Before I moved to Beijing, Xinjiang food was an absolute enigma to me. Since coming here almost three years ago, though, I’ve enjoyed lots of China’s western cuisine. Recently, I went to food writer Jen Lin-Liu’s talk at the Capital M Literary Festival on Foods of the Silk Road, a route I have always dreamed of traveling. Jen’s stop in Xinjiang, the Uighur-populated province, offered plenty of delicious foodie finds. “The food has an interesting Chinese influence yet remains such a distinct cuisine,” she explained. “They love fat, rice and bread.” Indeed, who doesn’t?

Jen’s favorite street food snack is gush gerde, a lamb bagel cooked in a special tandoor oven. This has yet to be introduced in Beijing, but you can opt for what I consider to be Uighur pizza—braised mutton, mixed with green and red peppers in a savory brown sauce atop a soft naan bread. The best can be had for ¥58 at my favorite Xinjiang restaurant, Camel Lace located in Gulou. Hurry over soon, because this restaurant is slated to be torn down with the rest of its surrounding neighborhood. I have no doubt that whatever establishment takes its place will never fill my stomach in the same way.

Most Xinjiang restaurants in Beijing include a number of staple dishes, and of these, there are three without which no Xinjiang meal is really complete. All of these can be found at expat staple Crescent Moon. First is my favorite starch: ding-ding mian (¥15), macaroni noodles mixed with peppers and onions in a tomato paste. It’s light, flavorful, simple and savory. Next is the homemade yogurt (¥10), which is creamy, delicious and sweet, with a hint of sourness. And of course, lamb chuan’r (¥6/串) is the absolute requisite. I don’t even mind the fat on these spice- and herb-topped kebabs, as its juices tenderize the meat to a gentle texture.

But you don’t even have to visit a restaurant for a taste of Xinjiang in Beijing—Xinjiang qiegao, that ubiquitous fruit and nut cake, is sold off the back of bike carts all over the city. The qiegao looks like what Alice in Wonderland would have had at her tea party if she ever ventured to Xinjiang. It’s a bit tough and quite chewy, with a sweet taste of honey and granola.

After getting a taste of Xinjiang food in Beijing and hearing more about it from a foodie who’s visited the province, I’m eager to experience this cuisine’s authenticity at its fullest, and inspired to travel the Silk Road myself sooner rather than later.