Silk Road Uyghur Cuisine — Restaurant in Cambridge

Food Review: Silk Road Uyghur Cuisine, Cambridge, MA 📍 645 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02141

For those unfamiliar, Uyghur cuisine originates from the Uyghur people, a Turkic ethnic group primarily residing in the Xinjiang region of China. 🌍🍜 The Uyghur people have faced significant challenges, particularly in recent years. Reports of political and cultural repression have forced many Uyghurs to flee their homeland in search of safety and the ability to preserve their culture. In doing so, Uyghurs have brought their rich traditions, including their incredible cuisine, to communities like Cambridge. 🌟 Restaurants like Silk Road Uyghur Cuisine play an essential role in sharing Uyghur culture and keeping its flavors alive while offering a window into the resilience of this minority group. 💪✨

Here's what I had on my visit:

Bean Jelly This cold dish of bean starch, dressed in a spicy, tangy sauce, was an intriguing start to the meal. 🥶🌶️ While the texture and spice level were unique, it wasn't quite my personal favorite. However, it’s worth trying for its bold flavors and uniqueness. 6/10

Samosa These Uyghur-style meat pies, stuffed with beef and onion, were absolutely delicious. 🥟😋 The flaky crust and savory filling were so satisfying that I could have easily devoured several more. A must-try! 8/10

Chili Uyghur Laghmen The star of the meal! ⭐🍜 These hand-pulled noodles, served with stir-fried beef and veggies, were cooked to perfection. The spice level was just right, enhancing the dish without overpowering the flavors. At $15.99, this dish is a steal for the quality and portion size. 8/10

Uyghur Pilaf This traditional braised rice dish, cooked with carrots, onions, and beef, was hearty and flavorful. 🥕🍚 While it wasn’t as standout as the Laghmen, it’s still a solid choice, especially if you enjoy comforting, rice-based dishes. 7/10

Stir Fried Chicken This dish was a showstopper! 🍗🔥 The chicken was perfectly cooked, with a crispy texture and a savory, spicy flavor that made it addictive. It's also great for sharing, though I happily could’ve eaten it all myself. At $21.95, it’s slightly pricier but absolutely worth it. 9/10

Overall Experience Food: 8/10 🍴 The dishes were flavorful and unique, with several standouts that I’d come back for. Affordability: 7/10 💵 The prices are reasonable for the portion sizes and quality, though a few dishes lean on the pricier side. Ambiance: 5/10 🪑 Silk Road is more of a takeout spot, but they do have a few tables with cozy velvet chairs. However, the lack of a restroom is a downside.

Final Thoughts: Silk Road Uyghur Cuisine offers an authentic taste of Uyghur culture and is a fantastic spot to support a local business while expanding your palate. 🥢 Whether you’re craving hand-pulled noodles, savory meat pies, or addictively spiced chicken, this spot delivers. While it’s not ideal for a formal sit-down meal, it’s perfect for a quick bite or takeout.

⭐ Highly recommend stopping by to try something new and...

We ordered at the restaurant to go because there was no table available for a sit-down meal. We asked that the servings be the same as in the restaurant. While paying, we had an issue with entering our phone number in the tablet at the counter. Suddenly, a guy came from the kitchen and instead of listening to us. He grabbed the screen and hit finished. We complained to him that because of him we lost our points and instead of being apologetic, he walked back to the kitchen. The guy at the counter didn't do anything except said that they could cancel our order and we could reorder again. This was not a good experience. After, they told us the food would be ready for pick up in 10/15 min. When we came back, the order was ready. I checked it to make sure it was the correct order. When we got home, the cumin lamb was not the same. It had less lamb and more stir fried onions and veggies and the sauce had SO MUCH SALT. Same thing with two orders of the dry fried noodles. But the KICKER was that all the three orders had a lot of SALT in the sauces and on the noodles. I think that they did it on purpose.

This made us sad. We came back after 2 years because we had a similar experience. But the owner Ali at that time apologized and asked us to give them a second chance. This was our second chance and again a negative experience.

PS: We called and they agreed to refund us 50% back for the food. But I would still not give them a third chance. So, I would be dining at home (Thanking Allah for not eating the small portions with "full of SALT" food from Silk Road...

Absolutely fantastic!

I had previously heard that this spot was one of few Uyghur restaurants around; I'm so glad that we were finally able to eat here! (A few weeks ago we tried to come, but unfortunately the entire place had been booked for a large party.)

The restaurant is pretty small and cozy. There's only 5 tables, so not a ton of room and it can feel a bit cramped. Once seated, you scan the QR code on the table and send in your order online. This method was new to me, but it makes sense to allow the employees to focus on the food - which was served with surprising speed.

We ordered the dry fried noodles, bean jelly, and spicy chicken. The first was my favorite and a full plate; the others were served in small bowls, more like appetizers. As far as meatless entrées go, well, there are none - so I ordered the dry fried noodles without the beef. It was still quite delicious, with the perfect level of spiciness. The bean jelly was served as cubes (in contrast to noodles, as presented in the images on the online menu) and would be fine to share, but isn't very interesting to eat by yourself. The spicy chicken was also well received.

There is very limited service, unless you specifically request an employee to come to your table via the website where you order. You can even pour your own water (from bottles into small plastic cups). There's also no bathroom here. The low-service, no-frills approached resonated with me as a typical experience for an authentic ethnic restaurant, and most of the customers I saw were...