Li Ming’s Global Mart

Yes, I’m one of those dastardly Yankee transplants, and I’ve been despairing about the grocery options in the area. Yes, Harris Teeter is sort of OK, and Fresh Market is great but expensive. And I’ve been despairing about the produce, which always looks tired no matter what supermarket I go to. When you’re driving to Trader Joe’s to get produce, things are at a sorry pass indeed.
Enter Li Ming’s. Now as a NJ transplant, I’m used to Asian groceries with great produce for not much money. Li Ming’s is a NJ Asian market on steroids. I don’t come here for the cafeteria, which from most accounts is pretty bad. I come here for greens that aren’t wilted, apples that are crisp and crunchy, fresh refrigerated noodles, specialty Asian items, and most importantly, ROAST PORK BUNS (!!!) — huge, delicious, full of chopped Chinese roast pork, and a bargain at $ 1.35 each. Stay away from the curry buns, which are marked «beef» but are more like the jelly that beef gravy turns into. But stock on the pork buns, because they are delicious. Bonus points go to Li Ming’s for Indian groceries and spices, and the hard-​to-​find Jamaican canned ackee. Rarely crowded, always fascinating, Li Ming’s is now a regular stop for me.

Great boba tea/​milk/​smoothie. No as were fresh and great selections. We will stop anytime we are in the area.

Stay FAR FAR AWAY from the food court, where I was food poisoned! By far the worst meal I’ve had in Durham since moving here. The food court offered a selection of chinese staples where you select 3 dishes and it comes with a side of white rice… I ordered the tofu, chili chicken and fried fish fillet… everything was sooo salty that it stung! And yes, on top of that I got VERY sick afterwards.
But I have to say, I really like shopping for my chinese groceries here. Their selection of veggies is pretty fresh and they usually have everything I’m looking for. The place is clean and orderly, much more inviting than Grand Asia in my opinion.
Over all a great place to shop, but this would be the first and last time I eat here. Be warned, my friends!

Li Ming’s…is my HEAVEN!!! It feels like home for someone who grew up in a predominately Asian neighborhood in California. The bf and I came here in search of ingredients to make pad thai. Not only did we easily find all the ingredients required for pad thai (including some hard-​to-​find ingredients such as pickeld turnip and Chinese chives), but a TON of Asian groceries, including but certainly not limited to… various types of ramen packages, frozen gyoza and potstickers, shrimp chips, rice cooking wine, red hot chili oil, various dried mushrooms including shitake. Another plus of this mart is that they have boba milk tea! The standard milk tea with boba I had was decent/​good enough for me to get one when I’m craving it. We plan to frequent this mart, and to try their hot food bar!

First off I want to say I’ve shopped here many times. I wouldn’t call myself a regular, but I probably go once every week or two. The customer service has certainly never been great, but the store has nearly everything you could want from every country around the world. It’s a great place to go when making dishes that call for the kinds of things you can’t find at a regular grocery store. Unfortunately today was the turning point for me. Yesterday I purchased one 8oz package of Tie Guan Yin oolong tea. I’m a big tea drinker and 8oz of tea for $ 9 was something I had to try. I brewed a pot and naturally it turned out pretty weak and not exactly full of flavor. So back to today. I decided I’d return it, get a store credit and get some vegetables I needed. The first warning sign was when the girl at one of the registers asked me what was wrong with it and then questioned if I had already opened it. I told her I thought it was weak and that of course I had opened it. So she took out her cell phone and called the manager. When the manager came over I knew I was screwed. This woman had been pretty unhelpful when I had questions on a couple previous trips to the store. But I figured I’d tell her what was up. As if on cue she immediately launched into a whole speech about how since the item had been opened they’d now have to throw it away, and how this was a family store, not a big company. Listen, I respect that they can’t just write off items the same way Wal-​Mart does, but Wal-​Mart and Stu Leonard’s (both family stores) did not become the stores they are now because they refused to stand behind their products. The manager then proceeds to tell me that since it’s been opened it is now my problem. She actually said «it is your problem.» I don’t like to get rude with customer service people, but this is no way to speak to a customer. I told her that it was actually her problem and that I would never shop there again. She then had the nerve to ask me to throw it away. I said no, and told her to throw it away. All in all it’s a damn good store with a ton of interesting products, but how can I shop at a store where they don’t stand behind their products? What if I buy something else that doesn’t turn out good? Fact is, you don’t treat customers like something dirty on the bottom of your shoes. Very disappointed in a store that I’d really like to keep going to.

