Local food: Shaanxi Cuisine, also known as Qin Cuisine, is the representative culinary achievement in the northweast of China. Compared with other Chinese cuisines, it is outstanding in three aspects. Firstly, due to Shaanxi's geographical location in the center of China, various kinds of materials originating from both north and south China are adopted. Secondly there are special cooking skills of the local chefs, including Qiang (fry quickly inhot oil, then cook with sauce and water), Chao (stir-fry), Zheng (cook by useof steam), Dun (braise) and so on. The third is its frequently use of salt,vinegar, capsicum and garlic, which makes the savory flavor of sour, spicy andfragrant.
Xi'an specialties include Yang Rou Pao Mo,Biang Biang Mian,Rou Jia Mo,Xiao Long Bao Zi,Shi Zi Bing and so on.
Yang Rou Pao Mo is one of the signature dishes of the area. It consists of a piece of thick, chewy bread and a kettle of mutton soup. The eater shreds the bread with his hands and places the shreds in a bowl, the soup is then poured over the shreds (along with meat, maybe some noodles or scallion, etc.) The way is to shred the bread into pieces as small as possible and then soak them into the soup. In some restaurants, the breads have been already shredded into pieces . It is normally also served with pickled garlic and chili. If you don't like mutton,in some restaurants beef soup will be offered instead.

Biang Biang Mian is a local provincial specialty noodle dish that is extremely popular. The wide noodles are spiced ,which have a broth and include toppings such as eggs, tomatoes, beef, etc. The character for "biang" isn't yet possible to type into a computer, but look for a complex character with about 57 strokes repeated twice before"flower". A popular chain has a red sign with white characters, andincludes the face of the "Noodle King".
Rou Jia Mo is the special local food which is the closest food to a beefburger.This is a local tradition and should be very easy to taste. Sandwich-like, with pork, beef or lamb, this is a must-try item for anyone who is in this area.
Xiao long bao-zi are basket-steamed dumplings, common as a midnight snack. Look for its relative "Da bao-zi" only available first thing in the mornings, like a steamed cornish pastie, but very nice.
Guan Tang bao-zi are steamed buns served with sauces inside.
Shi Zi Bing are buns made from persimmons, stuffed with something (e.g. blacksesame paste), and deep-fried, so they're quite sticky-sweet.

Lv Dou Gao are literally green bean cakes (come in small cubes), but they're more moist than you may find elsewhere and also come with a variety of mixings (e.g.sesame).