Xi‘an! Xi'an! (Part 3)

At night, this ancient town turns into a completely different place, with lights shining on and crowds of people walking around. Some would join the group at the square and dance, some would play traditional Chinese instruments by the City Wall, others would go to Ye Shi (a place where food stands gather only at night). As a food aficionado myself, how can I miss such a great opportunity!

The Ye Shi I went to located at Dong Xin Jie. (Take Bus 502 or 702 and get off at Dong Xin Jie). As one of the biggest Ye Shi in Xi’an, it has over 50 food stands and over 150 different kinds of food, such as Roast Fish, Fried Dumpling, and Chili Fagara. 

It starts at 6 p.m. and won’t end until midnight. Walking down the street, I always smelt the food before I actually saw them, and that made my mouth water. Among the food I tried, Yang Rou Chuan (lamb kabob) was my favorite. Small pieces of lamb were well roasted, crispy outside and soft inside. The use of cumin made the kabob not only smelt better but also tasted better. If you like spicy flavor, you can also add chilly powder yourself.

After enjoying 15 lamb kabobs, (no worries, they came in small sizes and about $5 for 15 kabobs) I went on searching for food. Roast fish came to my eyes. It may seem strange if it is the very first time that you ever eat fish in China—it comes in with head and tail. But ignore that part, I promise you it would be the tastiest fish you’ve ever tried! The special thing about it is that it is roasted with several different spices, and it is so well cooked that you can taste every single spice of it, garlic, onion, fennel etc.

 And finally for dessert, no ice cream, no cookies, no brownies. I went for Jing Gao—a cake like dessert made of sticky rice. Its tower-like container first attracted me. I would never guess it was something to eat unless I opened it myself. 

Inside the tower, there were many levels and each level was a piece of Jing Gao. They all looked the same, white on the outer circle and the center was covered by red, yellow and brown. 

On the side of these cute “towers”, there were plates of different nuts that you could add according to your preference. It looked pretty, but how did it taste? Well, it tasted good for me since I love the chewy feeling in my mouth.