Muslim

It’s surprising to me how many Muslim people there are in China. Not surprising because I didn't expect there to be ANY at all, but the amount is just incredible. This had led me to eat at many Muslim restaurants, which I absolutely love. My love for Muslim food was appeased most on a trip to Xi’an one weekend. Apparently, this city has one of the largest Muslim populations in China, and luckily, my hostel was walking distance from a quarter called Muslim Food Street.

Walking down this quarter, I was greeted by some of my favorite foods. Abundant amounts of lamb were everywhere in all sorts of preparations. Whether they are grilled, stir fried, stewed, or roasted, you could smell the lamb cooking throughout the streets. There were some sights to behold as well, such as butchering of some lamb carcasses.

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Anyway, I was also greeted by large amounts of unleavened bread, very similar to a naan. This made me quite happy, seeing as bread is not something that is easily found back in Tianjin. This bread was used to make sandwiches or also to soak up soup during lunch or breakfast. One of my favorite things that I found in this food street was a bagel. I know this probably sounds a bit dumb, but I have a week spot for bagels and the fact that I ran into one surprised me and made me extremely happy.

Overall, this experience was a very good one. I got to see the differences in culture between the people in China just based off the food. On top of that, the streets and music were very “Muslim-like” and it was a fun atmosphere. I wish I had time to explore this type of cuisine more, but I am glad I got to experience it.