Tongshengxiang Restaurant

Tongshengxiang has operated on West Street near the Bell Tower since the 1920s and is, alongside Laosunjia, one of the two restaurants most commonly cited as the standard-bearers of Xi'an yangrou paomo. As a halal establishment run within the city's historic Hui Muslim food tradition, the kitchen follows the same interactive format as other paomo houses -- diners tear flatbread into a bowl themselves before it's simmered into soup -- but is also known for a fried, drier variation with less broth for guests who prefer a heartier, less soupy texture. The dining room occupies a straightforward multi-table restaurant just off the Bell Tower traffic circle, functional rather than decorative, with the same brisk, high-turnover service found at the city's other paomo specialists. A sweet glutinous rice cake, jing gao, is a popular add-on for guests wanting a light dessert after the rich soup. There's no alcohol service typical of Hui Muslim establishments; tea and soft drinks are standard. Walk-ins are the norm and queues build around the lunch hour, so an early or late lunch avoids the longest wait.