On this night I was invited out for dinner at a food court with two well known and beloved foodies/foodbloggers: Sherman of @shermansfoodadventures and Grace of @gracecheung604. Normally you wouldn’t make a food court meal an occasion, but food courts in Richmond are different. They aren’t your multiple locations chains, but more little mom and pop shops that can’t necessarily afford rent and their own stand alone store front.
Take for example Lumingchun, serving up authentic Xian cuisine. For those unfamiliar, Xian cuisine is known for their noodles and lamb dishes. And Xian is often called the birthplace of Chinese civilization, famous for the Terracotta Warriors (I had to Google it too).
The following was recommend to us by the shop owner, and it perfectly showcases the statement above. All food comes in take out containers, ideal for transporting your meal from stall to your chosen table. Any table is yours so long as it is free and available within the open food court space. Be warned, there was no way to avoid the yellow fluorescent lighting and the adverts on the tables, so take my photos with a grain of salt.
The Spicy and sour vermicelli in soup had a nice tangy pickling to it. Soup and noodles come separately so that you combine when ready and the noodles don’t fatten up as a result.
The Spicy chicken stew with rice was nice and comforting. Not as spicy as it could have been, but enough to give you a tickle in your throat. Here, the chicken was the star and thankfully, perfectly tender, soaking up all the flavour from the broth.
The Wonton chicken with soup was very familiar. I found it checked off all the boxes, but was not any different from all the wontons I have had previously. Although the seaweed intermingled with each dumpling was different; not one I tried before, but still tasty with a different texture and earthy nuance.
The Lamb skewers had a good even spice rub on them, plenty of zesty notes to help cut into the fattiness of it.
The Shredded chicken with chilli oil cold noodles was nice. Chewy noodles accented with shredded chicken and peanuts. This dish was great at neutralizing all the spice and pungent flavours from all the others before.
In conclusion, everything looked spicy, but wasn’t. So feel safe to dive deep into China with them, after all where else can you find authentic Xian cuisine in the Lower Mainland?
Lumingchun
3700 No. 3 Rd, Richmond, BC V6X 2C1
(604) 821-0828