The only Asian grocery store around. Great variety of all Asian foods that you can’t find in many places. I like to go get their bbq pork buns and chinese bun at the food court area. Their beef noodle soup is their most famous dish that I see people order. They also have a great meat and seafood section with tons of fresh seafood. Please note, you need to bring cash for their food court section.

I stopped my on a lunch break just out of curiosity. Glad that I did. The food court was super clean and everything looked great. I got the 3 item and rice special. Everything was hot and delicious. I will definitely be returning.

This place is a hole. I don’t know how this place got 4 stars.
I would give zero if it was possible. I bought rice cake and it smelled really weird probably because they didn’t store this properly. So was dumpling. I shopped only twice and this happened. If you don’t want to be food poisoned, stay out of this store. I am not a racist. I am an Asians myself.

Lin Ming’s is my go-​to spot anytime I’m making an authentic Asian recipe and need some ingredients I don’t regularly keep stocked in my pantry. Moving to Durham directly from Southeast Asia, I found my way over to Li Ming’s rather quickly, and it quickly felt like home. They’ve got a large supply of fresh produce, meats and seafood, as well as any type of ethnic spice, sauce, candy or dried or frozen good. They also have kitchen utensils including pots, pans, rice makers and even a small wine and beer selection.
In addition to the grocery store, Li Ming’s also has a «cafeteria» in the store. In addition to pre-​made items and bubble tea, they have a fresh-​order menu as well. I’ve ordered off the pre-​made menu before when in a rush, and I highly recommend ordering from the menu and avoiding this option. It seemed like some of the items I received had been sitting a little too long. Honestly, I don’t visit Li Ming’s for the cafeteria, I come here for the groceries, and will continue to as long as I live in the area.

DISCLAIMER: I lived in LA for two years prior to moving to Durham.
Moving from LA, where Chinese food and every food you can think of is abundant, I was terrified to move to Durham. But wow! I’m so glad this place is down the street from us. It’s no H Mart (or this grand market everyone is talking about in Cary), but it gets the job done. You get your seafood, meats, and veggies, and porcelain!
I ate at the café and it was average. Nothing spectacular. What you would expect in a city that is smaller and has a smaller AAPI demographic. Bakery is tiny. If you’re looking for every type of Asian vegetable possible, you won’t get it here. It only carries the necessities in my opinion.
If you’re Cantonese, there is one lady that is always super friendly at the register and we have already started calling her «Ah Yi.» That’s a plus.
Verdict: It gives you sustenance until you go to a larger city or willing to venture to Cary. Worth the trip if you want your homecooked Chinese fix.

My boyfriend and I had a blast the first time we visited here! This is a great place for cheap international/​authentic ingredients. They had a pretty good produce selection too. We were amazed by the entire aisle of various tofu! Also the cheap bags of bulk rice and cheap coconut milk. I would highly recommend visiting at least once to see if you’re overpaying for any of your staple items elsewhere! And if you’re looking for a unique ingredient.

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 (
) for $ 6 and then waited patiently for our food to come out. We thought about picking out a few entrée 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
), 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!

Decided to make a trip to Li Mings.
Good choice. Smells of an asian market should. I found almost everything I wanted. Great candy selection. Prices were fair. I can’t speak to much else.

This is by far my favorite Asian market in the area because they have a wider selection of food than any other place I’ve been, and they are reasonably priced. Even though they mostly offer Chinese necessities they got you covered for general things you might need for Japanese, Korean, South East Asian (especially Thai and even some Malaysian and Indonesian), Indian, and Caribbean. For cheap produce, especially hard to find fruits and vegetables, look no further. They have a live seafood area where they will clean and butcher your fish for you. Also a great spot to pick up cheap spices and hard to find herbs. I buy all my loose tea up here and I love the selection of teas they have, all priced pretty low compared to other stores in the area. If your really into tea or like places like Teavana, u should definitely swing by here. I was shocked at how cheap the tea is here compared to fancier stores, especially because it taste so much better! They of course have a hot food café right where you walk into the store, always has different stuff and can’t beat the price, but in my opinion Grand Asia’s food is much better. I get all my Sriracha here and not only is it cheaper, they also carry Shark Brand and Sriraja Panich (which I highly recommend if you like Huy Fong’s version although they are a bit different).

