Local Snacks in Xianyang

Wheat grains are the staple here, and flour-based foods dominate Xianyang’s cuisine. Meticulously cooked, these simple yet elegant delicacies boast incredible flavors. Snacks and daily meals are served in restaurants across urban and rural areas of Xianyang. You can find classic Shaanxi treats such as cold noodles, roujiamo (meat burger) and beef/lamb paomo, as well as local specialties including biangbiang noodles, multi-layered oil cakes and guokui (crusty pancake). Plenty of restaurants offering cuisines from other regions can also be found here.

A traditional flour snack popular in Guanzhong area of Shaanxi. It is made from locally grown wheat flour, hand-rolled into extra long, wide and thick noodles. Just as the local saying "Noodles as wide as trouser belts" (one of the Eight Oddities of Guanzhong) describes, biangbiang noodles are wide and thick. Tossed with chili oil and seasonings, they taste savory and keep you full for hours.

This snack dates back to the construction of Qianling Mausoleum, the joint tomb of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu Zetian. The massive project employed countless laborers, who struggled to prepare meals conveniently. Workers then baked flatbreads using their helmets, hence the name. Later improved into a distinctive delicacy, the pancake is about 8 inches in diameter and 0.6 inches thick, shaped like a chrysanthemum with layered crumbs inside and a wonderful flavor.

Also known as multi-layered pastry. It looks like twisted golden threads stacked into tiered towers. Soft, moist and refreshing, it is exquisitely crafted.

Famed for its crisp, crunchy, fluffy and sweet taste, it has long been a popular gift for relatives and friends. Main ingredients include sesame seeds, glutinous rice, vegetable oil and white sugar, and its production involves complicated techniques.

Evolved from Jianjianxiao, a royal pastry of the Tang Dynasty. The cake surface is covered with fluffy bubbles. It has a rich aroma and melts the moment it touches your mouth. Its delicate shape resembles carved ice flowers.

A well-known snack in Guanzhong. The pork is slowly stewed in aged spiced sauce until tender and aromatic. The bread used is Xianyang’s unique white crispy bun, which features a crisp pale yellow crust and soft interior. It is praised for its distinct texture: "firm rim, sturdy body and flower-like center". The bun alone is a daily staple for locals, and it tastes even better when stuffed with braised pork. Roujiamo stalls are everywhere in Xianyang, among which Yuan’s Braised Pork Roujiamo is a renowned brand.

Famous for nine characteristics: thin, chewy, smooth, rich broth, soupy, oily, sour, spicy and fragrant. It is served with abundant hot broth and relatively few noodles, with plenty of oil added. It is cooked with refined flour, pork, daylily, eggs, wood ear mushrooms, tofu, garlic sprouts and various seasonings.

It originated as a gift presented by grandmothers to celebrate a baby’s one-month-old ceremony, and later became a convenient local delicacy. Round in shape, it is roughly one foot across, one inch thick and weighs 2.5 kilograms. Made from high-quality wheat flour kneaded thoroughly, it is slowly baked in a shallow pan. Golden on the outside and snow-white inside, it is crisp and tasty, easy to store and carry around.

Made from spread buckwheat batter, it is rolled up with dried tofu and crispy meat inside. Served with cold sesame soup or fried chili as condiments, it has a rich flavor and strong local features.

A traditional Guanzhong snack. First knead flour with salted water, cover and let it rest for over an hour. Roll the dough into thick wide sheets, then pull both ends to form thin connected noodles. Boil the noodles in hot water, drain, add seasonings and chili powder, and pour over sizzling hot oil before mixing to serve.

A popular summer food. Cook the noodles, place them in a bowl and pour over fermented vegetable soup (hot soup works best). Add salt, prickly ash oil and chili oil to enjoy.

Also called Niangpi. Made with premium ingredients and elaborate craftsmanship, it is celebrated for being white, thin, smooth, soft, chewy and flavorful. Cool and refreshing, it is ideal for summer.

A traditional breakfast in Guanzhong, a sweet steamed cake made of glutinous rice and red jujubes.

With a history of nearly 50 years, the braised chicken boasts appealing color and great taste. It is tender, juicy and rich but not greasy, enjoying a high reputation.

A soybean product. Pure white, tender and soft, the pudding stays intact even when flipped, folded or stirred. Paired with fine seasonings, it is fragrant and delicious.

Qin Feng Lou’s halal paomo is elaborately prepared. The meat is tender, the soup aromatic and savory with no mutton odor, rich yet not greasy. It is well-loved by locals and travelers, and known as "a blooming flower on the Xi’an-Lanzhou route".

A local flour specialty made of fine flour into slender long noodles. It is served in broth stewed with pork and chicken, topped with egg pancakes, daylilies and green onion. Dominated by a pleasant sour taste, it is a time-honored folk food.

Artisan-made noodles that are thin, white, chewy and smooth. Cooked with rich oily and sour soup, garnished with chopped tender chives, Chinese cabbage hearts and egg pancakes, it excels in color, aroma and taste. It helps relieve hangover and stimulate appetite.

A traditional soup-style dessert. Selected premium glutinous rice is sieved, cleaned, soaked and steamed, then mixed with special yeast and fermented in sealed containers at a steady temperature. It features mellow fragrance, sweet and soft texture, and is good for relieving hunger and thirst as well as invigorating the spleen and stomach.

Two ancient folk pastries from Qianxian. Both are baked with refined flour, vegetable oil, eggs and white sugar. The fan-shaped cloud biscuits curve at both ends, resembling floating white clouds; the round flat dry biscuits look like pale yellow Chinese chess pieces. Both are crisp, fragrant and sweet, easy to carry and long-lasting. They are perfect treats for entertaining guests, gifting relatives and friends, or taking on trips.