Foodology
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Richmond

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In Cafe

Tsujiri Richmond: Japanese Savoury Dishes and Desserts at the Patisserie

Tsujiri finally opened in Richmond, BC after a long anticipated wait. They specialize in Japanese matcha desserts that are just addictive. I went to their Edmonton location last year and was surprised their concept in Vancouver is a bit different.

Reservations

They have 2 dining areas – one for walk-ins and another for reservations via OpenTable. When I saw them offering reservations, I jumped at the chance and got a table of 4 on their 2nd day of operations at Tsujiri Pastisserie where they serve their Japanese-style High Tea.

There is also another option for Tsujiri Soba Bar but that is only for the evening with an exclusive soba menu.

These 2 locations are one and the same, it’s just a bit deceiving because they seem like 2 different places. They only have 4 tables available for reservations and can only sit for 1.5 hours which is still plenty of time.

I would highly recommend getting a reservation to avoid lining up in the cold. For myself, I went with my parents, sister and my very very pregnant self so waiting wasn’t something I wanted to do.

Tsujiri Patisserie Menu (Afternoon)

Ebiten Udon

There is only one udon on the menu and it is made with old-fashioned udon noodles in a light kombu bonito dashi broth with ebi tempura, shiitake mushrooms, tenkasu crumbs, kamaboko fish cake and green onions.

A very classic dish popularized by the Kagawa Prefecture in Japan. If you’re looking for something savoury before dessert, this definitely warms the stomach.

Unagi Dashi Chazuke

Another savoury item on the menu is their Dashi Chazuke that comes in your choice of salmon sashimi or grilled unagi. We went with grilled unagi since it’s so hard to deny that craving.

It’s a beautiful set with rice, marinated sesame kombu, tamago yaki, soba roll, green onions, wasabi, and a sprinkle of rice cracker garnish.

There is also a pot of that comforting broth that you can pour over the rice and add in whatever ingredients you want into it.

It was very good and so comforting on a cold day. We really liked how interactive this dish was.

Matcha Souffle Pancake

This has matcha-infused souffle pancake that is very airy. It is then dusted with powdered sugar and served with matcha ice cream, hojicha ice cream and whipped cream.

The pancake has a lot of matcha flavour and not too sweet at all. The ice cream served with it was a bit icy and didn’t do much for the pancake.

Matcha Parfait

A popular item as it’s served in a glass with layers of matcha warabi mochi, azuki beans, shiratama, yuzu rare cheesecake, sweet chestnut, roasted rice sprinkles and an iconic tea box moaka.

Discovering each new layer was tasty to our tastebuds and we were really intrigued by the cheesecake in the middle.

Sakura Parfait

This is similar but it has matcha warabi mochi, shiratama, hidden sakura surprise, traditional sakura kuzu mochi and sweet chestnut on top. I love the layers of the matcha frozen dessert paired with all these items. I really liked this and the different texture worked so well.

Hot Sencha Green Tea

This is a popular Japanese tea that is well-balanced in bitterness and natural sweetness. Good when you want to stay warm while enjoying some cold desserts or hot savoury dishes.

O-Matcha Latte

You can get this drink cold or hot. There are also soy milk and lactose free milk available if you have dietary restrictions.

I mixed this before drinking and it was good. Not too sweet and not too bitter.

Yuzu O-Matcha

This was an interesting yuzu infused tea and it is served cold. It has a rich and bitter matcha paired with fruity, refreshing yuzu honey drink. My sister enjoyed this but did not it was a tad sweet compared to the other drinks.

Cakes to go

We had to get some cakes to take home since we couldn’t fit anymore sweets into our stomach. They have a variety of tea infused cakes at the counter that are made daily in limited quantities. We arrived here at 2pm and by 3:30pm, all the matcha-inspired cakes were all sold out. We were able to get our hands on a few before it was all gone.

The cake flavours change up daily, so you’ll never really know what’s available until the day of.

Opera Cake

This is the same one that comes with the Japanese Style High Tea. We opted not to get the high tea set since it was a bit on the pricey side but we did want to really try the opera cake. It has alternating layers of cream, red bean, matcha cake, and other things that pair nicely together.

Matcha Cake

I can’t remember the name of this cake but it has matcha spongecake with cream and red bean in the centre.

