There are many shops and restaurants along Shi Da Road, the street that leads from my hotel to Chang An Road. The noodle restaurant that I ate on my first day was on Shi Da Road, for instance. There are a number of restaurants specializing in different menu choices. In China, it seems, most small restaurants will serve only one sort of dish. One restaurant serves food with rice (没饭), while another serves noodles (面). Some sell dumplings （饺子),others cakes (蛋糕). The restaurant I ate at on my first day was exclusively a noodle restaurant.
In addition to the restaurant stalls, like any major city, Xi'an has street vendors. On my first day I noticed this gentleman:
The Chestnut Seller. I noticed this man selling roasted chestnuts on my first day in Xi'an.
He was roasting chestnuts in a large wok on Chang An Road. I took the picture with Sami in mind; I knew she would appreciate the value of roasted chestnuts being available anytime.
On Shi Da Road, there is a table in a break in the sidewalk about half-way down. I noticed the man my first day out and I asked Xiao Liu what he was making. She answered me, but I don't yet have an ear for listening to Chinese. The next day, as I was walking down Shi Da Road, I noticed some people waiting in line at his table. I decided to stop.
What he was making was rather familiar to me. It looked just like a crepe, and the basic production was much the same. I would find out later that what he was making was called 煎饼 (jiānbǐng, lit. "pan-fried flat cake").
The Jianbing Man. The man at the table on Shi Da Road prepares my jianbing.
He ladelled out batter onto a hot, round griddle, and moved it around with a small bamboo device. He then cracked an egg on top, smoothed the egg out as well, and sprinkled on some green onions. He then flipped the entire thing over and brushed the other side with a series of red sauces. He filled it with some vegetables I didn't recognize, and asked me if I wanted hot peppers. I did. He added two crispy pieces of some kind, flattened them down, and folded the whole thing up. I asked how much, and, sensing my confusion with the currency, he smiled and showed me the bills in his basket: 2.50RMB ($.37). He put the jianbing into a small plastic bag, the sort we use for produce back home, the sort that everyone uses here to take food home, and I walked back to my hotel.
I ate the jianbing with some chopsticks, not knowing exactly how I should eat it. I guess maybe its meant to be held, it is street food, afterall. I dunno.
Jianbing (煎饼). It tasted quite a bit better than these photos look.
The jianbing was quite good, like a savory crepe filled with Asian vegetables. And spicy, those peppers weren't messing around (believe me when I tell you if some one here says something is spicy, it's SPICY). Yesterday, while Xiao Liu and I were out, we passed the Jianbing Man's table. He waved at me as I was passing. I guess American's who speak almost no Chinese don't buy food from him everyday. I stopped and said "这是很好吃!" ("This is/was very delicious!"). He smiled and thanked me.
Hayden
I want a chestnut roaster here! I'm so jealous!
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