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A taste of Xi'an

Tong Sheng Xiang (Bell Tower branch)

同盛祥·非遗（钟楼店）

Founded in 1920 and the halal counterweight to Lao Sun Jia, Tong Sheng Xiang occupies a Ming-Qing-styled building on West Street just off Bell and Drum Tower Square. Two floors: quick snacks downstairs, proper plates upstairs. It is the paomo house most often sent out to represent Shaanxi at state banquets, and the room feels institutional in a good way.

¥40–70 per person≈ US$5.96local institution (China Time-honoured Brand; paomo technique is a listed intangible heritage)Lianhu, West Street no. 5, on the north side of Bell and Drum Tower Square. Ctrip lists hours of roughly 10:30-21:00.
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Why come here

A place worth making time for

Its beef-and-mutton paomo technique was inscribed on China's national intangible cultural heritage list in 2008 (second batch), item VIII-165, per the government ICH register.

The house favourites

What to order

Point at the Chinese. Staff will understand it even where the menu has no English at all.

  • Beef and mutton paomo (牛羊肉泡馍)
  • Layered lamb pastry (羊肉千层饼)
  • Cold wheat noodles with sesame paste (麻酱凉皮)
  • Numbing hand-shredded chicken (椒麻手撕鸡)
  • Sour-soup dumplings (酸汤水饺)

What it actually tastes like

Heavier and richer than Lao Sun Jia's peppercorn style - thick broth, long-cooked beef and mutton, visible fat. Whole spices stay in the bowl. Mutton funk is present and intended.

Allergens in this kitchen

gluten/wheatsesamesoyegg

This is the kitchen, not one dish. Woks, fryers, blanching water and utensils are shared in almost every Chinese restaurant, so for a serious allergy treat the whole premises as the unit rather than ordering around it.

Get to know the menu

Local specialities to try here

Cold skin noodles 凉皮Sour, garlicky, cool and chilli-fragrant rather than burning hotLamb or beef stew with torn bread 羊肉泡馍Deeply savoury, mutton-rich, thickened by the bread; eaten with pickled sweet garlic and chilli pasteSour soup dumplings 酸汤水饺Sharply sour, mildly spicy, light