There are plenty of Xinjiang restaurants in Beijing offering average fare that doesn’t impress, Crescent Moon doesn’t fall into that category.  This restaurant is as authentic as you can get when it comes to Xinjiang food (outside of the Rep Offices), complete with a Uyghur owner and all Uyghur staff.  The restaurant offers large, juicy chuanr, but it’s the other dishes that really stand out.  Their homemade yoghurt is excellent and offers a cooling relief from all the cumin and red pepper spiked offerings.  Typical Xinjiang fare like naang bao rou (stir fried lamb and naan) and da pan ji (big plate chicken) are excellent renditions of favorites.  The hongshao eggplant is unlike any other hongshao dish around town, with a deliciously rich sweet tomato sauce that would entice the most ardent veggie hater to dig in for seconds.  To complete the authentic experience, Xinjiang beer and juices are available.