Best Cheap Eats in Xi'an, China
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Where to eat cheap in Xi’an
Xi’an is one of China’s great street-food cities, built on Shaanxi wheat cuisine and the Hui Muslim Quarter’s halal cooking. A full bowl of noodles rarely runs past CNY 25, and the priciest thing on this list is a multi-course banquet, not a plate of street food. Below are 8 picks, cheapest first, plus one splurge if you want to see what the city’s oldest kitchens can do.
What’s the cheapest real meal in Xi’an?
Roujiamo, sometimes called China’s answer to a hamburger: stewed pork or beef packed into a baked flatbread bun for roughly CNY 8-15 from almost any Muslim Quarter stall. It’s the single most common lunch in the city, and among the best-known spots for it is Wei Jia, a roujiamo and liangpi chain with several locations near Huimin Jie.
| Pick | What to get | Cost | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wei Jia | Roujiamo, liangpi | CNY 8-15 | Muslim Quarter, several locations |
| Lao Sun Jia | Yangrou paomo | CNY 25-40 | Founded 1898, Muslim Quarter area |
| Jia San Tangbao | Guantangbao (soup dumplings) | CNY 20-35 | Muslim Quarter |
| Lao Xu Jia / Yi Gu Zhai | Persimmon cakes (huoshi bing) | a few CNY each | Muslim Quarter stalls |
| Street stalls, Huimin Jie | Biang biang noodles | CNY 15-25 | Muslim Quarter |
| Street stalls | Liangpi (cold noodles) | CNY 8-15 | Muslim Quarter, citywide |
| De Fa Chang | Dumpling banquet (jiaozi yan) | Multi-course, CNY 100+ per person | Muslim Quarter, sit-down |
- Roujiamo from any stall with a line. CNY 8-15 for the braised-meat flatbread sandwich that’s Xi’an’s most-eaten lunch; the queue is the quality signal.
- Liangpi. Cold, chewy wheat or rice noodles in vinegar and chili oil, CNY 8-15, sold everywhere from street carts to sit-down shops.
- Biang biang noodles. Hand-pulled, belt-wide noodles named for a character with over 50 strokes (the exact count is disputed); CNY 15-25 with chili oil and hot oil poured on top.
- Yangrou paomo at Lao Sun Jia. A mutton stew you tear your own flatbread into by hand, CNY 25-40, at a shop that’s been serving it since 1898.
- Guantangbao at Jia San Tangbao. Soup-filled dumplings, CNY 20-35, one of the Muslim Quarter’s best-known sit-down stops.
- Persimmon cakes at Lao Xu Jia or Yi Gu Zhai. A few CNY each for the fried, syrup-soaked local sweet, sold from Muslim Quarter stalls.
- Guokui. A thick, baked flatbread, cheap and filling, sold alongside roujiamo stalls throughout the quarter.
- Hu la tang. A thick, peppery breakfast soup, a few CNY a bowl, more of a local habit than a tourist stop but worth seeking out.
Is the dumpling banquet at De Fa Chang worth the splurge?
If you want to see Shaanxi cooking at its most elaborate, yes. De Fa Chang’s multi-course dumpling banquet (jiaozi yan) runs well past CNY 100 per person depending on how many courses you order, considerably more than anything else on this list, but it’s a genuinely different experience from a street stall: dozens of differently shaped and filled dumplings across a full sit-down meal.
Is Xi’an food halal-friendly?
A large share of it, yes. Much of the Muslim Quarter’s cooking is halal, prepared by the Hui community that’s called this neighborhood home for centuries, a real perk for Muslim travelers. Not everything in Xi’an is halal, though, so don’t assume it citywide, check specifically in and around the Muslim Quarter.
Pair a cheap-eats afternoon with free and cheap things to do in Xi’an , and check Xi’an travel tips for the VPN and Alipay setup you’ll want before your first meal, most stalls only take a QR scan. One habit worth keeping: eat your one splurge meal at lunch, several sit-down Muslim Quarter restaurants run a shorter, cheaper midday menu than their evening one.