Final Thoughts

I’m glad they finally opened as we’ve been anticipating it for the longest time. It’s great to have more dessert options in the area especially in this plaza. It’s definitely not cheap when you order certain items. The 4 of us ended up spending over $100 but maybe we ordered excessively. My other friend had a party of 2 and spent around $50. Nonetheless, the desserts, drinks and food are good.

I would go again but I would not line up for it. I really like the reservations via OpenTable but for the time-being, you have to book it in advanced as there are limited seats.

Address:
4777 Mcclelland Road #1535, Richmond BC

Website:
http://tsujiri.ca

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In Chinese

Fortune Terrace Chinese Cuisine: Dinner in Richmond

Fortune Terrace Chinese Cuisine is a newer restaurant near the Olympic Oval in Richmond. I heard good things about this place, so, for my birthday, we decided to come here for dinner. It’s usually more popular for dim sum as they have some pretty unique items on the menu, but has a reputation for being very expensive.

We made reservations for dinner just in case it was busy as their dim sum rush is pretty crazy. As we arrived on the weekend for dinner, it wasn’t very busy at all. Maybe it was because it was raining.

Interior

The interior is very bright, full of red colour and surrounded by LED screens that play very scenic videos on repeat. Even the lights above have little koi on them.

Tea

Tea arrives on the table and you can choose among the more common teas at most Chinese restaurants. You also get another tea pot filled with water on a boiler if you want water or if you want to add more water to your other tea pot later on.

Complimentary Peanuts

You get some salted peanuts on the table before your meal arrives so you can pick at it.

Assorted Cold Platter

The assorted cold platter has BBQ Pork, Jelly Fish, duck, and pork hock. The items were delicious and devoured quickly.

Of the 4 items, the duck was our favourite as the fat was rendered out nicely and had a good taste and texture.

Soup

We ordered soup with our meal and it comes in a big bowl and what they do is individually scoop it out for each person at the table so they get their individual portion.

They also scoop out the other items in the soup like the meats, aromatics, and whatever else in a separate bowl so you can enjoy it as well. The broth was delicious and had quite a bit of depth. I enjoyed it.

Crispy Roasted Pork Belly

The crispy roasted pork belly was OK. The skin was crispy but each order is pretty small for what you pay for as it was around $25. I could buy a lot of pork belly elsewhere in town.

Stir-fry Chinese Pea Shoots in Garlic

You gotta have one veggie dish at a Chinese restaurant right? They had pea shoots today so we ordered that and it was cooked with garlic as usual. Pretty standard.

Pan Fried Scallops & Sea Cucumber Muscle with Pine Mushrooms

This is served up in these fried edible baskets. It was decent but we found the baskets got very soggy in a short amount of time that it didn’t really hold. The seafood itself was well cooked and delicious.

Truffle Chicken

Truffle Chicken is one of their specialties at Fortune Terrace. It is surprisingly good and almost everyone orders this when they come here for dinner. It is nicely cooked, but it does come with bones, so some pieces are harder to eat than others.

Scallop and Dried Scallop Fried Rice

This dish was shaped like a fish and topped with tobiko. You can even see the beans for eyes too. It’s was a decent fried rice but nothing stood out too much. They will also scoop this out into individual bowls for each guest too.

Complimentary Fruit

At the end of the meal, fruit comes to the table and it can be shaped like an animal for luck. This one was shaped like a fish I think with watermelon, honey dew and cantaloupe.

Complimentary Red Bean Soup

Next, was the red bean soup, which is very standard for dessert at Chinese restaurants. It seemed liked they used the Japanese Azuki beans to make this. It wasn’t too sweet and good enough. Not my personal favourite dessert since it’s so common.

Complimentary Birthday Buns

As we were celebrating my birthday, birthday buns arrived. It’s kinda a tradition and it’s good they provide these too. It’s freshly steamed and not too large. It is filled with lotus paste inside. After having 3 desserts essentially, we were pretty full by this point.

Final Thoughts

Overall, a lot of complimentary items arrived at the table, but the whole meal was still quite pricey. You get some good food and service, but it is more high end and expensive.

Address:
6200 River Rd #130, Richmond, BC

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In Japanese

Yuu Japanese Tapas: Volcano Ramen and Miriku Collection in Richmond

Yuu Japanese Tapas is located in Richmond, BC and they serve up contemporary Japanese cuisine. They have a wide menu from appetizers, individualized hot pots, ramen and other items. Earlier in the year, The Original beer Ramen made headlines around the world for their ramen that looks like a huge mug of beer, which was made of cold bonito broth ramen.

