mmm-yoso – Page 311

Xi’an: The Army of Terracotta Warriors and the Dumpling Banquet from De Fa Chang Restaurant (德发长)

September 1, 2011 mmm-yoso China, Chinese Restaurants, Travel, Xi'an

Since we were in Xi'an you knew we weren't going to miss a visit to the famous Terracotta Army, located in the Lintong District about an hour's bus ride (40 km) out if Xi'an. In fact, even huge morning downpour and the incessant drizzle wasn't going to stop us from visiting….. it did help that our hotel loaned out umbrellas for free. We managed to catch bus 306 and arrived outside the parking lot of this world renowned archaeological site…..the drizzle had dampened the spirits of the many hawkers and vendors and we made it to the front gates unscathed if a bit soggy.

There are three main pits and we'd recommend starting in reverse order, from the smallest (pit 3) to the largest. This increases the dramatic effect of the visit.

Qin Shi Huang the First Emperor of China must have been one heck of a force of nature and a pretty amazing individual being credited with starting the Great Wall, unifying China, and starting the national system of roads. Of course, he was also known as a brutal and tyrannical ruler who ordered the destruction of all Confucian and non-"scientific" texts, and supposedly buried 460 scholars alive for having the forbidden books. All of the great building came at cost of hundred of thousands of lives……no wonder the emperor felt he needed a large army to protect him in his next life!

The actual discovery of the army is an amazing one; in 1974 a group of farmers digging a well struck something about 15 meters down…. it was a head….but as time would tell, not just any head! The rest as they say is history, though I'm always interested to know what "fame and fortune" these poor farmers found in later years, and found this interesting article.

We started our visit in the museum to the right of the entrance. The most interesting item was a replica of the bronze horses and chariot found near Qin Shi Huang's tomb(about 2 km west of Terracotta Army), along with photos of how it looked at the time of discovery.

We started at Pit 3, the smallest excavation, it is thought to be the "command center" of the army, though strangely, we saw nothing recognizable as a commander or general. Perhaps the Emperor thought himself to be the commander?

Also, many of the soldiers are missing heads in this pit. Experts have surmised that perhaps grave robbers had broken into this pit and stole the heads, or perhaps vandals broke in at an earlier time and destroyed them. There are a total of 68 soldiers in this pit.

For many, Pit 2 is the most interesting as it features the 1300 or so warriors, horses, and chariots in various military formations.

What I found most interesting about this pit were the remnants that were unrestored, showing the shards of terracotta that were reassembled…..being that I was never much good at jigsaw puzzles, I can't fathom the work it takes to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

Pit 1 is pretty amazing. The building is the size of a airplane hanger and lines of terracotta soldiers stand almost as far as the eye can see……

The hall is over 19,000 square yards and you can't help but be awed by the amount of work it took to build this army.

According to what I've read, every face is unique and was based on an actual Qin soldier.

This is a definite must see…….

Feeling great we headed back to Xi'an catching the bus in the parking lot of the museum……it was interesting as the bus driver knew most of the folks getting on and off the bus, he'd stop without them evening pulling the bell cord.

We thought that we should get something special to eat, it just felt right . We got off the bus and sloshed our way back to the mall across from the Bell Tower, again crossing under the streets and ending up on the wrong side of the road! De Fa Chang, right across from Tong Sheng Xiang was recommended for their dumpling banquet.

The display on the first floor looked quite impressive…..

We were ushered quickly to the busy second floor, ordered our dumpling banquet, and our food started arriving very quickly….

Starting with some "appetizers" which were no big deal……..

The mushroom based soup was very bland…..

The pastry were cold, hard, and somewhat greasy…..

The steamed dumplings started appearing, most were very uneven in flavor, sometimes cold inside, oddly bland, waxy, etc, etc, etc……

One that stood out was the goose dumpling, which had a nice gamey flavor and a hint of spice.

Many of them looked quite pretty………

But we were severely underwhelmed…….

