Xinjiang cuisine features very spicy with peppers and chili used to much the same effect as they are in Sichuan. The staple food in Xinjiang is noodles, among them the La mien and Ban mien (noodles served with mutton and a spicy vegetable stew) are very popular in all the cities in the region. Grilled mutton kebabs is definitely the common specialty of this region, which are usually bought on the street and often accompanied by a large, flat oven baked bread. The bread looks very like the Nan in India, and both of them have the same name.

Xinjiang is also rich in various wonderfully tasty and fresh fruit, such as the grapes, raisins and Hami melon etc. besides, western food is more rare in this region, although there are numerous branches of John's Information Cafe set up across the province, catering to western and backpacker tastes serving up pancakes, coffee and burgers!

Since Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has many ethnic groups, the Xinjiang-style food is characterized by roast mutton, kebabs, roast fish and rice to be eaten with the hand.