Good options and different stuff to try, staff is never friendly when checking out. Store sometimes can have a weird smell. Usually go in for rice, the little waffle ice cream sandwiches they have or the sweet longanisa sausages , they're soooo good . read more

| Overview + Convenient grocery for Asian products + Seafood section is reliable and prices are generally cheaper than H-Mart + Larger area than Grand Asia Market in Raleigh + Affordable Chinese food & noodle dishes from its food concession + Bakery inside is nice - Not the best prices for Kimchi - Lacking Korean favorites and fresh foods that H-Mart offers - Unfriendly customer service - Dining area is often not clean - Some Chinese frozen & canned products are questionable. - Food concession lacks the variety we enjoy in H-Mart and Grand Asia | Recommended Filipino snacks: Clover chips (Cheese flavor) and Nagaraya (Garlic flavor) cracker nuts. Sometimes, these are not available, however. | Full Review My girl & I have been here multiple times to buy ingredients for Asian dishes. We often get fresh salmon and shrimps from the seafood section, and we appreciate how seafood here are generallt cheaper compared to H-Mart in Cary. However, H-Mart is still more reliable overall when it comes to other products like kimchi, Korean side dishes, marinated meats, and various other Asian products. Unlike H-Mart's Korean focus, Li Ming's is primarily Chinese, so it's more line Grand Asia Market in Raleigh. One good thing we like in Li Ming's over Grand Asia is that it's less crowded and more spacious areas. Although it can get crowded here at times, it doesn't feel as congested as Grand Asia's constant overflow of customers coming and going. However, when it comes to the different goods you can get from Grand Asia's restaurant/cafe/bakery, Li Ming's Global Mart falls short. All you can get in Li Ming's are mostly mediocre-tasting Chinese food that goes well with rice and some noodle bowls that may be too salty to some people. The bakery inside Li Ming's is nice; we used to buy egg tarts and curry bread here. It's no Tours les Jours but it's not bad. They also offer boba milk tea but we wouldn't recommend it. As for the canned/preserved/frozen foods in the grocery section, generally, we prefer Korean brands over Chinese ones, so overall, we still prefer going to H-Mart for buying Asian products. Just like in H-Mart, we've seen unfriendly customer service in Li Ming's but no major issues. The most problematic one was when we tried to dine-in and get the 3 choices of food with white rice, and the lady serving had an attitude, and did'nt put enough fish on our plate. | Overall Score: 3.3/5 read more

Li Ming's Global Mart - Look closer. What does this resemble? - Chinese Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Probably my favorite place to get a quick, cheap, and filling meal in Durham. This Chinese hot food bar is located inside a grocery store, so could be a good post-shopping treat as well haha. I've never not enjoyed anything I've gotten here, literally there are so many options. This time, I got the spicy eggplant (which I always get), mapo tofu, and twice cooked pork. Portion size is awesome, price is great, service is fast, ambiance is fine (it's a grocery store so more of a grab-n-go vibe). 9/10 would recommend! read more

Li Ming's Global Mart - Spicy eggplant, Mapo tofu and Twice cooked pork - Chinese Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

This is a smaller Asian market grocer in the context of the triangle, but it's wonderful for staples like fresh produce, meat, and bulk rice or noodles. We use them to stock up especially on items "normal" American grocers or the co-op on near Pearsontown don'y carry. Their bok choy and summer melons in particular are wonderful. Get the melons. I mean that. They're perfect for summer. They all have fantastic selection of eel, pork belly, and other meat cuts that you don't see in the nearby Target (which is a shame that the most immediate grocer to me) and a much better price performer than the Wegman's without the pretense. If you're just there for Asian candy and snacks, "all" the big ones aren't there, but some are. It serves that purpose okay, but you're missing out if you limit yourself that way. It's located on the edge of the shopping center where Atomic Empire and that kids party place share. The customer service is brief but accurate and helpful. The bagging goes so quickly I almost feel useless standing there ready to pay. They have always been friendly and kind. I am also chronically ill and continue to mask due to early stage COPD and breast cancer. The other employees also mask. I actually feel safe there. I feel like they care. It feels kind of packed always and like they have a little more stock than room, but this is the local Durham Asian grocer, and they have been in our community a long time. They have earned the loyalty they have. read more

