寻秦记·大明家 Finding Xi’an Restaurant — Restaurant in Richmond

The food was pretty inconsistent:

The meatball dish was burnt and dry beyond being edible and had to be sent back. It seemed like they had them sitting there for hours and they were dry like sawdust. When we got a new dish they were a lot better, but not great and pretty average. Considering that I had to mask the meatball with the cooked yam that it came with, I can say that I wouldn't order this again.

The cold noodle dish was good, but we had the same cold noodle, cucumber, bean sprout, and chili oil dish at a food court style shop at Pacific Place on Odlin that closed last summer. As I ate my food, it left me thinking "Why can't it be like this other place."

The pulled pork bun was pretty good, but small for what it cost. But, the pork was juicy and the bun was nicely brushed with oil or butter and was crispy on the outside and softer on the inside.

We got what was called the "Seafood Casserole" . I felt that the broth was like water and had little flavour. It came with seafood and vegetables that had an overpowering acrid sulfur smell/taste from the seaweed they used. But, the mixture of chili to put into the dish masked this smell/taste and the person I was sharing the meal with enjoyed the dish. I, however, really couldn't stomach it and was pretty turned off by rubbery fishballs and chunks of 'lunch meat' or spam with the dish.

Service/Cleanliness:

They accepted that our first dish was burnt and had it redone.

They used gloves while serving which was nice... And then I watched two of them scratch their noses/face as one of them was in the middle of getting a table a new pitcher of water. While stopping to get ice, both proceed to reach under the ice machine to blindly feel for a tray of water catching condensation from the machine. The server who seated us then proceeded to bucket out the water with a spare pail. After this I asked for a new glass of water and the person who I asked then handed it to the individual at the register handling cash because they don't take credit cards... At least the water was cold with ice and didn't have a paper thin slice of lemon to mask the plastic taste from room temperature water that has been sitting out for hours.

Throughout our meal nobody really checked to see how things are going. But, I recognize that many restaurants may follow cultural norms and I have noted that this is not common for our table to be checked on to be asked how things are going while or to see if we need anything. I, however, see this as a polite formality and would rather go to places that observe this rather than having to beckon a waiter or waitress over to ask for water, napkins, etc.

Atmosphere:

The restaurant was nice and cool, which I do like as it do not like overly warm restaurants with stagnant air.

It's nicely lit and well organized with enough space to move around, with accommodations for a highchair/children.

Our table was clean, but my chair was pretty wobbly and kind of oily.

The hard floor and walls allowed the noise/conversations to bounce around and it was pretty loud feeling. One group of 8 was pretty loud and obnoxious towards the end of their meal, so maybe this is distorting how it feels inside.

Overall: I'd go back and give it another shot only if I was going for things that I knew I would like/enjoy and could not find anywhere else. It's not a purely avoid and don't go, but there are better alternatives.

We tried it on a whim, but with so many other options I don't think we'll be saying "Let's go to that place it has really good..."...

It’s hard to find good Xi'an spots in town but Finding Xi'an Restaurant is worth the drive. Service is no frills but they drop off a teapot. Dishes come out incredibly quick. They ask for spice level (hot, medium, mild, non-spicy).

Rice ($2.50) Classic roujiamo (pork) ($6.99) - pork was moist but greasy Sesame sauce liang pi ($8.99) - delicious Hot and spicy liang pi ($8.99) Signature 5-in-1 noodles ($17.99) - opted for the biang biang; wide noodles had a great bite. Delicious with ground pork, tomato, egg, cubed vegetables and hot chili oil. My favourite dish House special pork ribs ($9.99) - ribs were a touch dry, sauce was thick Chicken braised in brown sauce ($9.99) - tender but similar in taste to the ribs Seafood in casserole ($19.99) - opted for rice noodles. Broth was homey, good variety of items (tofu puffs, prawns, beancurd strips, spam, fish balls, bok choy, quail egg, kelp knots) Pork rib in casserole ($17.99) - opted for potato noodles, medium...

Easily my favourite restaurant for Xi'an food!

The inside is clean and nicely decorated. Quite a few tables and brightly lit.

The liang pi (steamed cold noodles) was so good! Chewy noodles balanced with crunchy veggies for a satisfying bite. I do wish they had added wheat gluten/seitan to the dish. Roujiamo (Chinese burger) was tasty, not too oily or greasy and flavourful. Highly recommend getting it with green peppers (spicy) and cilantro. My favourite is the noodles with ground pork and hot chili oil dressing with biang biang noodles. It's hearty, warm, and so satisfying. The biangbiang and hand-pulled noodles are made in-house. We also thoroughly enjoyed the shredded potato salad and sweet and sour cucumber appetizers.

Service can be a bit slow and not the most observant (sometimes difficult to flag down a server, especially when it's busy). It's cash only under $35 iirc. Free plaza...