At Shanghai Hongqiao Airport in the morning, a person, a backpack, and a suitcase habitually posted a circle of friends: Fly to Xinjiang.
So some friends joked: "You are either in Xinjiang, or on the way to Xinjiang." This is my 21st trip to Xinjiang, and I went to Hetian in southern Xinjiang.
I asked friends who have been to Hetian on the Internet what delicious food, and many people left messages and recommended me a baked bun shop.
But the name is very strange: "You must go to eat the famous baked buns!" "What, you must go to the cute baked buns."
It made me a tourist who went to other places for the first time, and I was really confused.
When I finally arrived in Hotan, I finally went to this baked bun shop. Looking up, the name of the store is like this: Yulong Kashi is famous for its Aikede wooden baked buns.
Is there a store name that is super hard to remember? "Yulong Kashi" is a place name, "Aikedemu" is the name of the store, and "Youming" means the store is very famous. Therefore, you still have to remember it as the "Aikede Wooden Baked Bun" shop.
Why is this baked bun shop recommended by countless netizens so famous?
It is said that they have been on CCTV. It is said that tourists packed dozens of baked buns on the plane. It is said that many people made a special trip to Hetian for the baked buns... After hearing so many legends, I became curious.
The baked bun shop is a large shed outside. The long tables on the left and right are crowded with foodies, lively and lively, and there is also an indoor area.
A local friend said that if it weren't for the epidemic, when the business was good, the store would sell more than 5,000 baked buns a day, and when the baked buns came out, they would basically rely on robbing.
Even now, more than 2,000 baked buns are sold a day. What? Sell more than 5,000 a day, 10 yuan a piece, a turnover of 50,000 yuan a day just baked buns? !
There are two kinds of baked buns here, 5 yuan and 10 yuan, and the 5 yuan one is relatively small. The air is filled with the smell of baked buns.
The walls are covered with various honors of the restaurant: "The First China Gold Medal Tourism Snack", "Advanced Individual Industrial and Commercial Households", "Advanced Collective for Poverty Alleviation in Hotan Area" and so on.
After looking at the business license, it was registered in 2007, and it has been 13 years now.
While waiting for the dishes to be served, you can go to the back kitchen to see the production process. It is strongly recommended that you must go and see, you will know the whole process of a baked bun from the flour to the oven.
This is kebabs, strings hung upside down in the naan pit, grilled slowly over a charcoal fire, filling the room with aroma.
Baked buns are also baked in such a naan pit, and many can be baked in one naan pit. I'm curious, how come they don't fall down?
The temperature near the naan pit is very high. Imagine that it would be sweaty and hard to bake buns in summer.
After the baked buns are cooked, they are hooked off one by one with such a hook. There will be salt blocks on the inner wall falling off together.
A basket full, it smells so good!
This is the baked bun we ordered. Since it’s the first time we come here, let’s be extravagant. Let’s order 10 yuan each to see how big it is.
A local friend taught me that the most authentic way to eat baked buns is to first use a filet knife to drop the salt on the back of the baked buns.
The freshly baked buns are really hot, and they are too big to hold in one hand.
How big are these 10 yuan baked buns? You have to take a photo to compare it with your face. Well, in comparison, my face looks very small, so I like it.
Let's compare the baked buns of the online celebrity restaurant "Silk Road" in Urumqi, and we know that the baked buns of "Aikedemu" are about 4 times larger.
It is no exaggeration to say that this baked bun is enough for a girl to eat.
Open it, and it's full of mutton. The shell is crispy, the lamb inside is tender, and there is no smell at all. In fact, in Xinjiang, all the mutton eaten has no smell.
In addition to baked buns, the roast lamb and meat naan here are highly recommended.
Roast mutton is 10 yuan a bunch, and the ingredients are plenty. The warm meat naan is also super delicious. Unfortunately, there is no belly dress.
The restaurant also has homemade yogurt, noodles, etc., everything is very good.
The per capita consumption is very low. The local people are 5 yuan for a baked bun, 10 yuan for a skewer of lamb, and 15 yuan for a lunch.
Sharing on the Internet, there are also different voices:
"This restaurant can only rank second in Hotan! The first is in Zhakou. The steamed buns baked by Zhakou brothers are better than here. This restaurant was promoted due to good luck in the early days. The steamed buns baked by Zhakou brothers were not publicized by the outside world. , the sales volume is not lower than him at all! The locals all eat gates.”
I don’t know if I still have the chance to go to Hetian again. If I go again, I will go to Brother Baked Buns and compare them to know which one I like better.
In the past few days, I will share bits and pieces of my travels in Hotan, just like a friend left a message: "You can experience the customs of the Western Regions in Hotan. The folk customs here are simple, hospitable, and delicious food, which will give you endless aftertaste."
I know, I will go back.