Until we got the one item we ordered a la carte, the Dry Cooked Mushroom, a dish that we loved so much, I've been making it at home. This one was excellent, earthy, with a touch of sweetness and heat. There was also some Sichuan Peppercorn in this which was a nice touch.

We could really see the potential of the kitchen with this dish…..

Unfortunately, the next item out was the Jiaozi, which were terrible……

Whomever had made this dough had over-worked it….I have a feeling they made it in a large stand mixer and went to town. The wrappers were very brittle with little stretch to it. The filling was on the bland side…the Server gasped when the Missus asked for black vinegar then used it as a dipping sauce. I guess they don't eat them that way in Xi'an.

The last item (thankfully) arrived soon there after, a little bowl over heating element.

Opening the top of the pot didn't reveal much….a pale broth with some greens and a wolf berry or two…..

But soon, as the broth came to a simmer, mushrooms and tiny dumplings rose to the top…..

This was not bad….the broth light in flavor.

Much like the snack banquet in Nanjing, htis proved to be a lot of premade dishes with little attention to detail. We could tell that the folks cooking had some skill, but it was not put to good use in mass producing these dumplings. Still, all was not lost since Jia San wasn't a long walk away!

Thanks for reading!

Xi’an: The Muslim Quarter

August 27, 2011 mmm-yoso China, Chinese Restaurants, Travel, Xi'an

In my post on the Guan Tang Baozi from Jia San, I mentioned the Muslim Quarter. Located behind the Drum Tower, the Muslim Quarter and the Xi'an Mosque was first mentioned in imperial records dating back to 742 AD.

Walking past the Drum Tower and down Bai Yuan Men Jie, the main street, you'll start to notice as subtle change in dress, women with their hair covered in scarves, men looking a bit less "Han" in appearance. The Missus notes that even the language here was different.

Bai Yuan Men Jie is lined with shops. Many of them selling dried fruit, nuts, and other items that Xi'an is well known for….being that Xi'an was the Eastern terminus of the Silk Road, perhaps some of these items have a long history.

In one of the shops I came across the sesame and nut stuffed dried peppers we had in a dish in Jinan, One of the Missus's foodie uncle's had mentioned we'd be seeing this in Xi'an. I had a taste and man, this was pretty spicy….back of the throat spicy that got me coughing pretty good.

Quite a few snack shops along the street as well.

This one served up a bunch of different fried dough……..

Which was actually pretty greasy and tasted rancid!

If you really want to see the "real action", it's all located on the side streets that branch out from Bai Yuan Men Jie.

This is where you'll see all of the produce, meat, and other vendors. We were told that there are folks who are raised, married, and die, who almost never leave this tiny enclave…… I'm not sure it's true, but it's quite a story.

The smells are intoxicating, there always seems to be a pot of something simmering or boiling over some pretty rustic stoves putting out some major heat.

And there were times where it didn't seem like we were in China…..

And of course, this was where most of the food stands were….like this one making Rou Jia Mo, often called "Chinese Hamburger" in signs, but more like a meat stir fry in pita bread. This stand was quite popular…..

It was pretty amazing the amont of heat that came out of this stove…….it looks simply like charcoal in a hole, but there is a fan contraption underneath.

As well as a bellow set-up……so things can get pretty hot.

I kinda enjoyed the Rou Jia Mo…

Though things get a bit crowded in the Muslim Quarter during the day, it was still pretty relaxed .

However, when the sun started going down……

Things behind the Drum Tower start heating up…..the crowds descend on the Muslim Quarter and it gets quite crowded.

I had to find areas to take a break from the mass of humanity at times.

I'm not a big fan of crowds, but we had to check things out because this was when all the grills came out!

The alleyways were full of little stands, all in turn filled with customers chewing away on skewers of yang rou chuan.

It was really amazing and somewhat alarming watching cars attempting to drive down the packed alleyways, but we saw no accidents.

