Lanzhou BBQ Skewers: A Fiery Food Adventure in China

Lanzhou beef noodles, it really takes the spotlight away from, I guess, any other the noodle or or food dish here in Lanzhou. And I didn't realize there were so many noodles here. So, for breakfast, I'm going to get out and expand my Lanzhou noodle horizons and check out this recommendation for Lanzhou style zha jiang mian. I'm super interested to see how Lanzhou's version differs from the famous Beijing version, which is basically soft springy noodles covered in a sweet, salty, umami, thick, meaty sauce and served with fresh veggies like carrot and

cucumber. When it comes to the Lanzhou version, they make the noodles fresh to order, which I feel like I haven't seen in Beijing before. I've requested thin noodles as per the recommendations. And once the noodles are cooked, it's then topped with this salty, meaty sauce, chili oil, fermented tofu, and sesame sauce, which I've asked them to add extra of because that's what the instructions said. And there we have it, Lanzhou's version of zha jiang mian. It's so, so saucy. It's like I got a puddle of sauce in there. But it doesn't end there. I've also

been advised to order a serve of fresh carrot and bean sprouts. I guess this is where the fresh veggie element of the dish comes into play. If I've read this correctly, I need to mix these noodles together. And not just mix a little, but mix a lot. Wow, what a fantastic day to wear white. This just looks like an absolute bomb of flavor. Check out the color on those noodles. I mean, you saw how much sauce went into it. You've got chili in there as well. That's definitely not something you see in the Beijing version of the jajangmyeon. Smells good, very

sesame. Funnily enough, it's a lot more muted than I thought it was going to be. I mean, you look at that color and it looks like it's going to blow the top of your head off or, you know, really throw some flavor in your face. Don't get me wrong, it's a really nice flavor, but it's a little bit more subtle. Um, you definitely taste the majong in there, the sesame paste, which I really love. I really love the texture of those noodles. They're handmade on the spot to order. So, as you can imagine, they're just so bouncy and amazing texture. But yeah, when

you combine this soft noodle with this paste-like kind of sauce, it's got this little bit of a pasty quality in the mouth. It's not unpleasant, but I feel like it's going to maybe get a little bit overwhelming in a few bites. So, I think that's where I This is going to come in handy, some fresh vegetables, but fresh vegetables, but Oh, this is interesting. So, it's been some moments since my first bite, but it's got this after Not an aftertaste, but this after feeling. It's quite interesting because I haven't quite felt this kind of sensation before.

It's kind of like if I was to combine the sensation of the mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorn with the minty freshness of brushing my teeth. Not that it's minty, but it like when I breathe in on my tongue and on the sides of my mouth, it's like this it's like this this coolness, which is also in odds with the look of this. It looks like it's going to be spicy and hot in my mouth, but it's like the antithesis to a spice burn. It's like a cooling sensation in my mouth, which is just so confusing because it looks like this. Anyway, I'm getting distracted.

Let's try those fresh veggies. They're not silly. This goes with this like bread and butter. So, where this lacks any kind of acidity, this has some vinegar on it. And where this lacks crunch, you've got those those bean sprouts there, the the carrot there that really give it, you know, a bit of crunch, a bit of excitement, and refreshing. It's It's very very refreshing. So, I feel like these two together it yeah, it works. This was delish, but I have to admit there was another breakfast option on the recommendation list I also really wanted to try. So,

I actually went to check it out for breakfast the following day. The store's called Hu Jia Bao Zi, and it's famous for, you guessed it, bao zi, of which they have six varieties. The problem is the minimum order is five bao zi per variety, and you can't mix flavors. So, I've gone for the beef and chive ones. The seller here told me to dip it into a combination of vinegar and chili oil. And oh my goodness, would you check out that saturation? And true to form, yep, I'm still wearing a white t-shirt. I am obsessed with this chili oil. It is so smoky, and I

was told that the best way to pair this is with a sauce of vinegar and chili oil, but I don't know, I've kind of just been pouring on the chili oil directly. It's so good just on its own. It's really fluffy on the outside. I really like the dough, and on the inside it's a very full bao zi, full of stuff. This one is filled with chives, and and beef, of course. This is halal here. The bao zi very nice. Sauce very nice. Good bao zi. Okay, let's get back to yesterday where we're currently on route to lunch to check out our next lunch or local specialty at a

