food
skewers was great. the muslim dishes didn't disappoint. the yogurt was good. beer was good.
they even had hookah for like 60rmb

service was above average for china

the place was very clean. decent decorations

Its pretty cheap. the portions are huge. wine was like 80

will definitely be back.

I read good things about this place, and upon moving to Beijing it was one of my first ports of call. The Xinjiang restaurent in Shipin Dao (off Nanmenwai Dajie) in Tianjin is probably my favourite restaurant in the whole of China, so I was hoping for something similar. Instead I found a rather cheerless restaurant, inhospitable waiting staff (not actively rude, just not welcoming or friendly), and so-so, overpriced food.

There are many better Xinjiang restaurants in Beijing, I have since found - so can we get rid of this popular notion of Crescent Moon being a popular or quality example of Xinjiang dining in Beijing? It is neither.

i agree with the people who've said the wait-staff are less than polite (they nearly scowl at you) and the dishes are overpriced. the dishes are also tiny and not even especially good, just super salty, which makes anything passable. and what's the big deal about the yogurt? even if they did make it, it tastes precisely like the stuff i drink every morning from a plastic jug.

why are we all still obsessed with finding the dumpiest, surliest (and now germiest) place on the block and calling it quaint?

with it staid, wooden furnishings,snaking corridors, opulent private rooms and chandeliers galore. this restaurant is decidedly upscale,xingjiang style,with fine food and Uyghur-stuff .

This place enjoys way better ratings/reviews than it deserves.

Or maybe its a classic Beijing case of "it-used-to-be-genuinely-good-two-years-ago-but-now-they've-put-up-their-prices-and-are-cutting-back-on-service-and-quality".

I've read the reviews here I have to agree with everyone who wrote over-priced.
They are very aware of their good reputation within the expat community (they have a "TimeOut Recommends" sticker on the door) which makes it even more disappointing when you get surly service.

Admittedly they do have some dishes I've not seen at any other Xinjiang restaurants but we've stopped going there since better local options abound such as a Xibei place not far north on Dongsi 12tiao.

It's a bit hard to find, but very clean and cozy. Much cleaner that usual Xinjiang restaurants.
The food is simply nice and worse the money. You can feel that the taste is some how original from Xinjiang. "Yang-rou chuan'er" and "Zhua fan" are special...

Good food, prices are right but lack the ambience to take someone special .
Just good for taking some old friend and the objective is to eat.

If there are fewer customers you feel a bit low, though,but focuss on eating.
NOthing to complain.

I like this place a lot, but there's something that holds me back from really loving it. I think it's the fact that the bread is never quite as soft as I'd like it to be, never quite as fresh as it could be. Or maybe it's that the yoghurt is slightly sweetened when it should be more sour - the BLCU Muslim restaurant still has better bread and the best yoghurt of any Xinjiang restaurant in Beijing. It might just be that it feels like some of the edge has been taken off the flavors, as if it's slightly over-sanitised.

That said, Crescent Moon is easier for me to get to than BLCU, the food is good and the chuan'r are nice and big, likewise the majority of the dishes. They have Xinjiang beers, including a rich, rounded dark lager - though the beer is pretty expensive for what it is. The restaurant is massively popular with foreigners - you're about 10 times more likely to run into a bunch of expats here than in any other restaurant in this area. So they must be doing something that makes sense to us laowais.

As a previous reviewer mentioned, the staff are pretty unfriendly. But hey, that's life.

Oh - final point - Crescent Moon is mercilessly free of the ridiculously loud music that kind of ruins its rival, Red Rose, which is otherwise a decent restaurant. Thumbs up for relative silence.

Nice joint. The staff was obnoxious as expected, but great food, in a good atmosphere. Certainly the best Xinjiang restaurant I have been to so far.

It's also worth taking the walk in the street where the restaurant is located, for the old-style houses.

PS: Chinese name is 弯弯月亮, and I believe the pin on the map is incorrect, the restaurant is indeed on Dong Si Liu Tiao.

Great food. This style of food always goes well with me and this place is up there with the best.
The one thing that ruined it for me was the deception.
I usually drink a Yanjing with my meals, and tried to order one here. "No Yanjing", was the response. No problem I'll have something else.
The only thing on offer was their 'house beer', can't remember the name of it. About 5 times the price but I was willing to try.
It wasn't horse piss, but it wasn't the best, and it certainly wasn't what I really wanted. Too bad how sad, we live and learn.
I sat eating the meal(the meal truly was fantastic), drinking the beer thinking, 'f*** me, why is it that my tasty Yanjing(yes I'm a simple man with simple tastes) is available everywhere else from world class restaurant, to hutong store, but not here.
After 5 minutes of this contemplation I looked on as the waitress was serving a Yanjing to the guy at the table next to me.
I've now blacklisted this establishment and will never go back(like they give a sh*t).

f*** you Cresent Moon. 5 stars for the food, and f*** all for your lying.