Yellow noodles with donkey meat

DUNHUANG, China - Huangmian, or yellow noodles, a traditional dish in northwestern China, could be mistaken at first glance for pasta thanks to their colour and thickness.

Dunhuang, in Gansu Province, prospered as an oasis city on the Silk Road and is famous for huangmian topped with sauce flavored with donkey meat, a local delicacy.

At Dunhuang Night Market in the commercial district at the heart of the city, restaurants offering the local specialty stand side by side. This reporter chose an eatery by the name of "Dangji Donkey Meat Yellow Noodle" from among the many options to sample the local fare.

The yellow noodles, which are firmer than the white noodles commonly prepared in China, are topped with a sauce made from donkey meat stir fried with tofu and mushrooms and seasoned with doubanjiang bean chili paste. After my food arrived, I mixed the sauce into the noodles and started to eat, and quickly found myself unable to stop.

"In heaven, there is dragon meat, on earth there is donkey meat," 38-year-old restaurant employee, Dang Yanyao, told me, sharing a Chinese saying that sings the praises of donkey meat. The way the sauce perfectly matches the signature noodles is part of the dish's secret and makes it even more delicious.