Xi'an cuisine has a good, hearty style that should never let you leave the table hungry. Noodles and dumplings are the staples of the local food and these are almost always filling and warming.

Yangrou Paomo is a tasty Xi'an specialty that consists of a mutton soup served with wheat flour flat bread. The hard bread is broken up and added to the soup. Then the mixture is eaten along with pickled garlic cloves.

It makes for a hearty, filling meal that is not very expensive. This Xi'an specialty can be found at several restaurants that have become famous for their delicious Yangrou paomo, as well as a small "mom and pop" restauarants throughout Xi'an. Xiguan Beef and Lamb Paomo Restaurant, Tongshengxiang Beef and Lamb Paomo Restaurant, and Chunfasheng Paomo Restaurant are all good places to go for this tasty meal.

Yet another interesting culinary experience to be had in Xi'an is the Xi'an Dumpling Feast. This concept, introduced in 1984 by the Xi'an Dumpling Feast Restaurant on Jiefang Road, offers up to 108 different kinds of Chinese dumpling (Jiaozi). Also worth trying are the Defachang Restaurant and the Baiyunzhang Northwest Style Snack Restaurant.

Some other Xi'an snacks and special dishes include: Sour Soup Dumplings and Guantang Steamed Baozi.

If you are looking for good western food in Xi'an, your choices are unfortunately less numerous. There are lots of places to get western food off Dongdajie. Also, on the northwestern outskirts of the city near the Flats of Renmin Hotel on Fenghe Lu, there are two restaurants that offer great western food for reasonable prices.

They are Dad's Home Cooking and Mum's Home Cooking respectively. Although the names might imply that they are of the same ownership, they are not. They are both great places to meet people and hear a story or two.