Hotels catering to foreigners all have Chinese restaurants that offer decent if forgettable fare, with a meal for two averaging ¥40 to ¥80 ($5.20-$10/£2.60-£5.20). Locals agree that the city's best xiaolong bao, small dumplings filled with pork and a hint of broth, is at the humble Huang Jia Lao Dian (Binhe Lu 1; tel. 0378/397-2768). For the meat-adverse, try the su baozi, stuffed with vermicelli noodles, egg, carrots, mushrooms, and spring onions. A lot of tourists get sent to Diyilou Baozi Guan (Number One Dumpling Restaurant) at Sihou Jie 8 (tel. 0378/599-8655; open 10:30am-9pm), another local institution specializing in dumplings and buns. A bit farther to the east at Gu Lou Jie 66 is the informal diner Xinsheng Meishiyuan (tel. 0378/597-9191; open 11:15am-2:30pm and 6:15-9pm), which offers a wide variety of noodles, kabobs, stir-fries, pastries, and snacks. There is no English menu, but purchase your meal tickets for ¥10 ($1.30/65p) and up, then go around to the different stalls and order. For decent coffee, Western meals, and an eclectic variety of Asian fare head to Cappuccino Cafe (Kabuqinuo Xicanting) (Gu Lou Jie 65; tel. 0378/597-3666; 9am-2am; no credit cards), located near Dajintai Hotel. The cafe offers an English menu, friendly service, and live music nightly, delivered from a white grand piano in the center of the restaurant. Try the black pepper steak/fried rice, served on a hot iron plate. The Dongjing Hotel also has a fast-food eatery out front that offers convenient and inexpensive dining for ¥4 to ¥8 (50¢-$1.05/25p-50p) per person. Just point to choose from the many buffet dishes.
For the more adventurous, the night market which starts around 7pm on Sihou Jie and closes early in the morning, offers delicious local snacks such as wuxiang shaobing (five-spice roasted bread) and zhima duowei tang (sesame soup). The shish kabobs, especially the yangrou chuan (spicy lamb kabob), are especially tasty. The market is located on a street filled with charming old architecture in a variety of styles, which makes for a pleasant stroll even if you're not hungry.
