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A taste of Xinjiang

Xiao Gazi Xinjiang Cuisine

小尕子·新疆菜

A reliable sit-down Xinjiang restaurant chain in Urumqi whose calling card is the cold numbing-pepper chicken, alongside the full standard repertoire of noodles, pilaf and grilled lamb and a proper pot of salted milk tea.

¥70–90≈ US$10Ranked No. 12 on Ctrip's Urumqi must-eat list1F Mingyuan Huoyanshan, junction of Mingyuan West Road and Youhao South Road, Shayibake District, Urumqi.
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Why come here

A place worth making time for

A popular contemporary Xinjiang restaurant at around ¥72 per head, with its numbing cold chicken cited as the dish ordered at every table; no graded award.

The house favourites

What to order

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

  • Cold numbing chicken (椒麻鸡)
  • Laghman, hand-pulled noodles (拉条子)
  • Pilaf with lamb (手抓饭)
  • Big plate chicken (大盘鸡)

What it actually tastes like

Jiaomaji is served cold, hand-torn, with coriander, raw onion and a heavy dose of Sichuan pepper oil and sesame oil — the numbing sensation on cold chicken surprises people. Polo is rice cooked in lamb fat with carrot and onion and is very rich.

Allergens in this kitchen

gluten/wheatsoysesame

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

Laghman hand-pulled noodles 拉条子 / 拌面Chewy, substantial noodles under a tangy tomato-and-cumin sauce; savoury and warming rather than hot.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.Big plate chicken 大盘鸡Savoury-spicy and slightly numbing, with sweet collapsed potato and a sauce the noodles soak up completely.Cold pepper-numbed chicken 椒麻鸡Cold, savoury and sharply numbing from the green pepper, with a fresh coriander-and-onion lift.