The Muslim Quarter | 回民街

It’s no surprise that this area is on my list. Not only is this central neighborhood historically significant, but it was also my favorite place to eat as a kid. The blocks are densely packed with vendors serving all sorts of snacks and crafts. A few notable items: sesame liang pi, with a heavy, nutty sesame paste; soft, orange persimmon cakes with a sweet syrup filling; yellow-green mung bean pastries with a powdery bite; and steamed jing gao rice cakes, or “mirror cakes,” covered with sugar and other toppings of your choice. You should also find a pao-mo soup stand, where you’ll have to break up the bread yourself before getting your bowl of broth, and make a stop at Jia San’s Soup Dumplings (贾三灌汤包子) for the steamed lamb soup dumplings I grew up eating. The skewers of my childhood are no longer around, but you can still find similar ones, served on thin metal sticks, if you look hard enough. (Avoid the ones that use twigs or branches; those tend to be tourist traps.)