Most international trips bring with them a melancholy that their pleasures will end. But the truth is, you can always go back to Italy or France. Every bite that I took in Xinjiang had an aching finality. I knew that, given the political situation, it was my first and last time in the place I’d dreamed of visiting for most of my life.
On my first day there, in August 2018, my guide, Ablajan Jilil, took me to capital city Urumqi’s most heavily Uyghur area, Consul Street. Though the Uyghur people no longer fill Urumqi with the aromas of cumin and chile on every block, that small strip is what the city once was. In nearly every window, you’ll see someone hand-pulling noodles for laghman or cutting up freshly slaughtered lamb for kebabs. But in one restaurant that I tried, that chopped lamb went into something even better, and perfect for American autumn.
The moment I tasted my first pumpkin manta, that aforementioned sadness seized me. The thin-skinned dumplings are not unlike pumpkin ravioli in butter sauce. The difference is that the “butter” is actually lamb fat that renders within as the dumplings steam. It was one of the most outrageously delicious things I’ve ever put in my mouth, and I was sure that I would never find it back home.
Fast forward three years and three months. A new restaurant has just opened in Arlington’s Cherrydale neighborhood. Bostan Uyghur Cuisine has a large menu that includes a number of dishes not seen on other menus in our region. One of those items is a plate of meat-dotted pumpkin manta. The meat in question is beef, not lamb, but that’s a minor quibble. What matters is that now I can share a version of my eye- (and mouth-)opening experience with my friends in the United States.
Just like in Xinjiang, the dumplings’ jackets are so thin that some break before they arrive at the table. They are almost impossible to pick up with chopsticks. Find a way from plate to mouth anyway. The sylphlike skin gives way to tender chunks of sweet pumpkin and onion. The tiny cubes of beef contribute a bit of meaty flavor and something into which to sink one’s teeth, but most importantly, they contribute a liquid burst of hot fat.
The manta aren’t the 0nly exciting dishes at Bostan. Be sure to make room for pleasantly spicy lamb kebabs, dapanji (also known as big plate chicken) with its wide ribbons of homemade noodles, and crispy laziji, a Uyghur take on a Sichuan favorite. Service is still slow as the restaurant finds its feet, but when you’ve been waiting three years for a dish, another half-hour is OK. I say, make some time in your schedule today.
3911 Lee Hwy., Arlington
Feature image by Alice Levitt
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