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Ani Muqin Cai Sibe Restaurant, Ürümchi
The weather is warming all across Xinjiang, and it’s time for tourists of every kind to start exploring this beautiful land. Since Ürümchi gets such a bad reputation from most of the popular guidebooks out there, we at The New Dominion thought we’d give it (and the rest of Xinjiang) a little bit of its due with a few travel tips and reviews for the curious traveler. There’s a lot to do in this cosmopolitan city, especially in terms of eating! So, without further ado, here is the first restaurant review from TND: the Ani Muqin Cai Sibe Restaurant (Ānì Mŭqīn Cài Xībōzú Fēngwèi Cāntīng 阿昵母亲菜锡伯族风味餐厅).
Located on a side street just off of Nanhu Nan Lu (南湖南路), slightly south of the Ürümchi Museum and Library and near Carrefour, Ani Muqin Cai Sibe Restaurant provides a good selection of well-prepared, tasty, and overall spicy dishes made in the style of the Sibe (Sive, Xibo, Xibe) people of western Xinjiang. The setting is attractive, on the second floor, with a large outdoor porch area and a clean interior with views of Nanhu Park. The staff are very friendly, and the atmosphere is warm and fairly inviting.
The Sibe are descendants of a Manchu garrison sent to what is now the Chapchal Sibe Autonomous County, near Ghulja (Yining), in the eighteenth century. As such, their food somewhat resembles the Manchu dishes found in some specialty restaurants in Beijing (like Shaguoju 砂锅居) and Dongbei 东北 Han Chinese dishes from Manchuria. Several dishes feature suāncài “sour pickled vegetables”, including the very Dongbei suāncài fēntiáo ròu (pork with pickled vegetables and rice noodles, 22 RMB) and a cold dish, xībō huāhuācài (Sibe-style chopped vegetables, 8 RMB).
The house specialty, however, is dòujī “fighting chicken”, a dish similar to dàpán jī or jiāomá jī. Dòujī, however, is much meatier than either of these dishes, apparently made with the strongest and most competitive of chickens. I am not kidding – read the posters on the walls. Half of a dòujī (70 RMB) would have been a meal for two or three on its own. I shudder to think how many people a whole one (122 RMB) would have fed. One of the unique byproducts of dòujī is a 65-proof alcohol infused with the juice of the chicken itself. A small glass (a little more than a shot) of the yellow liquid costs 5 RMB; a larger glass costs 10 RMB. It tastes like chicken soup, but with a baijiu kick. I recommend it as an after-dinner drink.
We also tried and approved of lăocù huāshēng (vinegar peanuts, 8 RMB), gānguō cháshùgū (long mushrooms in a hot iron pot, 18 RMB), and básī hóngshŭ (candied sweet potatoes, 12 RMB). No Sibe meal is complete, however, without Sibe bĭng (pancakes, 2 RMB/cake) with a delicious hot sauce (làjiàng, 2 RMB/bowl).
The menu is extensive and features a wide range of essentially Dongbei Chinese dishes, house specials, and even a selection of hot vegetarian dishes. Spice levels are adjustable by request. This is a branch of a main restaurant located way to the north in Ürümchi on Kàshí Xīlù.
Food: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 4/10
Price range: 8-25 RMB for most mains, 70+ RMB for house specials
Directions: From the Ürümchi Museum and Library, walk south a short distance. (Facing away from the museum towards Nanhu Park, make a right.) At your first street, make a right. It is the second building on your right.
Chinese Words used in this Review
dòujī 斗鸡, dàpán jī 大盘鸡, jiāomá jī 椒麻鸡, suāncài fēntiáo ròu 酸菜粉条肉, xībō huāhuācài 锡伯花花菜, lăocù huāshēng 老醋花生, gānguō cháshùgū 干锅茶树菇, básī hóngshŭ 拔丝红薯, bĭng 饼, làjiàng 辣酱