place roughly 40-minute drive from the city center. It's called Hu San Ni Shou Zhua Can Ting, and it's famous for, you guessed it, shou zhua yang mutton. They have many varieties of it on the menu, but my instructions tell me I need to order this cut here, lei tiao, which is the ribs, and to make sure I order it with the skin still on. So, that's what I've gone ahead and done, and this is it here. And I have continued to follow the instructions. I've put a little bit of this this chili salt on my plate. And then what I'm going to do is I'm going to put

on my little glove here. I'm going to grab a piece, and I'm basically just going to dip it gently into the salt and eat it. Wow, it's so I already know this is going to be so tender. It's so soft in my hand. So, the reason it's called shou zhua yang rou, hand-pulled mutton, is because it's cooked for so long and it's just so damn tender, it can be easily pulled apart by hand. Or, in my case here, with teeth. Oh, wow. It's tender, all right. Wow. First things first, that um that chili salt is just incredibly flavorful. It doesn't look like it would be

that flavorful. I mean, it's uh quite fine grains. It looks pretty unassuming, but wow, it almost like completely overpowered uh that meat there. So, I'm going to have a bite of this without any of that salt, just so I get a sense for how the meat actually tastes. Wow, that is really, really good. That is just unapologetically meaty. No doubt about it. This is a dish for people who like the taste of lamb and mutton. I really like that it's got like this kind of ratio of 50% fat to 50% lean meat. It gives it a really nice softness, an amazing flavor, like

really, really meaty flavor. I'm going to go again and just dip just the tiniest bit and see if I can get that ratio a bit better. That's better. But, according to the instructions, the experience isn't complete until it's eaten together with the raw garlic. Let's do all the steps together. Dip in our meat. Like that. How about a bite of garlic? Oh, and mix it all together in the mouth. mouth. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. That is really, really good. I really like it with the raw garlic. And I think the reason I like it is I'm not just eating the raw garlic on its

own. It's like in a mouthful with the meat as well. And those three elements work incredibly together. They balance each other out, making every mouthful delicious and incredibly moorish. So, that was super, super delicious, but all I can think about is having something sweet. My mouth is just like full of meaty, garlicky-ness. So, I've seen on the list of recommendations, item number 22 to be exact, It looks to be some kind of local sweet treat. So, I thought let's go check that out for some afternoon tea. afternoon tea. So, here is the restaurant that

has been recommended for this sweet snack. Looks really cute. Let's see what this is all about. There are many items on the menu here, but I've just been recommended to try these two here. And look, I don't know if I can finish two bowls of food right now. So, I decided to try just this one on the right. It's called che m peda. And it's basically made from fermented oats. fermented oats. Instructions have also said that I should add a little bit of sugar. So, I asked them to do that at the front. So, I guess I'm just going to mix this up a little bit and

just take a take a spoonful. Together a little bit of that liquid, some of those oats. oats. Well, that's interesting. I've really never had a dessert with a texture like this before. this before. I'm not going to lie, it took some time for me to understand those flavors. Just taking mouthful after mouthful. And before I knew it, I was at the end of the bowl and might I add completely obsessed with it. obsessed with it. I really like it, but it's taken me some time to figure out how to describe it because I've really never tasted anything like this

before. Also, I've never had a texture like that before, especially when it comes to grains. So, there are these grains in there. I believe it's oats. And when you bite down on them and you chew on them in your mouth, they actually burst. And when you chew more, it kind of becomes very creamy in texture and also in taste. Something about the combination of that fermented juice with those oats. It's giving me really creamy vibes, which is weird because there is no cream or any dairy in this. I like the acidity in it. So, it gives it like quite a

refreshing nature. It's not overly sweet. not overly sweet. Um it's interesting. And the more I eat it, the more I'm like really obsessed with it. And I'm going to finish this up really quickly. One thing's for sure, this has definitely washed away any garlic-iness or meat-iness from lunch. It's such a refreshing dessert. And I also feel like it's perfect for this hot weather. It's very cooling. I mean, check this out. I have absolutely decimated that. Another absolute banger of a dish. These recommendations so far are sublime. Okay, by this stage it's

