Xinjiang is the largest province in China and is home to the Uyghurs. They are a minority ethnic group that are predominantly Muslim. As with any region and city in China, they have their own unique and delicious dishes that they are distinguished by. The unique thing about Uyghur food is that due to its geographical location (West China), there is a strong influence on the food from the Middle East, Central Asia, and Eastern Asia; simply put, it is like a wonderful concoction of Turkish, Uzbek and Chinese food. It is like nothing else you’ll find in China and fascinatingly it is super popular all throughout China too. I spent a few months in Beijing a few years ago and I noticed how common, how popular and how liked (whether by Muslims or not) the Uyghur cuisine is. Their famous meat skewers and dapanji (big plate chicken) were amongst the favourites of many Beijing locals.
Dilara Restaurant in London
Unfortunately, even though Chinese food and restaurants have reached all corners of the world, Uyghur cuisine hasn’t. Outside of Xinjiang, there are very few authentic Uyghur restaurants. And in London you can almost count them on your two hands (maybe even one!). During our research we came across this restaurant: Dilara. This restaurant had the best Google Rating and their menu looked like it had all the authentic classics.
The restaurant has been around for 15 years. However, they’ve only been doing Uyghur food for 4. Prior to that (and still now) they were doing Turkish food. They use the best and finest of ingredients including HMC meat. Their chefs also have qualifications in both cuisines. You can see them making the noodles and the meat skewers at the front. Their menu is full of wonderful Turkish and Uyghur dishes – all authentic. We were obviously here for the Uyghur food. We opted for the following dishes: Uyghur Samsa, Uyghur Kebap and Large Plate Chicken (dapanji). And we also got Uyghur pot tea to drink, which tasted like delicious herbal tea.
Uyghur Samsa
These are pocket sized meat pies that are usually cooked in a brick oven (tandoor). You’ll find them all over the streets of Xinjiang and in Beijing I noticed them outside mosques on Jumuah (Friday prayer). There’ll always be crowds surrounding these small carts. My experience of it in Beijing wasn’t very pleasant as there was a piece of fat in the pie with the meat which had a very meaty odour. I did chilli oil to it and it tasted better. My wife wanted to try it so we ordered it here. It was decent here actually. I do think chilli oil would’ve elevated it, but they do not serve or have chilli oil as a table condiment at this restaurant (maybe a Uyghur thing?).
Uyghur kebap
Super popular in China and a prime example of how Muslims and the Uyghurs specifically, have influenced the Chinese cuisine. These kebabs or meat skewers are the best kebabs I have ever had. So so so good! So, of course we had to order these here at this restaurant. They were AMAZING! Seemed like a few more spices were present here as opposed to the very prominent cumin in Beijing. So, it didn’t hit the heights for me personally as those in Beijing, but still very very good regardless. I could munch on these all day.
Dapanji
This translates to big plate chicken because it is a big plate of chicken. It is quite possibly the national dish of Xinjiang and probably the most popular dish there. This along with the meat skewers were two of my three favourite dishes I had in Beijing. It may not be as popular as the skewers, but still popular in its own right in Beijing. I had it on numerous occasions from numerous places. The one here was again very good, but honestly it was not as good as the ones I’ve had in Beijing (or even the one I make using the recipe I mentioned in the dapanji post). It seemed like something was lacking from this dish, but couldn’t put my finger on what it was. Still worth trying of course because of its status in Xinjiang. Note, due to its size it is a dish that has to be shared.
At the end, they also gifted us baklava, which was really delicious! I’d happily pay for it next time.
Note: they don’t have alcohol on the menu, but when we were there we saw them offer alcoholic drinks to a group of customers.
Getting there
Nearest Mosque: Finsbury Park Mosque
Nearest station: Finsbury Park
Parking: outside restaurant free in the evenings and Sundays (times vary on Arsenal match day)
[…] does Uyghur food. Always busy and full of tourists and locals alike! 0 2 By Halal Xplorer China Food May 6, 2022 Xinjiang […]