yakexi lives

One of my favourite places to eat rou chuanr and other tasty Xinjiang treats was the Yakexi Restaurant on Nanjing Xi Lu, just opposite the Shanghai TV Tower near Wujiang Lu. About 8 months ago, I was planning a quick lunch with Adam and another visiting friend, and to my surprise discovered a leveled block of rubble where Yakexi once stood. Needless to say, I was a bit peeved about this.

I looked around for quite a while to try and find where this popular restaurant should have relocated to. It took me about six months to discover that this restaurant had a second, poorly advertised location on Wuding Lu and Xikang Lu.

The food is great, moderately prices (RMB20-40 for most main dishes), and the Xinjiang Black Beer is cold and plentiful. One of the best features of this restaurant is the singing and dancing show in the garish to extravagantly decorated second level area.

The restaurant's owner often cracks open his keyboard and belts out some KTV inspired Uighyr tunes (but in Mandarin - go figure). The real highlight is the local dancer going through several motions. Generally the crowd can range from politely appreciative to completely immersed in the 'happiness' of Yakexi. Some, like this scribe and his dragon-boat friend, are sometimes called upon to liven up the show and add some detailed comic relief. Please spot the classic Australian dancefloor moves in my performance.