We love shopping here for all of our Asian Grocery needs since it's close by and cheaper than H Mart but I specifically wanted to post this review to talk about the Bakery. To my knowledge they didn't have one for a few years and it's recently reopened. The lady who is always behind the counter is so sweet and kind and her baked goods are some of the best I have had. The coconut cream buns and peanut mochi are my favorite but they have a large selection to choose from. Next time you are shopping stop by! When you first enter the store the food court area is on the right. read more

Amazing food and selection of groceries! Highly recommend stopping by if you're in the area. Peking duck is perfect!

It's go big or go home at Li Ming's. You'll find everything here. From lemongrass to melamine saucers, they've got it all. The produce department is good. All of the usual suspects are here from Chinese Broccoli to dragonfruit. The non-perishable items are just as replete. All of it is here. From fried shallots to su mai cai, you'll find what you're looking for here. Even the round eyes are welcome. Come on in and explore a new and exotic world. You'll be amazed at the various types of seasoning. There's a whole world beyond salt. Give it a whirl... read more

Our order: beef noodle soup from the food court. Chewy, rounded and medium thick noodles with chunks of chonky, deeply marinated and tender beef. This local Asian grocer offers a Taiwanese style of beef noodle soup that is a good option for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Dine in at food court or takeaway. While we waited for our noodle soups, we perused the rest of the store. The market has a decent variety of East Asian goods from food to beauty to kitchenware. read more

Li Ming's Global Mart - Beef noodle soup - Chinese Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Awesome and they have so much more. Seafood, produce, fresh noodles. A wonderful place! read more

Li Ming's Global Mart - Whole duck! - Chinese Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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Li Ming's Global Mart is our go-to Asian grocery store in the Triangle due to its proximity to our home in Chapel Hill. There's another Li Ming's in Greensboro (http://bit.ly/32YSNX8), near where I grew up, where my parents occasionally shop for their Asian groceries (in the Triad, they prefer Super G Mart). In a nutshell, Li Ming's is reliable and gets the job done. I believe this store in Durham offers more than the Greensboro store. However, I don't think the selection here is as good as Grand Asia Market in Raleigh. I think Grand Asia not only carries a wider variety of products, but they stock a larger inventory too (I could be wrong). The extra 10 minutes of drive-time to Grand Asia for us usually isn't worth it because Li Ming's has most of what we (really, my wife) are looking for. The store isn't much to look at. It opened in February 2011 in an old Circuit City space. It's still got the Circuit City storefront and colors, just different signage. Similarly, Li Ming's in Greensboro is in an old Lowes Food space. Like a lot of Asian grocery stores - H Mart being an exception - Li Ming's isn't as "polished" as a traditional American grocery store. Certain aisles will have that unique and undeniable Asian market smell. There's a food court. The selection is somewhat limited. During our recent weekend visits, they've had several fresh and delectable roast ducks for $27.99 each or $15.99 for half a duck. They also sell roast pork for $12.99/lb. There's an assortment of steaming hot foods for sale, Chinese buffet style, and the food is a decent value: under $10 per plate or takeaway container with rice and two or three selections. Cash only. One way to get around the cash-only requirement is to get a ticket from one of the food court employees, pay with your card at one of the checkout lanes (they'll ring the ticket up as "fast food"), and bring the receipt back to the food court. We've purchased duck this way. Yummy selections from the hot bar include pepper steak, pork stomach and intestines (two different items), and fish. Also, zhajiangmian - Chinese noodles with zhajiang sauce. The sauce is made with ground pork and dark, salty, fermented soybean paste. The noodles come with julienned cucumber and carrot and chopped scallion. Mix everything together and it's pretty tasty. You can get one order from the counter for about $7. This one actually has to be ordered (doesn't come directly off the bar) and is made fresh in about 10 minutes. I also suggest trying some dumplings from the stall around the corner. During my last visit, they were selling 12 for $10. They had nine different kinds, from beef and celery to shrimp to pork with leeks. You can buy frozen ones in bulk too (cheaper). They're made in-house. In general, the produce is fresh and good quality. Once, my wife was looking for ingredients to make bo kho (Vietnamese beef stew). We grabbed peeled garlic ($2.59 per container), cilantro (2 for $1; spring onion was priced the same), carrots ($0.79/lb), and lemongrass ($4.99 each). On multiple occasions, my wife and my mom have picked up snow pea tips (one of my favorite Asian veggies -- I've seen the price vary between $3.99/lb and $4.99/lb), gai lan (Chinese broccoli, $0.99/lb), enoki mushroom (3 for $4), daikon radish ($0.99/lb), and Japanese sweet potato ($1.79/lb). In the back is where they have their frozen and live seafood, beef, pork, and poultry. My wife prefers to purchase her meat from Costco, Harris Teeter, and Whole Foods instead of Li Ming's and Grand Asia. The other stores have more consistent quality and she feels more comfortable with their ethical standards. Li Ming's has a neat little "mix hot pot balls" self-serve buffet for $5.99 per pound. This is where you can choose from 15-20 different kinds of Chinese hot pot meat/protein ingredients like meatballs and fish balls for your hot pot at home. I love kimchi. I haven't seen any store-packed versions here, just prepackaged brands (nothing wrong with that). I really like the house-brand kimchi made and packed at H Mart. Li Ming's is Chinese-centric so they don't have the array of Korean items that Korean-owned H Mart does. The noodle inventory is good. We've gotten packs of Banh Pho Tuoi fresh rice stick noodles (pho noodles) for $1.99 a pack. We've also gotten condiments, herbs, and spices like 20-ounce bottles of Lee Kum Kee hoisin sauce ($2.99 each), South Bay Brand star anise ($1.99), and "Oriental Beef Spices" ($1.19). Also, they have my current favorite instant noodles, Nongshim "Shin Black" (six noodle soup bowls for $10.99). They have plenty of balut if you like eating fertilized duck embryos. Each developing egg embryo is sold by the egg. Other things for sale include Asian cookware, serveware, and eating utensils; Chinese/Asian medicines and medicinal products, Taiwanese brown sugar boba milk tea popsicles, and Japanese Kracie Popin Cookin DIY candy kits for kids (we've gotten these cute packs for my nieces). read more