I guess we enjoyed the Muslim Quarter, as we returned there on every day of our stay in Xi'an…….

Getting lost and wandering down the small streets that were like branches growing from the trunk that was Bai Yuan Men Jie.

Midweek COMC Post

August 24, 2011 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

Just to catch my breath….a little COMC (clearing out the memory card) post……. If you’re a regular reader, I’m sure you’ll know the places. Aaaaahh….

***(update 08/25) Ok folks are wondering where…so here goes

Wa Dining Okan:

Izakaya Sakura:

Sushi Yaro:

**** Sushi Yaro has closed

I feel so much better now that I’ve gotten this out of my “system”…..the week is looking better already.

Here’s two more “orphan photos” that’s been taking up space on my hard drive…..

My house (LOL!)

Happy Wednesday!

Luang Hai Ky returns to Convoy

August 23, 2011 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

*** LHK on Convoy has closed again

Back in July I noted that Luong Hai Ky had returned to its former spot and had considered dropping by. But it was just too darned hot for Mi for me (no pun intended). I also figured that the fare would be about the same as the Mira Mesa location and the last few visits to the Convoy shop. If you are at all familiar with how the broth used to be before the original owner past away, you'd probably be as blase' as I was…..

Still it was only a matter of time before I visited……

There was a certain eeriness to entering the restaurant and seeing it looking exactly the way it was before……like nothing changed.

That may be comforting to some; but to me it was just kinda strange.

LHK had always been on the high side with regards to Mi Gia, so I was surprised to see $4.99 lunch specials on the menu.

So I decided to order the Won Ton and Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup ($4.99).

The broth at LHK has always been on the saltier side, but before there used to be a touch of savory, almost seafood flavor to it……which is no longer. Still, it doesn't lack for flavor….it's only that it is now mostly salty which is better than bland. The won ton and dumpling are the status quo for these type of shops, worked and hard, something I've grown used to over the years. I'm not going to go all (as my friend Peter says) "dumpling Nazi" over the stuff here. It's cheap eats….. and I'd say worth $4.99. The portion size did strike me as being a bit smaller than the usual…but then again, LHK was never known for huge portions.

A couple days later the weather had cooled even more, so I decided to drop by and try the Beef Sate noodle dry ($6.80).

I'd had the Beed Sate Noodle Soup at LHK before, an underwhelming experience, but felt that I should have it dry (Kho) just to see. This was an error on my part. Other than a mild spiciness the flavor fell flat…there was so little of that savory sate flavor going on, the meat was on the tough side….too much Thai basil killed everything else…. I ended up removing it. Some tomatoes and more onions replacing all that iceberg lettuce would have been nice as well.

And at almost 7 bucks, I just didn't feel that this was a good value at all being on the small side portion wise.

I'll stick with the $4.99 lunch special for now……

Luong Hai Ky Restaurant
4633 Convoy St Ste 107
San Diego, CA 92111

You can read Kirbie's post here.

SSALT for dinner…….actually Smoked Salmon, avocado, lettuce, and tomato….

August 22, 2011 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

Heh…..maybe I'm getting a little too cute for my own good…… The Missus has been bugging me to make some smoked salmon since She had the smoked salmon sandwich at Kitchen 4140.She's applied a bit more pressure since returning there and having an uneven meal…different bread, standard tomatoes, etc, etc, etc….. So on the way this evening I stopped by Nijiya Market and picked up some Cherry Blossom white bread, medium cut, next stop the Fruit Stand on Morena for some tomatoes, and finally a little comparison between Bay Park Fish and Seisel's to see who had better salmon…… on this day, the Scottish Salmon from Seisel's won out. The rest of the stuff we had at home…..

Seasoned with some fresh ground pepper, sea salt, and some smoked salt, 20 minutes in the stove top smoker (can't believe I've had the thing for over six years now!) and that's it…… took about forty minutes total, not bad for a week night.

