Among the constellation of cuisines that light up the San Gabriel Valley, Bugra Arkin’s restaurants illuminate a culture specific to the autonomous Xinjiang territory in northwest China. The Uyghurs, Turkic-speaking Muslims, cull centuries of spice trade influences, including India, Tibet, Afghanistan and Iran. Most tables hold the “big plate chicken” heaped with potatoes, chopped red and green peppers, slivers of garlic and dried chiles. Wide noodles hide underneath. It’s superb, as are stir-fried lamb freckled with cumin seeds; manta (plump pleated dumplings) filled with earthy diced pumpkin and onion; and laghman, long thick noodles, under stir-fried vegetables and tender beef strips. — B.A.

742 W. VALLEY BLVD., ALHAMBRA, (626) 782-7555; ALSO 18920 GALE AVE., ROWLAND HEIGHTS, (626) 474-2088 l LADOLANS.COM