The stalls and small restaurants clustered around Id Kah square and in the bazaar lanes immediately behind the mosque form the most concentrated street food scene in Kashgar. The offerings are classic Uyghur: lamb shish kebabs (kawap) grilled over charcoal, lagman — hand-pulled noodles served in a thick broth with vegetables and mutton — and samsa, flaky pastry triangles stuffed with spiced meat and onion, baked in a clay oven. Portions are large, prices are low, and the food is cooked in front of you.
The best time to eat here is the lunch rush, when the square fills with locals as well as visitors. For breakfast, vendors set up near the mosque gate selling baked flatbreads (naan) and tea. In the evening the kebab stalls do their best business, the smoke from the charcoal grills drifting through the square. Eating here is one of the pleasures of Kashgar that surveillance cameras and restrictions have not yet managed to flatten out.