Actually, I cut the veggies……and most importantly made this while the fish was smoking:

The Missus is a closet mayo lover….. She keeps telling me how much She hates mayo…. but I guess a dill-caper mayonnaise is a different story, especially with salmon.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2-3 Tb chopped dill
1-2 Tb chopped capers (you should rinse, but the Missus likes it briney)
lemon zest

Chill to let the flavors meld before serving….

That honking piece of salmon is perhaps a bit too much for a single sandwich….but if you want to take even further over the top; perhaps a couple of slices of crisp bacon might do it???

But heck then you could call this a SS-BLAT??? Or even B.S. SALT???

Happy Monday everybody!

Cappadocia – Goreme: Goreme Open Air Museum and Dibek Restaurant

August 21, 2011 mmm-yoso Cappadocia, Travel, Turkey, Turkish Food

The flight from Izmir to the large (1.2 million) city of Kayseri seemed to happen in a blink of an eye. The hour and a half ride from Kayseri to Goreme felt a lot longer, though the views were sometimes quite stunning. Goreme, a town of about 2,500 resides in Cappadocia an area renowned for "fairy chimneys, underground cities, and it's moon like terrain. The unique landscape was reason enough for us to include the area in our itinerary….who can resist the pull of fairy chimneys?

I chose the Arch Palace Hotel for our stay in the area.

No, it's not four star or even three star, nor located in a fairy chimney. The rooms were large and priced right at 50 Euros per night…no lift, but the best shower we encountered during our trip.

The main reason I booked our stay at the Arch Palace was the reputation of the owner, Mustafa Yelkalan. He is just about everything you'd ever want in an owner of this type of hotel. All the great reviews and recommendations you read online are correct, Mustafa makes wonderful recommendations and is a one man tour guide, concierge, you name it. More on that later……

When we arrived, Mustapaha met us on the terrace of the hotel, looking at the view of Goreme really gave you could not help but feel that you were in an exotic locale.

After getting squared away, Mustapha suggested that we head off to Goreme Open Air Museum, also known as Goreme National Park, a UNESCO Heritage Site. Mustapha told us that we should do it this afternoon since there was some major rain headed our way…. it was already pretty darn cold, temps in the fourties, so we could imagine what freezing rain would be like.

We headed off in the direction of Goreme Open Air Museum oohing and aaahing at the sites along the way…..

It was already getting pretty windy and chilly….. but that really didn't deter us. We headed through the gauntlet of tourist shops and hawkers in the parking lot…… the one that really made us laugh were the folks selling Turkish Ice Cream, dondurma. They screamed out what they were hawking at the top of their lungs in English……. but instead of "Ice Cream", they all seemed to inject a pause after the "I", and it sounded like "I SCREeeemmmmm, Iiii SCREeeeeemmmmm", the ironic absurdity of it all still makes the Missus and I crack up.

Goreme National Park is a monastic settlement carved into the eroded rock formations. This large complex of churches, chapels, refectories, and a convent is dotted with frescoes, many quite well preserved.

Our favorite was the Elmali (Apple) Church….. photos aren't allowed in most indoor areas, so you'll have to take my word on how beautiful and for me, quite haunting the whole experience was.

There is some climbing to be done here……

Many of the areas are lit only by natural light…. like the eating area within the refectory.

So when groups of tourists enter the place becomes almost pitch dark.

The sky was quickly turning dark and it started to drizzle, so we decided to hike down and head back to the hotel.

Of course the sky unloaded on us……

Then in a moment of what can only be called temporary insanity, he Missus stopped on at the sign for Zemi Valley and said, "let's check this out"! The trail was a river of water, it was raining cats and dogs, heck, it was raining lions and pitbulls….. After a couple of minutes, I convinced the Missus that we still had a couple of days left, and perhaps we would enjoy it a bit more if we didn't have to worry about swimming for our lives!