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Overall, I give Li Ming's a good rating. However, this review is about their bakery as of June 2024. They have one now, but like the past it is rather terrible and very unappealing! Li Ming, what is going on!? I was recently at Grand Asia and they have slightly updated their bakery with a fresh and new looking bakery case that has glass doors and magnetic latches. Meanwhile at Li Ming's, we have a wooden rack that is totally open to the rest of the store (i.e., no doors) and that rack keeps being moved around every now and then. Sometimes, the rack is parallel to the lunch counter and sometimes it is perpendicular to it. And, the bakery does not look appealing at all! Li Ming, even though you rented out that space to the bakery, can you not help them update the look and have better packed breads? It looks very unappealing (close to "yucky") and doesn't give your aging store a good vibe. read more

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FIRST BEBORE GOING TO OTHER GROCERY STORES OR SEAFOOD MARKETS IN DURHAM!!!! I'm a seafood lover and gastric bypass customer. The shrimp prawns are so large, and prices are so cheap for the size. I also get the blue crabs live, large Dungeness crabs which you pick in the tank for $25.00. I have tried all types of fish that are not normally in Capital Seafood. Their prices beat Capital Seafood for a variety of fish and blue crabs. I have posted several types of fish and seafood on my Facebook page. I'm suggesting that my friends come to this grocery store for healthier choices of seafood and vegetables. Then there is a restaurant with a variety of foods that are delicious and freshly cooked daily. They also have pastries to buy. I go here for my seafood fresh in Durham, then go down to Seaview Crab Company for bushels of blue crabs. read more

Li ming's is the biggest asian grocery mart around thats not in cary. I can find everything that i need there and more and feel like im home when i step in the doors. They re-opened their bakery since the pandemic and i really like their savory breads like the hot dog and bacon ones! read more

