after all. Xi’an is the originating station; the carriage was nearly empty. I ate two meals, slept twice, and arrived at 5am the next day. Back home, showered, and went straight to work – seamless.
Finally, let me show off my afternoon tea and dinner on the train: the stewed mashe I couldn’t finish at noon, plus one of the four takeaway cold-skin noodle portions. P.S.: The train temperature was just right; the shop owner had packed the noodles and dressing separately. The next day I took the remaining three portions to the office for my girls – still perfectly edible, and nobody got poisoned (a cheeky grin).
——A Final Word
I’d originally planned to catch a train straight to Chengdu on Sunday night, but I think I’ve eaten myself incapable. I’ll go home, recharge, and set off again. This three-day trip had no sightseeing plans – just eating, pure eating, unhurried and unbothered. I love going to an unfamiliar city, tasting things I’ve never tried, seeing people I’ve never met. I like zoning out alone, wandering – but even better with you. THE END
