Food
The most famous specialties in Hohhot are the many meat dishes, with the focus
mainly on mutton or lamb. The most famous dish in town is undoubtedly the Mongolian
hotpot, that can be found in most restaurants here. The best place to try this
specialty is in the city's chain restaurant, "Dunlaishun", that has
spawned thousands of copies across China. Also worth trying is the succulent
roast leg of lamb that is a tasty, although often a little too fatty, addition
to a culinary trip to the city. Leg of lamb is often expensive, up to RMB200,
but in the cold winter months this is warmingly welcome. Probably the most commonly
eaten dish in the city is the hand-held mutton.
Restaurants & Food Areas:Mongolian food is best sampled
around the Mongolian quarter of town and University Road (Daxue lu), in the
southeast of Hohhot. The food here is simple and mainly yak milk or meat based.
Hotpot restaurants are, most noticeably, on the up, proabably because of their
popularity with the Han Chinese throughout China.
Mao Lin Hotpot City (Maolin huoguo cheng, Tel: 0471-6966231) on Xinhua dajie. A large restaurant serving a good selection of meats and sauces for hotpot.
Malaqin Restaurant (Malaqin fandian) on Xincheng xijie. Serves both Chinese and Mongolian food in excelent style, with an especially good hotpot.
Tai Yang Hotpot City (Taiyang huoguo cheng, Tel: 0471-6281895) on Xilin nanlu, near to the railway station. Popular and lively restaurant that serves a selection of hotpot and other Mongolian style food.
Mongolian Yingmei Restaurant (Mengu yingmei shicheng) at the eastern end of Hulunbei'er beilu, near to the horse racing stadium (Saima chang). Serves a good selection of Mongolian dishes, especially good is the hand-held mutton.
Yili Muslim Restaurant (Yili qingzhen) on Dianyingyuan lu. Serves a good selection of Hohot favourites including hotpot, hand-held mutton and various noodle dishes.
Xincheng Hotel (Xincheng binguan) on Hulunbei'er lu. Has the best western restaurant in the city, although a little expensive.
Like most other provincial capitals, Hohhot boasts a good variety of shopping specialties for travellers with tastes of every kind. This is probably the best place for a general feel for the specialties of the whole province. For souvenir hunters, interesting items include the traditional Mongolian knives, Mongolian carpets, camel hair products, brass hotpots, cashmere sweaters, silver bowls, jade bottles, as well as quality leather boots and clothes. Saddles and other horse gear are also available.
There has been an upsurge in recent years in karaoke and disco bars in the city, and while these will not keep you entertained indefinitely, they do make for a good occasional night out. Both the Zhaojun and Inner Monglolian Hotels have discos and karaoke. Many other hotels and restaurants offer karaoke, and clubs can be found on most major streets in the city. The Zhaojun Hotel also has a bowling alley.The city, while not particularly great in terms of culture and customs, is good for its sports facilities, including horse racing, polo matches, archery and wrestling. Mongolia, with its destructive horseman hordes, has long been known as an area that horsemanship rules over, and it is said that horse racing is to Hohhot what bull fighting is to Madrid. The most popular venue to watch the horse racing in town is at the Inner Mongolian Horse Race Track (Neimenggu saimachang) in the northern outskirts of town (on bus No.13). The race course is one of the largest of its kind in Asia, with a total of 30 hectares, and has a variety of events, from racing, polo and skills on horseback, to singing and dancing evenings. Information on events can be found out from CTS (0471-6964233 ext:8936) or in any of the top end hotels. The Inner Mongolian Gymnasium (Neimenggu tiyuguan) on Xinhua dajie has