Li Ming's Global Mart - Chinese Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

From out of town, this was an experience, their selections seemed endless, the hot bar had veggies and white fish that I've been thinking of fondly ever since, check it out when close to Durham read more

I have shopped at Liming for many years largely due to their fresh seafood selection. But freshness is no more. This Tuesday I selected a Speck Trout fish on the fish stand in the store. When I washed it before cooking it at home, I realized that round the gut cavity the texture of the meat there felt like tofu- rotten meat! If I ever buy fish again from Liming, I would check the fish in and out before and after the fish is cleaned. You just cannot trust Liming will do it for you. read more

As far as Asian grocery stores go in the RTP area, Li Ming is decent and has the selection of most of the things you might need to cook a good meal. Unfortunately, there is little competition if you live over in Durham or Chapel Hill, because you have to drive all the way out to H Mart or even Grand Asia for groceries. The produce section lacks the cleanliness and freshness that I would love, but you have a decent dry goods and refrigerated section. The people that work here are not very friendly in general, except for the guy that works at the hot food bar, who is pretty kind. There is little food court area that is not bad for bringing home char-siu pork, duck or a tray of take-out food over rice. The bakery is leaves a bit to be desired. read more

Great store! Awesome selection. The produce is so fresh and lasts very long. I especially love the fresh noodle selection.

A pretty sizable Asian market that has pretty much everything you'll need from common items to more unique finds. There's a food shop inside as well where you can grab a bite to eat or get it to go. There's fresh produce and a seafood market too. read more

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Great place to shop for Chinese staples, but like almost all the Asian markets I've been to around here, Japan is not represented as well, as it should be, in my opinion. read more

When this place first opened, it was awesome. Plenty of veggies and fruit, baked goods, a great hot bar with many choices, and aisles and aisles of food from around the world. On my recent visits, it seems kind of shabby, under-stocked, and lack-luster. read more

One of the best kept secrets in the Asian community. This is one of those supermarkets that you'd find in a strongly populated Asian area. These are also the types of supermarkets that I see in Flushing, NY and other great areas. Not to mention, this is the only one of its kind in the Durham / Chapel Hill area. The supermarket is full of amazing fresh Asian items, such as baby bok choy, fermented beans, fish balls, shrimp chip crackers, etc. They have all the types of sauces you can want from very popular brands such as lee kum kee, etc. The amount of fresh veggies that they have, compared to your local supermarket is immense, especially since most of these fruits and vegetables you are not able to find locally. In the rear, they have a meat market, fresh fish market where you can choose the fish you want (from the tanks). they will scale them, and even filet them (if you want). On top of all of this, they have a nice little food court in the front of the supermarket where you can get a great meal for less than $10 (2 items with rice for $6.59). It is 'buffet' style, however they serve you on top of whatever you want. The food is cooked fresh and is very tasty. definitely worth trying out. read more

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This is what I expect when I think of an Asian supermarket. It's great for Asian ingredients but can seem overwhelming. They usually have live fish swimming in a tank, plus interesting produce and items that you've never seen before. It can seem a little disorganized and service isn't always the friendliest but it is efficient. I can never figure out their dining options; it seems over the years some in-house bakeries and eateries have come and gone. We usually visit a few times a year and load up on ingredients that will last a while. They're good for bulk rice and noodles and even have hard goods like cookware. My minor lament is that they seem to have run off some smaller Asian markets in the Durham and Chapel Hill area. It's nice to have variety and competition. read more

Li Ming's Global Mart is a fantastic Asian grocery store!!! It is huge and has a very large, comprehensive selection of all sorts of food items. It is a go-to place for fresh groceries, dried goods, frozen foods, seafood, literally anything and everything you might be looking for! For example, I would especially recommend the winter melon there (the dark-green skin ones are particularly fresh and tender), as well as red pitaya (they have GREAT prices for the delicious fruit)! It even offers a large selection of cooking equipment, too. The ambiance is welcoming and the staff are all warm and friendly. I would definitely recommend shopping at Li Ming's Global Mart!!! read more

