Two kitchens, one long table
Meals are a fixed point of the day, never a rushed one. The Silk Road Express runs two dining cars, so its eighty guests sit down together without service turning into a queue. Tables are set for the long conversation that train travel produces, and the observation car doubles as the lounge for afternoon tea and the bar after dinner.
The route decides the menu
Chefs cook the region the train is crossing, not a generic hotel menu. On Silk Road runs that means cumin-spiced lamb, hand-pulled noodles and the dried-fruit and spice vocabulary of the oasis bazaars. The Jinxiu Tianfu brings the chilli-forward table of Sichuan. On the White Cloud Express south-west line the menu follows Yunnan: wild mushrooms in season, Naxi specialities and highland tea. The Beautiful Sky Road serves the plateau's own food, yak, barley and butter tea, adapted for travellers who are not used to it.
All-inclusive, with room to ask
Every journey is all-inclusive: breakfast, lunch, dinner and tea between them are part of the fare. Vegetarian, halal and allergy menus are standard practice with notice, and the dining team talks through the next day's options the evening before. Wine is poured at dinner and Chinese tea is never far away.
Suites carry a call button for service, and a quiet dinner in your room can be arranged on most routes.
Tea, not just dinner
Afternoon tea and tasting menus of Chinese tea happen against the moving landscape, and the same space turns into the bar after dinner. On the Silk Road Express the 270-degree panoramic car makes this the most photographed hour of the day.
Hungry for the details?
Ask us about the menu on a specific route, or dietary requirements for your group. We will answer within twenty-four hours.