Chinatown, Edmonton, Hidden Gems

Fuqing Lanzhou (Closed)

Hidden along 97 street near Chinatown Edmonton is a small Chinese restaurant that goes by the name of Fuqing Lanzhou. My first thought when I walked in was “wow, this place reminds me of the restaurants in China”. It was tiny and had communal dining tables, similar to what I saw when I was in Asia last summer. Fuqing Lanzhou has been around for 3 years now but it was my first time there last weekend. Their specialty is Northern Chinese cuisine, with a focus on noodles.

Interior – it looks empty because I took the photo right at closing. It was a full house an hour before!

Menu

The main reason why I came here was for their Chinatown Dining Week special (pictured above is their regular menu). For 10 days, a variety of restaurants in Chinatown offered $15 specials. My friend and I spoke to the owner that night and she said she was very thankful to be a part of Chinatown Dining Week because it brought her a lot of business (kudos to whoever runs it!). Here at Fuqing Lanzhou, the $15 special included a side dish (shredded potato or bean curd with black fungus), main dish (big beef & beef bone noodle soup, Chinese cabbage & pork dumplings, or Chinese chive & pork dumplings), and a pop can.

Shredded Potato $3.50

Being the potato lover that I am, I knew I had to try the shredded potato as my side dish option. This is a Chinese home-style dish that I found to be very interesting. The shredded potatoes were served cold with a hint of vinegar and topped with some cucumber. There was a bit of tanginess from the vinegar but I would almost describe the overall taste as refreshing. It definitely is a new way of eating potatoes that I haven’t tried before and I would probably order it again.

Potato & Cabbage Dumpling $10.98

For the main dish, I decided to go with the Chinese pork & cabbage dumplings. These dumplings might not look like anything special but they were probably one of the best dumplings I’ve ever had! The dough was soft and tender, while the filling was very juicy. You can eat it with chilli oil or vinegar found on the table but it honestly tasted amazing just by itself. These were pockets of happiness!

Noodles with Big Beef & Beef Bone Soup $11.98

My friend decided to go with the noodle option as her main choice so that we could try each other’s items. She had the noodle bowl with big beef (beef cubes) and beef bone soup. I think the best part about this was the hand-pulled noodles. They were so fresh, so soft, so chewy! There was a good portion of beef but I wish that it was a bit more tender. I also found the broth to lack a bit of flavour so I added chilli oil which helped. As my friend ate the noodles, she said that she felt like she was eating her mom’s homecooked food.

I will most likely be back for some more dumplings! I really hope that they get a lot of business when it’s not Chinatown Dining Week because I would definitely consider this place a hidden gem in Chinatown Edmonton.


Address & Hours

10824 97 Street

Edmonton, AB

Mon: 11 am – 9 pm

Tues: Closed

Wed-Sun: 11 am – 9 pm