Li Ming's Global Mart - The outside of Li Ming's Global Mart!!! - Chinese Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

The review is for the bakery there only. Fair priced and sooo delicious! Lady working the counter is so sweet and personable! read more

Li Ming's Global Mart - Chinese Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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This place is dirty, filthy, and to make matters worse, their employees are rude. Meat and produce are not fresh and my bag of vermicelli had mold in it which tells me it's past the expiration date. If you want Asian groceries, it's worth it to make the drive to Cary and go to HMArt where everyone is fresh! I'm left disgusted by how dirty and disgusting this place is. Check the expiration date on anything you buy here. Be aware! read more

"Asian grocery store in SW Durham" Many Durhamites who love cooking Asian food have been either going to the humble "Asia Market" on Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd or venturing far away to Cary to the "Grand Asia Market." Now there's another option- enter LiMing. This place just began its "soft opening" in the past week (across Westgate from Target, in the old Circuit City space), and they're still stocking items. The produce section is not as impressive as places like Compare Foods but still has a good variety including some less-than-standard items. On the far right as you enter, there's a small cafeteria line where you can pick up a plate of various types of Chinese food. However, the strengths of the store are in meats/ seafood and in frozen/ packaged goods. By the cafeteria line, you see hanging cooked geese, reminiscent of the scene from the end of "A Christmas Story." TONS of seafood in the back, including lots of live lobsters, clams, and crabs, as well as recently deceased fish, squid, and more. The refrigerated and frozen sections stock lots of goodies ranging from kim chee to moshi balls to frozen dumplings of all sorts to shu mai to red bean ice cream. Packaged goodies include many kinds of noodles, HUGE bags of rice, spices, seaweed for sushi, and much, much more. They're not exclusively an Asian foods market either, stocking a small Mexican section, many standard US foods (e.g., Sargento cheeses, "Kids Cuisine" frozen dinners), etc. They're still getting set up, but definitely a place to swing by if you're in the broader area and have a hankering for some Asian foods. read more

Li Ming's Global Mart - Exterior - Chinese Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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Best selection of Asian grocery items in RTP! Definitely recommend buying dumplings from here, and anything else you could want. They have an excellent selection of hot pot pans and cooking equipment so you can be set up to make hot pot at your house. I've been to all of the Asian grocery stores in the RTP area and this is my favorite with the best selection. read more

This is a review of the hot food bar on the right side when you first enter the supermarket. I shop here often for frozen green onion pancakes, tofu, fresh fish, soy sauce, etc, have tried the bubble milk tea (it's good!) but this was the first time I tried out the hot food! We ordered a bowl of beef noodle soup ($8) and a bowl of Chinese-style Jajangmyeon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jajangmyeon) for $6 and then waited patiently for our food to come out. We thought about picking out a few entree with rice because the eggplant looked delicious, but decided we were more in the noodle mood. **They only take cash at the food bar--no credit cards.** There's plenty of tables in the mini-food court and our food came out in about 10 minutes steaming hot. The portions are huge. We ended up taking home half of each noodle bowl because we were too full! The beef noodle soup broth is delicious and comes with 5 pieces of tender beef, some pickled veggies (zha cai http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zha_cai), lots and lots of noodles. We both decided that the jajangmyeon was our favorite though because it came with a ton of ground pork, shredded carrot, bean sprouts. Mix it around to distribute the sauce evenly throughout the noodles. It tasted even better when we ate the leftovers for dinner and added a fried egg on top! If you're looking for some quick hot Chinese food when you're in the area try the food bar at Li Ming's! read more

