Northwestern (Xibei - Ningxia, Qinghai and Gansu)

Provincial government restaurant of Qinghai, serving delicacies favored by the local Muslim Hui minority – think lots of mutton and noodle dishes as well as yogurt and bread.

Provincial Government of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, strongly influenced by flavors traditionally associated with the Hui people, one of China's 55 ethnic minorities.

The atmosphere isn't great, as the restaurant is quiet and mostly empty, but the food is worth trying. We recommend the liangpi, a cold noodle dish that's usually a starter, and the fried lamb chops with cumin.

The Inner Mongolia Provincial Government Restaurant is located in the Inner Mongolia Hotel. Best offerings include shaomai made with juicy lamb, and hot pot. Hot pot is RMB 18 per individual pot of broth, with a choice of spicy, clear, mushroom or tomato, and the standard additions, with, as you might expect, a heavy focus on lamb. There are also the usual vegetable and tofu additions at reasonable prices. 

Quick, affordable, and generally excellent northwestern Chinese noodles from this small operation with branches in Chaoyangmen and Sanlitun. Both branches are open 24 hours. 

Silk Road Restaurant is run by Hui minority management and features homestyle delicacies from Northwest China, including Gansu's famous handmade Lanzhou beef noodles, Xinjiang's dapanji, dry hot pot, a variety of vegetable dishes, and plenty of barbecue and chuan'r (all food is Halal). The restaurant has a big picture menu to guide your choices, making selections easier for the Chinese-challenged among us – or you may just bump into the owner's wife who stands out as the only Scottish member of staff.

North eastern cousine, you'll find fantastic cuisine. Signatures includ cold noodles, lamb skewers, and home-made yogurt served in a ceramic jug.

Roasted lamb dishes, kebabs, hand-pulled noodles (la tiaozi), rice pilaf (shouzhua fan) are the stars of the Xinjiang-focused menu at this small chain of restaurants. The atmosphere is slightly more upscale than your typical Xinjiang dive, and the yangrou chuan'r (ranging in price from RMB 3 to 30 each, depending on type of lamb) are excellent.

Enjoy hand-pulled Lanzhou noodles at this small restaurant next to Jinshan Park.

Bland décor and bustling service offer scant evidence that this restaurant showcases – in some style – the food from one of China’s most culturally diverse provinces. Gansu is home to myriad ethnic groups, each with their own cooking style and food staples. Many of those dishes can be sampled here. Office workers and Yanjing-swilling locals all swear by the aromatic braised lamb, cooked so soft it shreds apart at the merest tug of the chopsticks, stewed together with gelatinous slippery
potato noodles, another regional specialty.