I know, I know. Why do I give such a bad review since I have always been nice.
Well, most people here to give 4 – 5 stars because they are not regular here. but when you become a regular, you know something is wrong. First of all, there are many food which is over the preservation date and they still sell it. So people: please check the date before you purchase anything. Also, the service attitude is just too Chinese,(especially in food court) aka they are nice to people who they have been known and hostile against people like me. Last, the price is bit high.

This is like my haven in the Asian food desert that is North Carolina. Due to the lack of any decent Asian restaurant in this area, I had to resort to making my own. And this place, while isn’t the best Asian grocery store I’ve been to, has been a life saver. Like seriously… I’ve been going crazy with the lack of food options here.
This place has the essential Asian cooking ingredients, and also some fresh seafood and produce. I don’t have a car, so my next trip (whoever will take me) will pretty much have me wiping out this place.
They also get bonus points because some of the workers here speak Cantonese, which is rare anywhere outside of NorCal.

Yes, this is a grocery store, but did you know they also serve a fantastic, hits the spot, warms your stomach, just delicious beef noodle soup? Yeah probably not, and now you do. Please do yourself a favor and go to this Asian grocery store for a meal. Not kidding at all. Honestly the broth in that soup is probably one of the best Asian soup broths around Chapel Hill-​Durham without venturing into Raleigh. They don’t have good banh baos there anymore though, which is a bummer.
As for the grocery aspect, it’s not the best Asian market I’ve ever been to but it’s good. Large store, large selection, decent prices. A lot of their produce is cheaper than what you’d find in an American grocery store. If you’re looking to up your pantry with some Asian ingredients, this store will do it for you!
Also if you like ramen (taking it back to college days) they have an extensive selection.

This place is like your typical 99 Ranch Market, but far less crowded. It’s the only Asian supermarket in Durham, so if you’re craving Asian groceries or snacks, head on over! They’ve got various sauces, packaged noodles, snacks with cutesy characters, tons of frozen dumplings and buns to select from, instant noodles of all kinds, different types of choy, meats, and more at this gigantic store (it used to be Circuit City, from what I’ve been told). the staff is Chinese, mostly Cantonese. The produce are decently priced, and they accept credit cards here. there’s also a hot foods section where you can order food to-​go. PLENTY of parking in their huge lot. Located in the plaza right across from Target.

As part of a family that frequented Grand Asia Market on a weekly basis, you would think that we would be more than elated with the opening of Li Ming’s… However, for some reason, my parents have still been driving over 40 minutes to Grand Asia almost every weekend.
The selection of products is pretty extensive, don’t get me wrong, but there’s something about the place that just rubs me the wrong way. I love getting the hot foods and bakery items at Asian markets, but I’m so scared here because the sanitation score is so low (around 88 – 89, and considering how lenient the scoring is in NC, that is scary). That being said, it’s the only place in the Chapel Hill/​Durham area that sells bubble tea now, which I do have strong cravings for on occasion, and Li Ming’s hits the spot.
The other reviews are absolutely correct in saying the staff is unfriendly… So be prepared to walk in and browse every aisle to look for what you need. It’ll save you an awkward conversation.
I still do come here for Asian staples throughout the week since it’s much closer, but it is not the best shopping experience I’ve had in an Asian grocery store for sure.

I’m a CA transplant. Having this market close to my apartment makes me feel a little less homesick. I stopped by today and they carried a lot of the cookies and snacks I grew up eating as well as a specific brand of gyoza that my mom always makes.
The fruit/​veggie section at a glance also looked clean and well organized.
Looking forward to exploring the store a bit more when I get the chance. Initial impression, though, is a solid 4 stars!