Returning to Arch Palace, I was ever so thankful for the wonderful hot shower. We dried off, rested for a couple off hours….night falls quite suddenly in Cappadocia, and we headed off to dinner. Getting dinner was one of those situation where Mustafa proved his worth. I told Mustafa that I really wanted to try a "real" Testi Kebab. A Testi Kebab is a stew, not a kebab, that is sealed in a pottery jar and cooked over an open fire. According to Mustafa, there are only a couple of places that do justice to the testi kebab. Earlier in the day he wrote down a list of five places…. I recognized the name of one of them; Dibek Restaurant. Mustafa immediately got on the phone and ordered a testi kebab for us for dinner…….an advance reservation is needed to get one of these at Dibek.

Later that evening we headed down the hill, dodging raindrops to the location of Dibek. You get a feeling that the restaurant actually envelops you as you enter, and the mild mustiness belies the age of the building, which is 475 years old. This floor of the building used to be stables and a wine storage area…..

We walked down the passageway to the front desk and eventually someone took notice of us.

The serious looking gentleman walked over and asked, "did you call…did you make reservations?" I started by saying "no….." and never got to "but", before I was told, "sorry, we are full…..we are full every night this week, maybe you write your name down and we can call and let you know if we have space." At this point I mentioned, "Mustapaha (who happened to be his cousin), called and reserved a testi kebab for us." Ah, instantly the clouds parted and the sun began to shine through. "Ah, Mustapha, lamb test kebab, right? Follow me this way….." We were lead past all the crowds to an area in the rear of the restaurant and to a sunken dining area.

The food started arriving soon after….starting with the standards, Coban Salatsi (Shephard's Salad), et al…..

Then a very friendly older gentleman arrived at the table carrying at ceramic container. He placed it on the table, left and brought back a plate with pickled cabbage and rice on it.

Holding the container firmly with one hand, he gave the pottery a good whack while turning around in a circle. Eventually, the top gave way…. we could literally smell the wonderful fragrances as he poured the stew onto a plate.

There was quite a large portion of the stew in that container, and it was very tasty.

A wonderful, almost smokey flavor had permeated everything in the piece of pottery. The lamb was still fairly chewy, but very tasty…you knew you were eating lamb. The vegetables literally melted in your mouth. This was one of the more memorable dishes we had during our trip.

I'm glad we took the time to make sure we ordered this; the rest of the dishes at Dibek were average at best….most of it sorely lacking in salt.

That testi kebab made up for any other shortcomings the meal may have had…… we could not stop dipping the bread (and since this was Turkey, there was a lot of it!) in that wonderful sauce! We left satisfied and ready to hit the sack.

Tomorrow was going to be a busy day!

Scenes from the Linda Vista Farmer’s Market

August 19, 2011 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market

A couple of weeks ago, my good FOY (friend of yoso) Candice forwarded an email to me…. lots of info there. One of the items that caught my eye was the announcement of a farmer's market in Linda Vista from 3pm to 7pm on Thursdays. A few weeks went by and I finally managed to drop by this past Thursday. This small farmer's market is located in the parking lot of the strip mall that houses Thuan Phat (Shun Fat) Market, Flavaful Yogurt, Pho Hiep, Pho Hoa Huong, et al….

And even though the market didn't look particularly packed at 430pm…..

The parking lot sure was. I ended up finding an open space down by the library.

Though were just a couple of produce booths, I ended up spending much of my time at two of them. The one Asian vegetable stand was predictably the busiest, with some major elbowing going on as women jostled for position.

Even though it was only 430, much of the choice greens and herbs were already gone.

I managed to sneak my way in and get some eggplant, getting out mostly unscathed.

There also was a organic vegetable stand, manned by some really friendly folks…….

After inquiring about some of the more interesting vegetables…. I picked up two types of kale and some pretty interesting cucumber.

There was also two stands selling Asian type fruits, rambutan, jujubies, and jackfruit. There was also a stand selling different varieties of heirloom tomatoes from Valley Center.

There were a couple of food stands present…..

But I had to be on my way home………

I'll have to leave the other stands for my next visit.

