Xibo, Shanghai

The temple for Xinjiang cuisine in Shanghai.

There's nothing more wrong than to think that Chinese cuisine is just noodles, dumplings, peking duck and sweet & sour pork. China is one of the biggest countries in the world so imagine the different kinds of cuisines a country that vast must have.
There's a huge autonomous region in northwest China called Xinjiang, bordering Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Kyrghystan and Tajikistan. This area has a lot of ethnic groups with an Islamic majority. Probably these factors influence the cuisine, which is mainly halal, with specialties made with lamb, eggplant, pumpkin, kebabs, etc.

In Shanghai, Xibo offers this type of cuisine in a really nice dim-lit atmosphere. The place is located in the French Concession in a tranquil terrace, overlooking the nearby roofs. Service is flawless, with super-attentive staff continously checking on you, refilling your wine glasses and making sure everything is OK.

Since lamb here should be the specialty, we had a lamb-based dinner. For starters we had the dumplings filled with minced lamb and onion and the cold cucumber with chili sauce - both great, especially the cucumber chili sauce with vinegar, spicy but refreshing.

We had 2 main courses, the lamb hot pot style with coriander and the lamb leg dish. I just loved the way they used spices like cumin, red pepper and herbs like the coriander in these two dishes, the lamb was super tender and flavorful.

We paired the dinner with a nice bottle of Malbec, perfect for the lamb dishes. The total of 561 RMB was not on the cheap side but definitely worth the quality, the atmosphere and the tastiness of the dishes.

Xibo

Address: 83 Chang Shu Road, 3F, near Julu Road
Chinese Address: 常熟路83号3楼（近巨鹿路）
Tel. +86 (21) 5403 8330
Email info@xiboxinjiang.com

http://www.xiboxinjiang.com/en/index.htm