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Ban’s Bistro 米屋肉库餐厅

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When we arrived late at the YGTD Shopping Mall on a Monday evening, almost every table was full at Ban’s Bistro. Waiters and waitresses were rushing everywhere to deliver food. Each table features fiery tableside grills, which staff were furiously flipping meat, sending flames and crackles of sizzling fat flying through the air.

Only one problem: we were HANGRY. We thought it would take forever to get food. However, instead of waiting forever, we only waited for about two minutes before we were seated. One thing to note: when you visit this location, you will definitely want to order meat – after all, this restaurant calls itself the rouku, literally translated as something like “meat depot.”

Xiao Mei Ge and Xiao Ding Jiu Bao 小梅鸽香港餐厅·小鼎玖煲

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L ocated on the 5th floor of the mall, LECITY, this restaurant isn’t at all difficult to locate, though access to public transport might be an issue for those who do not reside in the area. However, there will soon be a subway station opening nearby.

The mall houses a number of restaurants, some of which are well-known chains, but even so the Halal dim sum restaurant stays quite competitive. I arrived at the restaurant at 5:25 PM on a Saturday, which is just before the regular dinnertime of local residents, and the restaurant already had quite a number of customers. However, as the restaurant has a capacity of almost 300, there was still plenty of space to sit.

Snug Room Bar 舒适空间

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It seems like everywhere you go these days, new bars are popping up. With most of the main commercial areas already filled to the gills with chain restaurants and other similar establishments, the smaller boutique places have turned to side alleys and back streets to open up, creating tiny enclaves of unique and interesting shops. One such place is Ti Yu Guan Lu, located on a small street behind the SKP at South Gate. Here a wide variety of restaurants and tap rooms have opened up, including its most recent addition, Snug Room.

Located directly on the southwest corner of the intersection, Snug Room has a tight, almost bunker-like appearance from the outside, with a few tables sitting outside in the evening. Stepping inside, you are immediately greeted by a prominent bar, with plenty of seat around it, as well as several high-top and low-top tables for you to sit at. The windows are in a high small row that looks out onto the street, which gives the whole place a hidden feeling, as you can see out but others would have a hard time seeing in.

NICK MOTORS Coffee 尼克马达

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Opened just six months ago at the tail end of 2020, Nick Motors Coffee is a small little café on Defu Xiang, also known as Bar Street. Opened by a group of friends with a passion for motorcycles, this coffee shop is located right next to the only motorcycle wash in the downtown area. The owners opened the shop so that they would have a place to sit, relax, and have a cup of coffee while waiting for their bikes to get cleaned.

The name of the shop was selected because they thought that it sounded like the name of an old school repair shop, so there’s no actual person named Nick inside, but there are a few seats and narrow tables to sit down and have a coffee. The entire front of the shop is made from glass, so you can look out on the sleepy street and admire the numerous motorcycles parked out front, either waiting to be cleaned or having just finished. There’s even a space inside for motorcycles that are currently for sale, currently being occupied by a 500k beauty of a motorcycle.

3 Cocktails For Spring

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Even if it’s too short to fully enjoy, spring time is here in Xi’an. Have you seen the cherry blossoms? They are
magnificent. But whether I’m enjoy a meal al fresco, or taking a boat ride with friends on a lake, I always find myself asking the same question; how can cocktails improve this experience? So once again, I am here to provide you with some cocktails to help take your express spring time to the next (boozy-filled) level. Yes that’s correct. 3 cocktails perfect for light breezes, sunshine and flowers blooming.

Rural Murals: Country Art on the Way to Lantian

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In China, it is inevitable that, at some point, you will find yourself taking the “scenic” route. In this case, we were cycling with some SHIT (Shaanxi Hills International Team) enthusiasts to Zhu Guo Si (祝国寺) along the national road (国道) 210 and couldn’t help but admire the many hundreds of murals along the way (a huge shout out to Marcus and Zerary who waited for all of these photos).
While fresh air came in puffs (punctuated with the odor of manure), we wound our way through villages. There are a wide variety of political slogans, some of which you may recognize around Xi’an. We have even provided pinyin and English translations, in the event you develop a case of culturally-appropriated patriotism.

TOP 5 Largest Parks

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Parks and Spring go together like any number of cliché pairings. It’s this brief period of time when the parks explode in a riot of color and greenery, and when it is not too hot to enjoy it. People head out in droves to enjoy those little slices of manicured nature, whether flying kites, piloting paddle boats, or simply strolling around and enjoying the views and the weather. There are over 146 different parks in Xi’an, but with so many people trying to enjoy the same kinds of activities, it can get a bit cramped. That’s why we’ve gathered together a list of the biggest parks in Xi’an, so you’ll have a bit of room to enjoy your Spring.

Impressions of an Introvert in Hanfu

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Xi’an in spring offers the opportunity to take your cultural experience and moment-capturing photography to the next level by introducing the unique element of history this city offers in abundance with the accompaniment of cherry blossoms and spring flowers in bloom. To take advantage of this backdrop, you may have seen locals walking around in traditional-style clothing in search of the perfect background to match the patterns and colours of the historically cultural fashion statement called “Hanfu”.

Xi’an Spring Eating Guide: The Herbs of Spring in Xi’an

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For many locals in Xi’an, spring means eating the bounty of fresh herbs that grow for a short period during the spring. There is a saying that a spring without herbs is a soulless one. During springtime, you will most likely find many locals heading to the mountains and fields to dig up wild herbs with shovels in hands and sunhats on head, as the potherb is the soul of theirs and this is the way they greet Spring.

Since ancient time there has been a wording 咬春 Yao Chun or Bite Spring, it is the season for potherbs in March and April switching from the heavy meats and fish of the Spring Festival holiday to lighter and more fresh tastes. So, tune into the season and get a mouthful of Spring.

Modern Huaiyang Cuisine at the W XIAN’s YEN

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There is a saying that if you ate a different Chinese dish every day of your life, you would not be able to eat every dish over an entire life time. While Chinese cuisine can be a vast and complicated subject, generally there are eight major cuisines, with a four of those considered to be the ‘Great Traditions’ recognized as the best of the best, and also meant to represent the best of the North, South, East, and West. Most people will be familiar with Chuan, the food from Shaanxi’s neighboring province of Sichuan, as well as Yue, the food of Guangdong, commonly referred to as Cantonese cuisine.