San Francisco has one of the most diverse food scenes in the world. And yet, most people in the city have never tasted Uyghur cuisine. The lack of representation goes beyond the kitchen: few San Franciscans could tell you much about Uyghur culture beyond the occasional minoritization-related headline. However, with over 11 million Uyghurs in China and more than 1.6 million in the global diaspora, this is a rich community with an underrepresented culinary tradition.
Aliya Arkin, the founder of Uyghur pop-up Yiltiz is bringing that tradition to the Bay Area, one flaky goshnan meat pie at a time.
Yiltiz is the first pop-up of its kind in the United States. Before launching, Aliya worked her way through San Francisco fine dining kitchens. In 2021 she set out to introduce Uyghur cuisine to a wider audience, perfecting her handheld goshnan recipe. She debuted her first pop-up in December 2023. Since then her dishes have appeared at bars, restaurants, and conferences across the Bay. Yiltiz is now a permanent fixture at two Boba Guys locations , and it’s only a matter of time before her Central Asian specialties reach grocery stores nationwide.
“Back home, I didn’t even know how to cook Uyghur food,” says Arkin.
She moved to San Francisco in 2011 from Ürümqi, the capital of Xinjiang, to pursue her education. But the city’s cost of living caught up with her. “I only had like $20 in my pocket and $7 in my bank account,” she says. “It’s hard to survive in San Francisco,” a sentiment countless residents can relate to with the average one bedroom apartment going for more than $3,000 a month.
Aliya began applying for jobs in any and all industries. She landed an interview for a chef’s assistant position at a Japanese restaurant. The owner turned her down, citing her lack of experience. But as an immigrant himself, he wondered where her accent was from. When she told him she was Uyghur, he changed his mind. “I don’t care if you can cook or not,” he told her. “When can you start?”
That unexpected offer marked her entry into San Francisco’s food scene.
Aliya steadily worked her way through some of San Francisco’s most respected restaurants, including the Michelin-star holding Omakase and Niku Steakhouse. She learned on the job, absorbing everything she could, all while pursuing her Master’s at Boston’s Hult International Business School. She became a US citizen in 2024.
With no formal training in Uyghur cooking, Aliya began teaching herself, studying family recipes, making adaptations, and refining dishes she remembered from childhood. During the pandemic, she threw herself into the kitchen with the mission to share Uyghur culture and its culinary traditions with the world. She says she focused most obsessively on those goshnan.
She spent over two years perfecting the goshnan, adjusting dough ratios to get the texture just right, crisp on the outside, flaky in the middle, moist and chewy inside. She tested batch after batch on friends and neighbors, fine-tuning the filling and crust until everything was in balance.
Aliya didn’t know what to expect, but her first pop-up was a hit. It took place at Propagation, a popular women-owned and plant-filled bar on the corner of Hyde and Post streets on the edge of the Tenderloin and Lower Nob Hill.
“I love Propagation so much. They’re my heroes. They gave me a chance, it really is women pulling up women.”
Since then, Yiltiz has expanded its presence across the city. Aliya now produces over 300 goshnan a week, spending hours a day cooking andmaking all the accompanying of yogurt tahini sauce.
But those familiar with traditional goshnan might do a double-take when they see Aliya’s version. Aliya’s favorite and most popular dish is a meat pie filled with ground lamb, onions, and spices, then pan-fried to crisp perfection and served in slices, much like a pizza. Hers are smaller she says. The redesign is strategic, offering a portable, individually portioned, and freezer-friendly option for those who want a quick bite on the go. “Back home you share them with your family. I’m the first person to sell handheld goshnan in the United States,” she adds.
Roan Weigert
Uyghur food, as we know it today, originates from the Xinjiang region in Northwest China[1]. Its culinary traditions were shaped by centuries of trade and cultural exchange along the historic Silk Road. Ürümqi, home to over four million people, has long served as a major trading hub, allowing Chinese, Turkic, and Central Asian flavors to blend into what is now recognized as Uyghur cuisine[2].
Arguably, the most iconic Uyghur dish is laghman, a hand-pulled noodle dish traditionally served with fried lamb, sautéed seasonal vegetables, and a sour or spicy sauce infused with cumin, black pepper, and other bold spices[3]. Another staple is polo, a lamb and rice pilaf often cooked with carrots, cumin, and other spices found across Central Asia. And no Uyghur menu would be complete without cumin-spiced lamb skewers, grilled over open flame and eaten hot off the stick.
If you’re trying to imagine the flavor profile, Uyghur cuisine shares affinities with other Turkic food cultures, particularly those of Uzbekistan. While not identical, they overlap in their use of warming spices, grilled meats, and hearty starches. Yet, Uyghur food remains distinct, especially in its integration of northern Chinese influences while maintaining its own identity apart from southern Chinese cuisine.
Aliya envisions a future where Uyghur food has a permanent place in San Francisco’s culinary landscape and beyond. For her, the Bay is a perfect place for Yiltiz as she finds customers are open-minded, always open to try new things. She’s already working on expanding the menu, though she’s keeping new dishes a secret.
Fittingly, Aliya says the name Yiltiz means “root” in Uyghur.
“I’m not here to serve you food,” she says. “I’m here to serve my culture. When people support Yiltiz, they’re not just buying a product. They’re supporting a dream and a story.”