And I will be back. Even though the offerings seemed a bit limited at first, I appreciated the quality of what I did purchase…..some really good grapes, nice, fresh eggplant, these…..

Can you guess what they are???

They call them Lemon Cucumbers……

And of course the kale……

The Missus wanted them simply sauteed…… so that's what I did. Sauteed in bacon fat, with some red chile flakes, garlic. salt, pepper, and a dash of sherry vinegar…. the Missus loved them.

So I guess I'll be back for more kale……

Linda Vista Farmer's Market

In the parking lot of Thuan Phat Market

Thursdays from 3pm to 7pm.

Brunch at Kitchen 4140

August 15, 2011 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch

**** Kitchen 4140 has closed

Last fall, I noticed a somewhat unusual site on the strip of Morena Boulevard just North of Balboa, amongst the various shops a place that seemed to be named Chef Kurt Kitchen was opening up.

I was curious and dropped in soon after they opened, and found out that the official name of the place is Kitchen 4140 Bistro and was the headquarters of Concept Catering. The restaurant was all organic and a look at the menu had me interested. This part of Morena was in dire need of a nice dining choice. Sadly, at that time the place was only open for weekday breakfast and lunch. The Missus and I did manage a visit during a monday holiday day….and were underwhelmed. The Kobe Beef Burger ordered medium was tough and overcooked. It was also on the greasy side, and really looked like the preformed "Wagyu" burgers one can buy at Seisel's…….

The Missus had the special, the lamb chops, also ordered medium…. also overcooked, and bland.

The fries were also greasy…..

The vegetables however, were perfect and the prices really weren't too bad. The young lady working here was so nice and cheerful…..so I stowed my photos and we placed Kitchen 4140 on our "try again" list. Easier said than done as we just couldn't find time to revisit. Until I found out that the place served brunch on Sunday from 9 til 2. The menu for Sunday brunch combines both breakfast and lunch menus giving one a a nice variety from which to choose.

I had the poached eggs with the sage-truffle buerre blanc, applewood smoked bacon, and breakfast potatoes ($11):

The eggs were perfect, the beurre blanc was light and mild. The bacon was tasty without being too salty or over-powering. It could have been a bit more crisp. Sopping up the drippy egg had me wishing for more of the wonderful toast. The potatoes were unremarkable and had me wishing for the fries on the Missus plate.

Speaking of the Missus, She picked a real winner, the Smoked Salmon Sandwich ($14):

This was a very nice dish; the avocado creme fraiche along with the capers added a nice rich-tangy edge to the sandwich, the heirloom tomatoes on the sandwich were very tasty. The arugula added a nice light bitterness. The salmon itself was very moist, perhaps a bit light with regards to a smoke flavor, the then I'm used to very aggressive smoked flavors.

These fries were totally different from what I've experienced on our previous visit. I couldn't get enough…..nice potato flavor!

We really enjoyed our meal….and the Missus is craving that salmon as I'm typing this post. So I guess we'll be revisiting on another Sunday in the near future.

Kitchen 4140
4140 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Banh Mi from Flavaful Yogurt/Avian Water

August 13, 2011 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches

It was sunny for a few days there, wasn't it? Before this gloomy weather set in, I stopped into Flavaful Yogurt before doing a bit of shopping for a cookout the Missus was going to (I heard the Char Siu Chicken Wings did well). I'd seen the sign saying they were now serving Banh Mi back in June and feeling a bit peckish I decided to try out one of their Banh Mi.

I did kinda hesitate since the Dac Biet was priced at pretty hefty $3.95….sheesh four buck for a Banh Mi? PeterL had told me that the Banh Mi here were pretty good, but took a bit of time. Lord knows, the wait couldn't possibly be as long as I waited for a Banh Mi the last time I was in the area, right?

Actually, this took only five minutes….kinda helps that I was the only customer in the place. The sandwich was pretty hefty weight wise and landed with a thump on the little kiddy table out front.

