Tonight I tried an interesting new restaurant, Lumi. Located at 3407 McKinney Avenue in the Uptown neighborhood of Dallas, Lumi is a restaurant with a split menu focus... Dumplings and Empanadas.
When my friend Danny suggested we try it out (he had a coupon) I was a bit skeptical about this seemingly schizophrenic East meets South menu combination. I figured, at best, that one half of the menu choices would be good... the mystery was whether it was the Asian influenced dumplings that would score or perhaps the South American influenced empanadas that would be winners.
Well, I am excited to report that both continents' cuisines are well represented. It was sort of a culinary Olympic competition where the top 2 competitors end up in a tie.
We started our meal with an appetizer of Edamame. The edamame was well prepared, not overcooked and nicely salted with a coarse salt. Danny and I each ordered a dumpling dish and an empanada dish for our meal. Danny had the Chinese 5 Spice Duck and Leek Dumplings and Spinach, Mozarella and Portabello Empanadas. I went the more traditional route with Classic Pork and Chive Dumplings and the Hearty Beef and Yukon Potato Empanadas.
The Dumplings were all wonderful. They had a light, but "al dente" wrapper and the fillings and dipping sauces were nicely flavored and seasoned. The empanadas were breaded and fried, so they were a bit heavier and more filling than the dumplings, but the flavors played nicely off of one another. I would have never thought of combining these two continentally diverse flavor palettes, but the combination really did work well.
Dessert was a bit of a disappointment, but not awful. Danny chose the Chocolate Empanada with Ice Cream and I selected the Fried Banana Ice Cream Sundae. In both cases, the ice cream was a significant disappointment, it was clearly not a premium ice cream and had crystallized ice in the ice cream giving it a less than smooth texture and not so creamy flavor. The chocolate empanada was made with a cinnamon flavored crust and tasted great, although the crust was a bit thick and tough for my taste. The banana in my sundae was nicely friend, but overshadowed by the ice cream.
All-in-all, Lumi was a very good dining experience. The one aspect of the meal that was not successful was an element that I am confident they did not make on premises. I'm hoping that they find a different ice cream supplier before my next visit... Dallas has some great gelato makers, perhaps one of them could take Lumi's dessert selection to a higher level so the meals there can end on a note consistent with the courses that led up to dessert!
Be sure to check out Lumi Dumpling and Empanada Kitchen for yourself!
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