Urumqi Food - What and Where to eat in Urumqi

You can find a wide variety of food in Urumqi, such as Sichuan style, Cantonese cuisine, local Uygur style, Mongolian style, and Hui Muslim food. Dishes with distinctive ethnic characteristics as well as local snacks are all gathered here, which promises a most fulfilling culinary experience for all travellers to the region.

Food in Urumqi has unique flavors, from the grilled whole lamb to the Xinjiang hand-cranked noodles; from yogurt to the rice taken by hand. The food here certainly lives up to all expectations-and then some! Failure to sample the local foods while in Xinjiang will surely rob the tourist of a complete cultural experience.

Meat is the staple food of Xinjiang, and Nang is one of the main dishes of the region.  Nang has a long history of about 2,000 years, and is now among the favourite foods of many of the ethnic groups in the region. With the evolution of its preparation method, various flavors are generated, such as Nang with meat, Sesame Nang, and Oil Nang.

Almost every large restaurant in Urumqi serves different varieties of flavoured food. Mutton, however, is one dish that you can find cooked in a variety of different ways.  Grilled whole lamb is utterly delicious and the mutton is tender and crispy. The rice taken by hand is a special food that locals love to give to their guests. It is made from fresh mutton, carrots, onions, boiled oil, mutton fat and rice, giving it not only a unique taste, but also excellent nutritional value. The baked mutton kebabs are well-known in China and abroad, and you can taste the real thing in Iraqi. Almost every family in Urumqi can make the (slightly sour-tasting) yogurt, which can be a bit of an acquired taste for those not accustomed to it. Locals, however, recommend adding a little sugars to takes the edge off. Yogurt can also help to protect against various forms of heart disease and comes in many different flavors.

The melons and fruits in Urumqi also are very popular with tourists, with almost all of the varieties in Xinjiang gathered in Urumqi.

Urumqi Food Streets

Wu Yi Night Market
Wu Yi Night Market, set up in 1992, is the earliest and also the largest night market in Xinjiang. There are totally about 500 booths, and it holds about 15,000 visitors everyday at average. When it is getting dark, there are 500,000 small illuminations lightening, which becomes a typical night view in Urumqi.

In the market, one side is the collections of the specialty in Xinjiang and the Mosque foods all around the country, including baked Nang, grilled whole lamb and baked mutton kebabs, etc. The other side is the local snacks of other places in the country.
　　
Address: East Wu Yi Rd, Saybagh District, Urumqi

Xingfu Road Food Street
The Xingfu Road Food Street brings together the local food and the out-of-town food. There are the restaurant like the Xinjiang First Plate which is famous for the Xinjiang Chicken, the Branch of Little Lamb, the Sichuan spicy food, and also the restaurants of Northeastern flavor.

Address: Xingfu Rd, Tian Shan District, Urumqi
Transportation: buses: 17, 302, 3, 531, 602 and 801

People‘s Cinema Food Circle
Brief information on People‘s Cinema Food Circle
The People’ Cinema Food Circle centers about the rotary in front of the cinema, and leads the Minzhu Road, the Wenyi Road, the Hongqi Road and the Jianshe Road. Here each road is a food street.

Address: Jianshe Rd, Tian Shan District, Urumqi
Transportation: buses: 908, 58, 8, 17, 907 and 931

Er Dao Qiao Food Circle
Er Dao Qiao Food Circle centers the street at the crossing of the Shanxi Lane, South Jiefang Road and the Longquan Street, which connects the Renmin Road, South Heping Road and West Tuanjie Road. In this circle, the Lingguan Road, the Tianchi Road and the pedestrian mall are also the food streets. There are the three largest food cities in Urumqi, the Brand Bazaar Auditorium, Er Dao Qiao Food Theatre and Min Street Food House. Especially, it is a place that the auditoriums gather.

Address: Longquan Street, Tian Shan District, Urumqi
Transportation: buses: 911, 912, 602, 36, 70 and 931