For the Winter, they have launched a few new items – Volcano Ramen and miriku collection. We came here to check it out.

Interior

There are a lot of tables for small to large groups inside.

Menu (new items)

Volcano Ramen

Their volcano ramen comes in 2 types -AAA Beef Volcano Ramen and Jumbo Clam and Prawn Volcano Ramen starting at $19.50.

What is great about Yuu Japanese Tapas is the experience and fun they provide the customers before the meal begins. When the ramen arrived, the server pours the ramen broth into the sizzling hot stone bowl and covers it with a volcano lid, so it steams up like a volcano.

AAA Beef Volcano Ramen

This has AAA Beef slices, Enoki mushrooms, bean sprouts, green onion, and a tonkatsu broth. You can add egg, butter, cheese, kimchi and more ramen noodles for an additional charge.

We had the choice of having it mild or spicy, so we chose mild. The tonkatsu broth is rich with a lot of beefy umami flavour. The noodles has a thickness to them too. We added cheese to the dish and it made the ramen consistency more thick and less soupy.

Jumbo Clam and Prawn Volcano Ramen

There are seasonal clams, prawns, bean sprouts, onions, and their rich tonkatsu broth. You can add egg, butter, cheese, kimchi and more ramen noodles for an additional charge.

We ordered mild, but it still had a kick to the broth and made it hard to taste the deep beef flavour. This was ok but we felt the AAA Beef Volcano Ramen was a bit better.

Strawberry Milk

You can get this hot or cold, but we went with cold. It tastes like milk with strawberry puree and you can’t go wrong with that. It tastes pretty good. The glass is a bit small for the price.

Melon Milk

We decided to switch things up and get this hot. It was served in the same container and served very hot to the touch. It has a strong melon taste and it felt more artificial tasting. Imagine those Korean melona bars.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the experience at Yuu Japanese Tapas was good as the dishes were unique looking, but when it came down to flavour, it missed the mark and the prices are a bit higher than normal Japanese ramen shops, nonetheless, they really make sure the experience, fun and interactivity of the dishes are their.

Address:
3779 Sexsmith Rd #1118, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.yuutapas.com/

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In Bubble Tea

Bobii Frutii: Instagrammable Bubble Tea in Richmond

Bobii Frutii just opened their first Canadian location in Richmond BC and started in Taiwan, with another location in Singapore. They specialize in Instagrammable bubble teas that don’t have any artificial preservatives, stabilizers, or artificial colouring. The drinks are very beautiful, but we decided to stop here to see if it lives up to the hype.

Interior

The store has a few seats inside but its not too busy when we went on a weekday afternoon. The interior has a lot of concrete greys and brown woody colours.

Menu

Extraordinary Bubble Milk Tea 不甘平凡

This extraordinary bubble milk tea is made with layers of red tea, milk and brown sugar pearls. A classic choice and you can really taste the subtle brown sugar in the pearls that aren’t too over powering and it works nicely with the tea and milk. Delicious. Make sure it mix it before you drink it to incorporate all the layers.

Don’t Want to Work 不想上班

The name of this drink is so cheeky. It is made with oolong tea, milk and their Butterfly Pea Pearls. It looks similar to the extraordinary milk tea and taste similar but less sweet due to the type of pearls.

Uji Snow 宇治初雪

One of the more expensive options at Bobii Frutii and it’s their Matcha beverages as they use carefully selected Marukyu-Koyamaen matcha from Uji, Kyoto. Each order is hand whisked to ensure quality.

There is matcha, milk and their original pearls in this drink. The matcha is so good and you can taste the quality and its not too sweet. A good ratio of tea and sweetness.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s a good quality of bubble tea, looks great, tastes great, but it is higher in price compared to other bubble tea shops in the area. With so many options in Richmond, it’s definitely hard to compete.

Address:
157-4800 No 3 Rd, Richmond, BC

Website:
https://www.facebook.com/bobiifrutii.ca/

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In Chinese

Mama’s Dumpling and Coffee in Richmond: Review

Mama’s Dumpling and Coffee is located in South Richmond near a bunch of warehouses. You definitely wouldn’t expect this restaurant to be here, but it has gained quite a level of popularity recently for their delicious homey dumplings. I came here with a few friends on the weekday to check it out and see what everyone is raving about. It’s family-run and operated, so its a great business to support.