Li Ming's Global Mart - beef noodle soup - Chinese Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Looking for a convenient and affordable place to go Asian grocery shopping in Durham? Then Li Ming's is the place to be! When I first moved to Durham in the beginning of January, I was disappointed to learn that the Research Triangle area in general doesn't necessarily have a designated Chinatown. Thankfully, I realized that Li Ming's is only a 8-minute drive from my apartment, which makes it the perfect place to pick up Asian groceries. Coming from Daly City, California, which is a predominantly Asian American neighborhood, I was actually surprised by the variety of food items that Li Ming's has to offer; it's almost comparable to Ranch 99, which is a pretty prominent Asian grocery chain in my hometown. Similar to a lot of Asian American/Chinese American supermarkets I remember visiting as a kid, Li Ming's has almost everything to offer, including freshly-baked pastries (though only on certain days of the week), fresh produce, fresh and frozen meats, dried Chinese herbs and spices, and even a hot bar with some classic Chinese/Chinese American dishes. I can find a lot of affordable produce and meat items that I wouldn't be able to buy elsewhere, like plantains, taro, Silkie chicken, frozen mussels, and dragonfruit. I'd highly recommend Li Ming's for all your grocery item needs! read more

This is a vast grocery store full of interesting stuff you won't see at Kroger. I was chatting with someone online about his favorite drink he can only get someplaces in bay-area California. It's Banana Milk from South Korea. I said to myself, I know that's not the case. I used to live in Austin near some Asian Supermarkets. They have every crazy thing you could imagine. There's gotta be something like that near Raleigh or Durham. Sure enough here it is! And I found Banana Milk! Different brand, but my friend said from the photo it looked like the same thing (tastes like a thin and sweet banana milkshake ... meh) There is an amazing panoply of goods here. And just across the street from a bland Super Target grocery store! If only they knew! The multitude of live fish always freak me out, of course. read more

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We want to try cooking some of the Asian dishes we've loved at restaurants, and this was the place to get us started. It's big, but not overwhelming. The produce section was amazing, with every kind of mushroom and squash I could think of, and some I didn't even know existed. There were tons of Asian spices and condiments and a lot of conventional ones, too. We even found a whole aisle of dried noodles. The seafood department smelled fishy, but we couldn't smell it throughout the store. Prices on produce were very good; the rest of the prices were comparable to other grocery stores. We liked Li Ming a lot better than another popular Asian grocery, even though this one is a longer drive. read more

Good prices and staff is friendly, I also bought a roasted duck and the prepared food was delicious. It is clean for as large as it is.

We were duly impressed by the selection of produce, fresh seafood, meats, and other products that are hard to find in a regular grocery store. The prices seem to be pretty competitive as well. DH and I decided to grab a bite at the cafe before doing our shopping. The food selection was interesting - a mix of things a southern white girl would recognize and some other things (like fried chicken feet) not seen at Americanized asian restaurants. I had one of the steamed buns and DH had the chicken with wood ear mushrooms. Both were delicious large portions at a very reasonable price. However, take care if you are sensitive to MSG. I did not inquire if they used MSG, but the effects on my body tell me my food was loaded with it. My bad for not asking. I probably will not eat there again, but I will definitely shop there. read more

Li Ming's Global Mart - One of the many interesting foods from which you will have to choose... - Chinese Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Uh I think I'm in love... With the buffet lady. As I ordered my extremely reasonably priced three item combo, I asked for more curry sauce. She replied, "you want me to pour some over the rice?" In which I enthusiastically said, "YES! You're awesome!" She literally read my mind. Sooooooo delicious! read more

Li Ming's Global Mart carries a huge selection of Asian groceries, appliances, cooking tools, and snacks. I'm particularly happy about their milk tea ice cream! It's one of my favorite ice cream ever. As for their groceries, they have fresh meat, seafood, and vegetable sections. Aside from their groceries, they do have hot food and a small section for pastries + bubble tea. I had their delicious and cheap three items with rice for $7.59 and their pho for 7.99. Their pho took a while to prepare and the broth's flavor is not similar to how most other places serve pho, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I just hope it's because they left the msg out. read more

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The bakery and drinks counter are currently closed. During the pandemic they sometimes have hot food, and they continue to have roast duck (I would recommend calling ahead to make sure for duck, since it's only available in a window of time within their opening hours). The food court food is always tasty and their dou hua (basically tofu with a veggie soup and spices) is really flavorful! For the price point it's definitely a good amount of food, with a good variety of meat and veggie options available. We've been coming here for years and found that the prices are often cheaper as the produce and dry goods (like beans and peanuts) aren't pre-packaged. Depending on how popular something is, you may want to take the extra time to learn and hunt through and find the juiciest fruit or the best-looking leaves. Not everything is stocked fully all the time, and make sure you have the time and are able to pick out fresher produce. During the pandemic they have markers on the floor for social distancing, as well as clear barriers in front of the cash registers, with all employees wearing masks. read more

