Beijiang Běi Jiāng Fàn Diàn

Today I was hosting a Dumpling Trail tour on behalf of Tourism Richmond. I enjoy talking about food, getting to showcase my learned knowledge on it. And enjoy it even more when it is in the company of non-adventurous eaters, (as was the case today), where I get to help them eat outside of their comfort zone.

The first Xinjiang Dapanji experience exceeded my expectations,  and I was digging the other Uyghur dishes such as the Lamb on Wood Skewers and Lamb with Steamed Buns as well. Some impressive craft of noodle and pastry making can be also found here. The food here stands out among hundreds of Chinese restaurants with both of their traditional Uyghur cooking and reinventing the classics.

Located on Alexandra Road, also known as “Food Street,” in Richmond, Beijiang Restaurant is a longstanding eatery that has been serving Halal Xinjiang Ugyhur-style dishes since 2009. Formerly situated at Venezia Place, the restaurant recently relocated to Leslie Road, just a block away. I had the pleasure of attending a media tasting at Beijiang restaurant last week, courtesy of Foodology.ca. Here's a glimpse of what this restaurant has in store.

The chicken dishes at this restaurant are generous in portion size, and the noodles in the chicken bowl are flavorful. The small size portion is sufficient for two people. Although I did not try the lamb rice, I have heard that it is unique and tasty as well.

After eating all day on Eat Street we were looking for kind of a light dinner, so we ventured into Beijiang and managed to snag the last table on a busy Saturday night. We ordered two lamb skewers, the spicy cucumber appetizer, the sesame roll with cumin lamb, and handmade noodles with lamb. It was just right for two and we devoured all of it. The serving of cucumbers was ample and they were particularly delicious. The sesame roll was superb, as were the skewers. The noodles were fine but a little short on lamb. Our beers were overpriced, but the food was so good we didn't mind too much. Our tab was just over $40, so we got our money's worth. You can spend more money here if you want, but we got a great meal at a good price.