Interior

On the weekdays around noon, it wasn’t too busy just yet. It got busy closer to 12:30pm. We’re not exactly sure about on weekends, but we hear some of their dumplings can sell out.

Menu

Ordering

They accept cards, so we were happy it’s not cash only. Once you place your order and pay, you get this electronic device that will beep once your order is ready. As it wasn’t very busy, nor were we doing takeout, this didn’t do much for us as they delivered our order to our table.

Green Tea

We were tempted to get coffee, but it just didn’t seem like a match for Chinese dumplings, so we ordered hot green tea. They charge $1.90 per cup of tea.

Shanghai-style Fried Noodles

You get your choice of pork or chicken and we chose chicken. It was deliciously pan-fried with a good amount of char on some noodles. The noodles were a good texture.

Wontons in Spicy Chili Oil

There are 8 wontons to an order and the spicy chili oil is mixed with a sesame paste, so that was surprising as I didn’t expect that. Nonetheless, it was still delicious.

Shrimp, Egg and Chives Dumpling

You can get these in portions of 12, 16 or 20 pieces. We sent with 12 since it was just the 3 of using having lunch. They were really good! Delicious filling and the skin wasn’t too thick.

Nanxiang-Style Xiao Long Bao

Each order comes with 6 pieces. It’s hot and soupy in the centre, so be careful when eating it. You can pair it with soy sauce and vinegar on the side of the table.

Green Onion Pancake

The green onion pancake is cut up into 4 pieces. Super crisp on the exterior and has a good amount of green onion spread out.

Shanghai-Style Fried Pork Buns

When coming to Mama’s Dumpling and Coffee, a lot of people order their Shanghai-style Fried Pork Buns. It’s their most popular item and comes in 4 pieces. It can take up to 30 minutes to prepare, so they recommend pre-ordering the dish so you aren’t waiting a long time.

The dumplings are fluffy on top, crisp on the bottom and the inside is so savoury and soupy. Highly recommended.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed the experience and all the dishes were very homey and hit the spot. For myself, the location is quite far for me to drive to and taking transit is a pain. If you’re in the area of South Richmond, definitely make a stop here.

Address:
103-11782 Hammersmith Way, Richmond, B

Website:
https://www.mamasdumpling.com/

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In Cafe

Spiritea Drinks: Cold Brewed Teas and Cakes in Richmond (Aberdeen Centre)

Spiritea Drinks is located at Aberdeen Centre and they specialize in cold brewed tea and desserts. They soak the tea leaves in a low-temperature glacial water, which releases the tea tannins and caffeine to produce a smooth and rich tea aroma. It retains catechin and tea polyphenol of the tea leaves to lower blood sugar, increase metabolism, and good for tea lovers. They brew all of their teas on the spot in a special teaspresso machine

They aren’t a bubble tea shop and do not offer any toppings to their beverages. The owners want to provide healthier options and have been perfecting their drinks for the last year. A lot of their drinks use their green tea base, fresh fruit and sugar cane sweetener. No artificial sweeteners or powders are used.

Interior

The interior is beautiful during the day and night with it’s white and pink colours. It is modern, elegant and cute.

A lot of the tables are arranged to fit 4 people, so it’ll be hard to get a large group in here unless you start rearranging tables and chairs.

Menu

Jade Green Tea Cloudtea

This can be made hot or cold. You get a deep jade green tea flavour with the salted cream foam on top. They make the foam in small batches so it stays fresh, thick and delicious.

It’s a good option if you love green tea.

Super Combo Fruitea

This is one of their popular drinks on the menu. It has pineapple, passion fruit, orange, lemon slices, lime slices and a strawberry shaken with green tea and cane sugar. It is a solid fruit tea that is refreshing and light.

Very Berry Cloudtea

If you love berries, you’ll enjoy the very berry cloudtea. The mixture of tea, fruit and foam worked well together.

TanCho Black Tea

This comes in a cute skinny bottle. The quality of the tea is very nice, but it’s a pretty standard black milk tea compared to other shops.

Macarons

They have 4 different varieties of macarons on the menu to pair with their teas – salted caramel, matcha, lychee and earl grey.

