Five Places to Eat Your Way Through Xi'an

Xi'an's carb-heavy food map splits into five stops that each do one job well: a morning market, a residential canteen district, a rebuilt Tang-era food square, a tourist street and a bridge-side breakfast run.

1. Jiujin Bridge (洒金桥) — for the zènggāo
   The reason to come is the zènggāo at Pangzi's, a sticky steamed cake of glutinous rice and red dates that costs about 10 yuan a portion. Go early — on weekends especially, arriving late means the good stuff is gone. Trip.com
2. Xiaonanmen Morning Market (小南门早市)
   Traders set up around 6:00 and start packing away from about 9:30, so this is a breakfast stop, not a lunch one. It is genuinely crowded in the morning and the lanes get blocked. Coming by metro or on a bike is easier than bringing a car.
3. Zhonglou District (钟楼小区)
   Less a sight than a canteen for people who live nearby. The surroundings are plain and the prices are low. Come for flavour rather than atmosphere; if you want tablecloths and lighting, this is the wrong stop.
4. Yongxing Square (永兴坊)
   One of the 108 wards of the Tang city, now a planned food street for Shaanxi's intangible-heritage snacks. It is cleaner and better organised than the older streets, and it is the efficient way to taste representative dishes from all over the province in one place.
5. Huimin Street (回民街)
   Walk the main street, eat in the side lanes. Beiyuanmen, the central spine, is heavily commercialised — treat it as atmosphere rather than as a place to find your best meal of the day.

All five sit inside or just outside the old city walls, so the simplest base is anywhere within walking distance of the Bell Tower. Compare the main booking sites before you pick, since prices for the same walled-city room vary a lot between them.