Uyghur Lunch

We decided to meet at the Adelaide Central Market at Mexican Revolution for lunch. Fermando still doesn't have mole enchiladas. CJ decides on an adventure. A block away is an Uyghur restaurant. What is Uyghur food? We don't have a clue!

The Uyghurs are a Turkic-speaking minority ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghurs are recognized as native to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwest China. They are considered to be one of China's 55 officially recognized ethnic minorities. The Uyghurs are recognized by the Chinese government only as a regional minority within a multicultural nation. The Chinese government rejects the notion of the Uyghurs being an indigenous group.

The Uyghurs have traditionally inhabited a series of oases scattered across the Taklamakan Desert within the Tarim Basin. These oases have historically existed as independent states or were controlled by many civilizations including China, the Mongols, the Tibetans and various Turkic polities. The Uyghurs gradually started to become Islamized in the 10th century and most Uyghurs identified as Muslims by the 16th century. Islam has since played an important role in Uyghur culture and identity.

There are two Uyghur restaurants within a block. Flip a coin. We select the nearest. We inform the waitress we have no familiarity with Uyghur food and she recommends #21 for Carol and #25 in a spicy version for CJ. She also suggests we sample a chicken kebab and lamb kebab.

This is CJ's noodle dish. The noodles are unique and tasty. The dish excellent.

Carol's noodles are similar although the depth of flavor of this dish isn't as complex as the CJ dish. Next time we'll order one spicy and one not spicy of CJ's dish.

The kebabs have a different flavor profile than our Afghan kebabs. Both are tasty. Unfortunately these kebabs are characteristic of Chinese and Vietnamese food. Whereas the meat at our Afghan restaurant is trimmed and tender, here the meat contains fat, grizzle, and it objectionable. Lesson learned: stick with the most excellent noodle dishes.