Kashgar Food Market
Enticing all of my Senses
The second largest city in Xinjiang is Kashgar, and the biggest city in the province (Urumuqi) has made the Guinness World Records for being the city furthest from the sea (2500 kilometres).
So? Yep. No seafood. But there are plenty of sheep, because they do like their lamb.
And their fruits.
Did you know that people eat more fruit in Xinjiang than in any other provinces in China?
Night Food Market - Kashgar, Xinjiang Province
Mutton soup is a typical soup in Xinjiang
The night market is one of the top three highlights of Kashgar, for me at least. Because I love food.
And I love trying any type of food especially on local markets. The Uyghurs in West China prepare great, sometimes a little bit strange-looking food.
Variety of meat …
…steamed bread…
..tofu on the market.
Lamb Overload
Lamb and Mutton Skewers in Tashgurkan on the Karaokam Highway, Xinjiang Province, China
Looking so much better, is not it?
Plof - Rice simmered with spices and lamb meat, and optionally carrots, chick peas and raisins. Look for the characteristically large polo pans.
BREAD
Wherever you walk in Kashgar, your walk will definitely take you through traditional bakeries across the whole city; behind the (China’s largest) Id Kah mosque, in the middle of the crowded Sunday Animal Bazaar or in the Old City and its night market. In Kashgar’s dawn, the aroma of wood smoke fills the streets as ovens lit fire up and breadmaking begins.
To me, Kashgar’s bread is definitely a culinary magic in this world.
Nan - large, round flat breads…
…baked in ceramic ovens
Kyrgiz lamb (!) samsa mutton dumplings ...
…and guess what? Baked in ceramic ovens!
Sweets of Kashgar
Nuts seller in Kashgar’s night market
Uyghurs love to eat fruit for breakfast, with bread and perhaps yoghurt or milk.
Local sells watermelon
Freshly-squeezed pomegranate juice seller -
How to get to Kashgar / Kashi Xinjiang Province, China
By Air
Kashgar Airport is located 15 minutes driving from old town. Most flights serve between Urumqi and Kashgar with flexible choices of schedule from morning to night. Domestic flights connect Kashgar to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou with a transit in Urumqi
By train
There are three daily trains which run between Urumqi and Kashgar offering hard seats, hard sleepers and soft sleepers - 18-25 hours. The train station is about 6 km-s from downtown