Eating Halal in China
A reader recently asked how and where to eat Halal food during a business trip to Shanghai. China has a large population of Muslim peoples who are part of ten ethnic groups. The largest cluster is the Uigher minority from Xinjiang Province in China’s far west. These folks have brought their palatable cuisine east and you can find their restaurants from large venues to tiny dives all over Chinese cities. So in essence, it is relatively easy to find Muslim restaurants in China.
But if you don’t have time to wander and your hotel concierge is scratching his head, IslamChina.com have a great web site on the history and culture of Islamic peoples in China and also list restaurants for various Islamic ethnic cuisines by city, e.g. Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen.
Definitely add Islamic foods such in the manner that Xinjiang or Hui cuisine to your culinary itinerary while in China. The spices and flavors are utterly different from the foods you’ll find from other locations and you’ll in likelihood find yourself craving lamb kebabs after your first experience. I do.