- Xi'an, a lotta people come here
to check out the Terra Cotta Warriors.
Me, I came here to eat.
Today, there's only one place to go.
Food street.
Lets check it out.
- [Trevor Voiceover] If you want a completely
different Chinese food experience,
come to Xi'an.
Its main food street is heavily influenced
by its Muslim population.
Here, you'll find food that reflects Xi'an's origins
as the starting point
of the silk road.
A cross roads between East and West.
A fusion between Middle Eastern and Chinese cuisine.
I heard rumors of juicy beef
and pita bread sandwichs,
large bowls of lamb soup,
intriguing small snacks and of course,
mouth watering kabobs.
These alone were worth coming to Xi'an for.
The food in Xi'an along with its lively population,
ancient architecture, and exciting vibe make it
a great place to come.
First stop, a nice big bowl of Yang Ruo Pao Mo,
aka, pita bread soaked in lamb soup.
The pita is served to you first
which you personally break into small pieces of your liking
and then you give to the chef,
places them in a steaming broth, rice noodles and lamb.
- It all looks so good.
We got some bread here which you break into your soup.
First you break it and then you give it to the cook
and he puts it in the soup for you.
So this is the first step.
Apparently, the smaller the better so.
So I've got the Yang Ruo Pao Mo right here
which is basically big chunks of lamb,
all that bread that I broke up
and put into that nice big stir fry.
Some rice noodles,
it looks like some chives here.
And they give you a whole ton of garlic here
to put into your taste,
so I'm gonna start off with one
and a little spice here.
Just mix it in.
And lets give it a try.
First things first,
the most important, the lamb.
Give that a try.
Hum.
Hum, that is really tender,
really soft, really juicy.
Oh yeah, that is delicious lamb,
amazing, wow.
And the spices in there,
it just tastes like a salty broth,
it's not super overwhelming.
But it is, it's very delicious, I gotta say,
it's super nice.
Lets try the bread.
Hum.
That texture, it's actually really soft.
It's not too soggy, it's not soggy.
You'd think it would be soggy but it's really nice
and I'm gonna add a little more spice
just 'cause I like it.
- [Trevor Voiceover] The Rou Jia Mo is a Xi'an specialty
and enjoys enormous popularity all throughout China
for good reason.
Beef or pork is stewed for hours in over 20 types
of spices and stuffed inside a baked pita
and served steaming hot.
In the Muslim quarter,
beef or lamb is the preferred meat
which I'm completely fine with.
Topping it off with some meat juice and fatty bits
makes it a great snack in Xi'an.
Ah, this looks so good!
So we've got a Rou Jia Mo right here
which is basically sort of like a bread biscuit type,
sort of almost a flaky type bread
with a lot of juicy beef in there.
It looks delicious,
I've never tried this before,
so lets give it a go.
Hum.
That's so good.
Hum.
Yeah,
the beef is really juicy,
really soft,
the bread is a bit dry.
But it adds to the texture and I've never tasted
something like that before,
that's just delicious, that's so good.
- [Trevor Voiceover] Next up,
you guessed it, more meat.
Lamb skewers, squid, beef, whatever you want
as long as it's not pork.
Cover it in spices, roast it over hot coals and it's ready.
It's so good.
- Oh ho, look at that!
Yeah, any trip to China,
you gotta try
Yang Rou Chuan.
These lamb kabobs are the best thing in the world, spicy,
juicy, delicious, tender, soft,
lets give it a go.
Hum.
That is the best thing in the world.
Real spicy.
Hum.
That is so good.
Hot.
But delicious, two is not enough.
I'm gonna have to get more.
- [Trevor Voiceover] And to top it off,
a Xi'an specialty desert,
small wooden molds are filled
with ground sticky rice and steamed.
The powder becomes soft
and gooey, and is pulled out covered covered
in sugar, nuts and a delicious rose flavored jam.
- Alright, so this small snack
is steamed sticky rice all condensed together
covered in sugar a few nuts.
Looks like its got some peanuts on there
and you see this brown right here,
that's a rose jam.
So it looks delicious,
lets give it a try
and see how it tastes.
Hum.
That is awesome.
The jam is sweet, it tastes like rose,
and the peanuts, real nice addition.
That is really good.
(upbeat music)