Tarim UyghurCuisine

Directly across from the station on Auburn's busy dining strip, this has long been a stalwart for the food of Xinjiang, the far-western reach of China where Central Asian and Chinese kitchens overlap. The full spread is here: polo, the fragrant Uyghur pilaf of rice, lamb and carrot slow-cooked until each grain glosses; hand-pulled laghman noodles, worked by hand and coated in a savoury tumble of peppers, tomato and cumin-scented meat; and the great communal dish of the region, the big plate of chicken, potato and wide noodles that lands in the middle of the table and disappears slowly among a group. Bread comes blistered from the oven, skewers arrive charred and cumin-heavy, and the whole menu leans warm and generous rather than sharply hot. The room is roomy and plain, with space set aside for larger parties, which suits the family-and-friends way this food is meant to be eaten. In a suburb layered with cuisines from across the map, it holds a steady following for doing one tradition thoroughly. For a first encounter with Uyghur cooking, or a return to it, the kitchen offers the whole vocabulary in one sitting.