My favorite food combo in Xi'an: 凉皮 (Liangpi, or Steamed Cold Noodles) & 肉夹馍 (Rou Jia Mo, or Rougamo, meat inside bread).
Rougamo, almost a directly pronunciation transfer from the Chinese pronunciation Rou Jia Mo, means meat inside bread. The meat is usually very flavorful pork, which is stewed for long hours with more than 20 spicies. In the Muslim areas around Xi'an, people use beef and lamb, along with lots of cumin and pepper instead. Makes me mouthwatering just by thinking about it.
Steamed cold noodles are made of rice flour. After a few times of filtering, it becomes starch-like paste. This paste will then be put into steamer, usually a huge round flat surface. After the steaming, it comes out as a piece of very large round flat round skin, which will be cut evenly with a gigantic knife -- it is so big that the cook needs to use both hand to hold it. Then, flavors are added to the noodles: sour and spicy? With sesame paste? With cucumbers? Your choices. I love all of them.
They are something you don't want to miss if you visit Xi'an. In the U.S., it is very hard to find authentic Xi'an food. I heard people applaud for the Xi'an Famous Food in New York. Next time I'm in New York, I must give it a try.