Chocolate Mousse

The chocolate mousse has layers of cake and crisp crunchy layers. If you are a chocolate lover, you’ll really appreciate this cake.

Very Berry Cake

This has a layer of cream on the outside and on the inside, there is a berry jam and cake on the inside. The highlight of the cake was really the layers inside. We felt like there was a tad too much cream and it threw of the ratio.

Christmas Tree

This has 3 triangle cakes that make up this Christmas Tree. There is matcha, mango, and very berry flavours. Very cute concept but fairly regular cakes.

Cheesecake Snowflake

Probably the cutest cake of the bunch as it’s shaped like a snowflake and perfect for the holidays. It has more of a cheesy taste to it, so, it may not be for everyone. We still enjoyed it.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the Spiritea Drinks is a great addition to the Richmond area and inside Aberdeen Centre. It’s great that their concept of healthy tea and fruit beverages use quality ingredients. The prices are slightly higher than other cafes, but the quality is there. It’s a nice place to sit with friends and just chill over tea and dessert.

Address:
4151 Hazelbridge Way Unit 1968, Richmond, B

Website:
https://spiriteadrinks.com

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In Hawaiian

[Sneak Peek] Pokey Okey: Luxurious $100 Poke Bowl in Richmond

Pokey Okey in Richmond, BC is serving up a luxurious creation – The Ruby Bowl that will sell for $100 from Friday December 7th till Sunday December 9th in limited quantities. We had a sneak peek of what to expect.

This poke bowl takes inspiration from different cuisines that Chef Victor He had from his travels and culinary experiences. Their goal is to elevate the concept of Surf and Turf and to highlight the quality of Canadian ingredients.

What’s in the Ruby Bowl that justifies the $100 price tag?

The Ruby Bowl is made with:

  • Lobster Rice
  • Butter Basted Lobster
  • Torched Wagyu Tenderloin
  • Frisee Salad
  • Lobster Hollandaise
  • Yuzu Daikon Oroshi
  • Black Garlic Truffle Aioli
  • Flying Fish Roe
  • Shaved Black Truffle

When you order in-store, it can take about 10 – 15 minutes to prepare as there are a lot of ingredients that go into this bowl and it’s made to order so you know it’s fresh.

The wagyu is seared to perfection, but it is still rare as the slices are stacked on top of each other with lots of overlap. You can ask them to torch it for longer if you prefer not so raw meat.

The wagyu has so much flavour and the yuzu daikon oroshi really adds a nice acidity.

The lobster tail has the delicious Lobster Hollandaise sauce and shaved truffles. I just kept dunking the lobster tail into this and it was so good.

Under all of this is the lobster rice and boy, it’s good too.

Final Thoughts

This $100 luxurious poke bowl isn’t for everyone since not everyone has that much extra money to drop. It tastes really good, but their regular bowls are just as good with prices ranging from $11 – $16.

Address:
8060 Anderson Rd, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.pokeyokey.com/

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In Richmond

Richmond’s Dumpling Trail: Self-Guided Dumpling Tour

The Dumpling Trail is still on-going with new restaurants that have been added this year, this collection of 20 restaurants serves up some delicious dumplings. You can go to one restaurant or up to as many as you want depending on what your stomach can handle. Richmond, BC is home to over 800 restaurants, most famous for having North America’s best Chinese cuisine, but exceptional Asian cooking is just the tip of Richmond’s culinary iceberg. These restaurants offer everything from burgers to banh mi and fine dining to family fare.

Did you know, The Dumpling Trail is listed among CNN Travel’s list of 12 of the world’s most enticing food and drink trails?

Today, we embark on hitting up 5 restaurants to try different types of dumplings from Xiao Long Bao to Bánh Bột Lọc. We would have loved to go to more, but there is only so much stomach space we have.

Parklane Chinese Restaurant:

Dumplings: Har Gow, Chiu Chow Fun Gor, Sui Mai, Wu Gok, Ham Sui Gok

Parklane Chinese Restaurant was our first stop for Dim Sum, a Cantonese style meal of steamed dumplings prepared in small, almost bite-sized portions. These dishes can be pan-fried, deep-fried, and baked as well, which are designed to be eaten communally and washed down with tea. You will normally have dim sum in the mornings or even into the early afternoon.