As soon as I step through those doors I knew I had walked into a litany of oriental wonderment. The wide selection of produce. As well as the grand selection of various rice, was enough for me to quiver with joy at the concoction of recipes that came fluttering to my head. The woman who checked me out was most gracious. And overall I enjoyed the atmosphere and being in a place that felt unfamiliar yet welcoming. Please go check this place out you will not be disappointed my friends. read more

I'm a spoiled NoVa brat and always compare "the south" to the luxuries I'm used to up North (like BonChon, Hotpot, 284748 competing Pho shops, dozens of varieties of bubble tea and froyo, Asian markets within 5 miles every direction, etc) So when shopping at Li Mings, for some reason or another I always feel some sort of lack. But today, after having to fetch a variety of semi-complex Asian ingredients to make my best friends favorite Chengdu noodle, I'm impressed that I was able to find them all, just like she did.. with similar if not the same brands. Was able to score: 中筋, star anise, jackfruit, rock sugar, scallions, sesame paste, cinnamon stick, ginger, fennel, etc. Li Mings doesn't have an extensive, exotic fresh produce collection but they do try hard. Sometimes what's presented isn't at its prime but to offer durian, jackfruit, dragon fruit, lychee, guava and even mangosteen is a real treat. Most people in town are raving about the new HMart in Cary and while yes it's awesome and I do love me some HMart, we all know they don't carry 100% of the Chinese/Vietnamese items needed for many dishes. And when going there, you'll probably need a Chinese market run too but not so much vice versa. In all, I'm quite pleased at being able to get all my staple needs at Li Mings! read more

Li Ming's Global Mart - Ingredients for Chengdu noodles! - Chinese Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

They have all the groceries you would expect from an Asian market in a growing metropolitan area like Durham, but without the same spirit and bustle of Grand Asian Market in Cary. The hot bar is reliable, and the new bakery that just opened has great Chinese buns. read more

Before I left the triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill). This building used to be Circuit City that was maybe 10 or so years ago. I used to live in Chapel Hill and the commute to Grand Asia was quite far(Cary). Grand Asia is great and all but always so cramped from the front of the store all the way to the back. For those living near Chapel Hill or Durham you can definately visit Li Ming to see if it fits your needs. I was happy that there was another Asian Market opening closer so I didn't have to commute so far to restock on some grocery and some of my favorite Taiwanese snacks. As for the food court bakery section, the bread I would say is a lot more expensive than when they opened maybe 50 cent increase. Unless you are craving or wanna try go for it. If you do live near New York Flushing or Chinatown its definately way cheaper there. But if you don't Chinese Bakery is very different than others. Worth a try if you like. For the food court bento (3 sides and rice) area, I believe they increased in price over the decade maybe over a dollar or two. If you do plan to go there feel free to tell the server you want more rice to go with your sides they will always add a couple scoops of rice for me. Their roasted duck is really good up to maybe 3 days after you buy. Might be pricey so maybe have it once in awhile but definately a treat if you ever get to try it. Grocery Section: They have quite a fair amount of grocery items. They have a bunch of Taiwanese snacks which is one of the reason I go because Wal-Mart and other American stores don't stock them and only way I can find the snacks other than going back to Taiwan haha. They have a wide range of spices and greens for your Asian dishes or anything you might need. On the far left side of the store you can find cooking utensils, pots/pans, and cookery there. Near the checkout at the front you can find all sorts of rice there and also if you enjoy some canned drinks they sell them in bulk boxes. Few things to keep in mind. When you go to Asian Markets try to avoid buying American products. They are usually way more expensive than if you go to Wal-Mart/Target as such. I'd recommend just driving across the street and go to Target/Sam's Club if you need them. Maybe 1 minute drive. Thanks for reading the review. Hope this give an a brief insight and can help those interested in Li Ming. read more