You really can't tell how large this Banh Mi by my photos….

I'm thinking that maybe this is a better shot??

It just seemed like maybe a bit too much in terms of "stuff"……..but was very filling.

I'm not quite sure if I enjoyed the pungent onions in the sandwich…though I generally love onions. The pate was very nice and funky, and there a good bit of it. The cucumber played an important role….it helped to cleanse my palate. Gladly, this wasn't over-mayo'd, and even though it's third-party bread, it was toasted well…..not too hard, but just a bit of crunch.

If you enjoy hefty Banh Mi's this might be what you're looking for. It's not bad……

Flavaful Yogurt/Avian Fresh Drinking Water
6937 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92111

Xi’an – Guan Tang Baozi from Jia San (aka XLB from Jia Brother’s)

August 10, 2011 mmm-yoso China, Chinese Restaurants, Travel, Xi'an, Xiao Long Bao

Most of the time I'll do our travel posts in chronological order….well, because it's the most logical I guess. But looking at the photos of the Guan Tang Baozi from Jia San made me kinda skip to our meals at two of the locations. We actually ate the Guan Tang Baozi, unlike the Shanghai style soup only Baozi, these were like Xiao Long Bao….and just about one of the best things I ate on our trip to China. In fact we ate GTB (sorry can't help the abbreviation thing) three times! The Missus just couldn't get enough.

I've heard that Jia San has several locations, we ate at two of them in the bustling Muslim Quarter in Xi'an. A stop at Jia San was a must based on the recommendations from my MIL's classmate. One location, the one we ate at twice was on a super congested side street……

This one has a small downstairs dining area…..

With an open kitchen facing the street.

You know you're at the right place when you see the photos of local celebrities on the wall.

On our first visit we ate upstairs which was also packed…. and the young lady and the young man working the area were constantly screaming at each other…..bowls seemed to be flying about, and the service was perfunctory at best. For some reason the noise, clutter, and craziness reminded both of us of a place in Hanoi.

In a funny moment, the girl just finished screaming out some orders to the young man….the Missus walked to the counter and asked for something, the girl started answering in a shrill scream, until she realized that this wasn't her coworker, but an actual customer and caught herself!

The other location is right on the main road into the Muslim Quarter, right on Bai Yuan Men Jie and looks much more modern.

Looking very much like a proper restaurant. The dining area is large and well lit.

With a large kitchen in the back. This location was better staffed and there seemed to be an army of people marching out of the kitchen with ponderous stacks of obviously scorching hot bamboo steamers piled high. I wish I got a clear photo of someone carrying one of those stacks, but the best I can do is show you a typical 14 steamer stack…..folks were actual carrying twenty of these out at a time.

It also seemed like folks were eating much more at this location……..

We ate just one thing here….the mutton Guan Tang Baozi……

The mutton in the baozi was so light, it melted in your mouth. Of course it was so hot that it melted the top layer of tissue in your mouth as well. The filling was both wonderfully gamey and sweet, with a balanced amount of "soup" to meat.

The wrappers were very nice, it had a bit of pull, but unlike the glutinzed over-worked dough of most XLB, these had a gentle pillowiness to them as well.

Ever since She's had these, the Missus can't bear the tougher lamb filling in the Lamb Jiaozi from Qing Dao Bread Food, sigh……

I swear; if we stayed in Xi'an for fourteen days, we'd be eating here for at least twelve of them!

The only thing we couldn't figure out was how inconsistent the sauce for the Baozi was. It tasted different on each visit! The first time it was slightly spicy, devoid of any other flavor, and left a layer of oiliness coating the inside of your mouth.

The second time, it was mildly spicy, but also had what seemed like mutton broth in it. This was the best version.

The third time, it looked like dirty dishwater, and tasted like watered down salted broth. Well, we didn't come here for the dipping sauce did we?

To this day, all I have to do is mention the Guan Tang Bao from Xi'an to the Missus and am rewarded with an instant Pavlovian response……