The plastic tablecloths with gorgeous floral prints and the aroma and smoke from the roast mutton kebabs combine to make you feel this is an echt Xinjiang restaurant.
Named after a legendary beauty in the region, Alamuhan is special for its simple but characteristic ambiance and authentic Xinjiang food.
The penetrating smoke wisping from the green gate of the restaurant proves irresistible to passers-by.
Chefs wearing traditional Uygur hats and vests with colorful pearls grill mutton on the fire and make baked nan bread around a special oven shaped like a barrel.
It is a common food in Xinjiang, where families prepare many pieces of nan and keep them in a closet for daily meals.
Along the narrow stairs up to the second floor in the smoke and the fragrance of meat, you can see floral hanging carpets on the wall, the compartments with doors shaped like domed Xinjiang architecture, and many other Xinjiang elements including dancers on the stage and music.
The roast lamb is a classic dish of the cuisine, which can seem a little cruel. A whole body of a young lamb is put into the oven that makes nan and grilled for 45 minutes. Secret spices are added.
It keeps the shape of a living lamb, and chefs put green vegetables in its mouth.
One of my friends said the lamb was special for its natural taste, and the taste after being dipped into "ziran" (a kind of Xinjiang spice).
An interesting dish we ordered was "basi tudou" (potato cubes in melted sugar) which made me recall my childhood.
When you pick one cube up, the sugar will disintegrate quickly with many threadlike sugar fragments. That's why it got the Chinese name, which describes that a chopstick of the dish will create thousands of thin and transparent threads.
The taste of caramel and the sweetness of the potato were harmonious and lasting.
Hand-made noodles with mutton and stir-fried mutton rice, which can be eaten by hand, were also authentic and delicious.
(Shanghai Star November 30, 2001)
