Meigui Jinggao (玫瑰镜糕)

Meigui Jinggao, a kind of time-honored delicacy made of glutinous rice, has a round shape and looks like a mirror. It is a local speciality in Xi'an. With a history of more than 100 years, Meigui Jinggao also used to be a snack for locals during the early times.

In old times, street peddler used to carry a cupboard with a stove to sell jinggao all over the place. The cupboard has several drawers, as it keeps raw materials including glutinous rice, brown sugar or red sugar, walnut kernel, rose petals and colored stripped condiments.

Jinggao is steamed on the stove and delivered to eaters with bamboo sticks. It tastes chewy, soft and sweet. There was a poem constructed during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) that described its aroma.

Nowadays, Jinggao sellers can be found at the Drum Tower (Gulou) in Xi'an. The snack is appetizing with colored powdered sugar, sesame and preserved fruits, therefore it also has a romantic name: eight treasure rose Jinggao.