3:00 p.m. and that sun is scorching hot. So, something I've learned about Lanzhou is it's pretty much a ghost town between the hours of 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. when the sun is at its harshest. But, you should see how the city comes alive as soon as the sun starts coming down a bit. There are crowds of people in the street, these outdoor markets get set up. I even saw an outdoor nail salon, and of course you see all those plastic chairs starting to get taken out to prepare for the evening shao kao rush. And here in Lanzhou, from what I can see walking around

the last few days, they do shao kao a bit differently here. So, to learn more and following the restaurant recommendation of my subscriber, and I was very happy to see they have a street side eating set up. I mean, it wouldn't be the same without it. How could I be here in Lanzhou and not have some of the famous shao kao? I've been seeing it around everywhere. And how incredible and chili flaky does that barbecue meat look? So, what makes Lanzhou style barbecue different from others I've encountered across the country is firstly, it's completely cooked

inside flame, not on top of the flame, not on a grill over coals, but in the literal flame of the fire. The second major difference is along with that obligatory cumin spice mix, the meat is absolutely drowned in this pit of chili flakes. Oh my gosh, this is so up my alley, it's insane. But, that's not all I've ordered. I've also gone for this. It's a kao bing. Kao bing means barbecue bread, and you'll see it on the menu at many barbecue places. But, here they take it one step further and stuff the barbecue bread with, you guessed it, more chili flakes.

It's so funny, it was only a few months ago that I had my first ever chili oil sandwich concept in Baoding. And like, I've never seen it before in my life, and suddenly in the course of a few months, here's another one. Uh but, this one it looks like it also has a little bit of maybe cumin or some herbs inside. inside. Oh my god, that smells amazing. I actually just want to get into that and try. Mhm. Oh, very good. I like the addition of the cumin in there. Gives it that thing. And you know what I think is going to be absolutely amazing? Is putting one

of these inside. But, before we do that, I just want to try it on its own. Mhm. own. Mhm. Oh, man. Oh, man. Mhm. Mhm. This is really good. That's a skewer that's pretty hard to beat. It's just In my books, it's perfect. I love that it's got like lean meat, fat, lean meat, fat. For me, charcoal, I really need a little bit of fat. It gives so much flavor. And the flavor, it's like salty and it's got that smokiness from the chili. The chili isn't too spicy. It's got that warmth in my mouth. I feel like I keep saying that here in Lanzhou because I feel like

the spice here in Lanzhou really reminds me of the spice that I was having in Shaanxi province, um where they have the chili flakes and it looks really, you know, scary when you first see a big bowl of chili oil, but actually, the taste is quite mild. So, maybe because it is along the same kind of Silk Road, you know, kind of when the Xi'an, Shaanxi province, and then into Gansu province, and into Xinjiang, and maybe there's some connection there and like the the chili is somehow similar because of the Silk Road. Anyway, end of chili spiel. I need to eat

more of this. The time has come. Oops. I'm in heaven. I'm in heaven. It's really good. It's very, very good. Wow, freaking amazing. Wow, freaking amazing. Wow. Lanzhou, 10 out of 10. Oh, god. Oh, no. Wow. Wow, that was so close. And by some miracle, I've managed to come out of this day with a completely unscathed white T-shirt. What sorcery is this? This has just been absolutely incredible day of eating. day of eating. Some highlights for me was that dessert, actually. I wasn't expecting that. I I had never heard of it before, but it's I definitely feel

like kind of having that again, like after this meal. It's so refreshing and cleansing. Um this is definitely a highlight. It's maybe one of the best bites of food that you can possibly get, like bit of this and this with the chili and the meat and the fat. It's just like It's just like It just does not get better than this. So, I want to give a very public thank you to the subscriber. Thank you for all your recommendations and for all your hard work in putting that list together and I'm definitely not going to be gatekeeping. Here are the screenshots

every single recommendation that that subscriber sent to me and hope you enjoy it as much as I have today. So as always don't forget to like and comment and subscribe. I have loved my time here in Lan Zhou but we are moving on next video. We are going somewhere else in the province somewhere that's recently become really really famous for a certain variety of mala tang. So stay tuned for next week and I will see you then. Bye guys. Bye.