Xin Jiang Man BBQ

I don't know how Chef James makes any money selling 3 skewers for $7 and 5 for $11. It's a bellyful of food. Photos by David Lansing.

Mijune and I spent more time at the Richmond Night Market this weekend. There are just so many stalls I want to try—you can’t do it in a single visit.

“You like lamb?” Mijune asked me.

I love lamb.

“Okay, then let’s head over to Chef James. He makes the best lamb skewers around.”

Chef James with skewers of lamb, his signature item. Photo by David Lansing.

Chef James is actually James Chen. His weekday gig is as a chef at the Fairmont Waterfront in downtown Vancouver. But on weekends, he’s a rock star out at the Night Market. I’ll tell you what—if the Fairmont is hiding Chef James in the back, they’re not taking full advantage of his talents. James is a natural showman. He’s got moves like Jagger. Truly.

Even before you get to his stall, which is called Chef James Xin Jiang Man BBQ, you hear him talking up the crowd, moving them towards him like a carnie at the state fair. “You want bbq, I know you want bbq, so you should come and get bbq because I make the best bbq you can find.”

Xinjiang is in the far western region of China, near Afghanistan, and what Chef James is pushing is a staple of the region’s Uighur cuisine, lamb on a skewer flavored with salt, black pepper, red chili pepper, and roasted cumin seed. It’s the cumin that sets Xinjian cuisine apart from other Chinese cuisine.

Chef James doesn’t just grill up lamb. He’s also got beef, chicken and honey garlic prawn skewers. And they’re all good. But the lamb is the thing.