Xiaoyi Siwawa (Baoshan North Road)

Xiaoyi Siwawa is a small siwawa shop on Baoshan North Road in Yunyan District, Guiyang, the provincial capital of Guizhou in southwest China. The address given is No. 163 Baoshan North Road, Building 2, Unit 3, which indicates a residential-style building rather than a purpose-built restaurant, in keeping with the local habit of running small food businesses from the ground floor of apartment blocks. The shop makes rolled vegetable wraps to order, serving siwawa, the Guiyang snack in which shredded vegetables, pickles and herbs are wrapped in a thin rice-flour pancake and dressed with a sour and spicy sauce. The menu is built around a single product, the siwawa vegetable wraps, so there is little to decide beyond how many to order and how much chili to add. Each wrap is assembled by hand while the customer waits, which keeps the vegetables crisp and the pancake soft, and the process is a small piece of street theatre for first-time visitors. The flavour is light, refreshing and sharply seasoned, which contrasts with the richer noodles and fish pots that dominate the city's menus, and the snack is often eaten between meals or as a light lunch. The shop is a counter-service operation with no reservations, minimal seating and no dress code, and the atmosphere is casual and neighbourly, with regular customers from the surrounding streets. Beverages, where offered, are tea and soft drinks, and there is no wine programme. Prices are low, in the budget range, and a few wraps cost little more than a bottle of water. The Baoshan North Road area is a central part of Yunyan District and is within reach of other food stops in the neighbourhood, including changwang noodle shops on Baoshan South Road. Visitors looking for an unpretentious, inexpensive taste of everyday Guiyang will find it a useful stop.