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A taste of Xinjiang

Hanba Bazaar night market

汉巴扎夜市

The Kashgar night market locals name when asked where to actually eat, as opposed to the more photographed tourist food streets. Expect kebab grills, nan pits, hand-pulled rice, roast pigeon, baked eggs, roast buns and hand-churned ice cream, all at street prices. The honest advice for Kashgar is that the best food is at stalls rather than restaurants, and this is where to go looking.

¥30–60 per person≈ US$4.47Kashgar; Hanba Bazaar night market (汉巴扎夜市)
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Why come here

A place worth making time for

Identified in Chinese reporting as the night market Kashgar residents regard as the authentic one rather than the tourist-facing food streets; no formal award.

The house favourites

What to order

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

  • Lamb kebabs (烤肉)
  • Roast stuffed buns from the pit oven (烤包子)
  • Hand-grabbed pilaf (手抓饭)
  • Roast pigeon (烤鸽子)
  • Hand-churned ice cream (手工冰淇淋)

What it actually tastes like

Offal skewers — liver, lung, intestine — sit on the same grills as the lamb, so look before you point. Otherwise this is cumin, chilli, lamb fat and bread: among the most approachable food in China for a Western palate, and all halal, so no pork.

Allergens in this kitchen

gluten/wheatdairyeggsesametree nuts

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

Polo (Uyghur pilaf) 手抓饭Rich, sweet from the carrot and faintly fruity, with soft lamb and glossy rice; one of the gentler dishes in the repertoire.Samsa 烤包子Flaky and blistered outside, with hot, fatty, cumin-scented lamb and sweet softened onion inside.