Category: Food & Drink

Isola Del Nord – 13th Anniversary 意大利餐厅

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Isola del Nord has been a staple on the Xi’an scene for longer than most foreigners have been in China. This cozy little restaurant, located on the 11F of the KI Building on North Street, has steadily served up some of the best Napoli-style pizza in the city, along with exceptional Italian foods, for 13 years now. So, how does the restaurant hold up after all these years?

It’s never easy to maintain a restaurant at the best of times, and the past year and a half have been some of the roughest in recent memory, presenting a challenge to the entire industry. Yet, through all of this, Isola has stood up to its reputation, and continues to provide one of the nicest dining environments in the city.

Hualuxe Xi’an Tanghua -Cai Feng Lou Chinese Restaurant 唐华华邑酒店·彩丰楼中餐厅

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L ocated just a short walk from Dayanta, the Hualuxe hotel is a large, expansive hotel, part of the hotel chain of the same name. Located on the second-floor of the hotel from the lobby, the dining area for this restaurant has many segmented areas for sitting, including several private dining rooms located just adjacent to the main floor. The whole restaurant is decorated in a modern look, with accents that reflect traditional Chinese culture.

Localand Vietnamese Cuisine Garden Restaurant 越乡Pho·越南美食花园餐厅

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When it comes to food here in Xian, we’re spoilt for choice. People flock from all over to indulge in Shaanxi’s delights. And rightly so. The noodles are world famous! And so is the you po mian and rou jia mo. The list is endless. But it’s totally okay to hanker for a different taste every now and then. And for this reason it’s great to see so many new and exciting restaurants popping up all over Xian.

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.

Hualuxe Xi’an Hi-tech Zone -Xianyan All-Day-Dining Restaurant 西安中晶华邑酒店•鲜艳全日餐厅

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Only a short (<10min) walk from Yanpingmen Station (Line 3) and with car access from Tuanjie South Road (团结南路), Hualuxe Hotel is very accessible. Upon arrival, we learned from the welcoming staff that the hotel had just opened last year. Everything from the decorations to the appliances to the meticulously manicured bamboo-lined entryway demonstrates a modern Chinese style. Notable is that throughout the lobby of the hotel were cages of various kinds – a distinctive feature hinting at an appeal to affluent clientele. After all, in ancient China, only the wealthy had the time and resources to care for and admire pet birds. According to Dazhong Dianping, the restaurant is currently the #5-ranked buffet in Xi’an for environmental quality.

Steak Universe 酒师扒房 （西影店）

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I once had a friend who used to complain about the lack of standalone restaurants. He loathed the fact that every half decent restaurant happened to be in a mall or jammed into the first floor of a building, not allowing for much in the way of outdoor seating or enjoyment. And it’s true, real estate is a premium and the fact of the matter is that it is more economical to save on expenses by going the mall route. It’s also almost guaranteed foot traffic to help your business along. So when you find a restaurant that breaks out of this mold; that is something to pay attention to.