Uighur cuisine comes from the far west of China, and is unlike anything else you’ll eat across the country, blending the culinary traditions of Central Asia to the west with the Chinese cuisines of the east. It’s generally heavy and comforting, and features lots of meats cooked over flames on skewers, doused in various spices.

Other traditional dishes to try include the polo, a type of rice dish stewed with lamb, carrots and onion. And then there’s the laghman, stir-fried noodles topped with lamb and vegetables, and goshnan, a lamb-stuffed pie. Be sure to sample various Uighur breads on the side – you’ll need them to sop up the delicious sauces.