With any Dim Sum restaurant in Richmond, I would highly recommend reservations ahead of time as it can get very busy.

Har Gow (Steamed Shrimp Dumpling)

Chiu Chow Fun Gor (Steamed Pork & Raddish Dumpling with Peanut)

 Siu Mai (Steamed Pork and Shrimp Dumpling)

Wu Gok (Deep Fried Taro Root Dumpling)

Ham Sui Gok (Deep Fried Minced Pork Dumplings)

Tsim Chai Noodles

Dumplings: Wonton

Tsim Chai Noodles is located in Richmond and serves Cantonese cuisine, but specifically specializes in wonton noodle in soup. These wontons are filled with ground pork and shrimp, or a mix of ingredients.

No reservations needed, but if there is a line up, the turnover is quite quick.

 Pigs Knuckle and Wonton

Sui Kau in Soup with No Noodle

Fresh Prawn Wontons in Soup with No Noodle

Fresh Prawn Wontons in Soup with Noodle

R&H Chinese Food

Dumplings: Xiao Long Bao, Wontons, Guo Tie

R&H Chinese Food is a unique food stall inside the Lansdowne Food Court. This casual quick stop features a diverse selection of dumplings from crispy to chewy to all types of textures.

You can watch them make the dumplings by hand as you wait for your order and see them made by scratch.

Guo Tie (Grilled Pork Dumplings with Chives)

Xiao Long Bao (Soup-filled pork dumplings)

 Wontons in Chili Sauce

Bánh Mì Très Bon

Dumplings: Bánh Bột Lọc

A unique addition this year to The Dumpling Trail is Bánh Mì Très Bon with their Vietnamese dumplings.

You’ll want to avoid the busy rush as the space is small and they don’t take reservations.

Bánh Bột Lọc are thin tapioca-skinned dumplings with sweet chili fish sauce and must be eaten fresh. These dumplings are filled with shrimp and pork belly, they’re the perfect appetizer to any meal.

Pepper Lunch

Dumplings: Gyoza

Pepper Lunch is an international Japanese chain specializing in Japanese-inspired beef, chicken, fish and pork on sizzling plates.

There are over 350 locations worldwide. What’s great about Pepper Lunch being in Canada is that we have high quality beef, chicken and fish available. Pepper Lunch Canada uses Certified Angus Beef and BC Steelhead Salmon.

Gyozas are on the menu and pan-fried on their hot sizzling grill.We ordered 12 pieces and it comes with 6 chicken gyozas and 6 beef.

Final Thoughts

What I love about self-guided tours is that you can go about your own pace and order whatever you want. Richmond is home to some of the best dumplings in North America, so get started by doing some research by exploring the restaurants that are taking part in The Dumpling Trail. Some restaurants are cash only and some may require reservations during peak hours.

Website:
https://www.visitrichmondbc.com/food-and-drink/dumpling-trail/

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In Chinese

Shine Valley Lamb Soup: Chinese Lamb Soup, Dumplings, and Skewers in Richmond

Shine Valley Lamb Soup is located in Richmond and they specialize in exactly what their name suggests – lamb soup. I met up with a few friends and headed here for lunch as we heard it was good. They started in 2014 in a food court stall and since it was so successful, they decided to move into a storefront. Their more popular items are Chinese lamb soup, dumplings, and skewers.

If you’re a fan of lamb, you’ll like this place.

The restaurant is located on the second floor, you can take the stairs of elevator to get there.

Interior

The interior is large with lots of tables for small to large groups. The look is very rustic and feels like you’re transported back in time.

Menu

Lamb Soup with noodles and liver

We got the large size to share. The broth was really delicious and the noodles were cooked perfectly. We really enjoyed it. You can tell the noodles are hand made and the whole dish has a very homey feel and taste. Highly recommended.

Eggplant with Sweet and Sour Sauce

This is also one of their specialties. It was surprisingly good. Very savory and not too sour.

Green Onion and Ham Cake

The bun was very flakey and stuffed with a good amount of green onion and ham scattered inside. It’s easily sharable if you don’t want to have the whole thing. You can dab this in eggplant’s sweet and sour sauce too.

Grilled Chicken Gizzard

Chicken gizzard is the thick part of a chicken’s stomach that grinds the food. It’s very muscular and has a crunchy texture. We got this in mild spice level.

There is a minimum order of 5 pieces.

Lamb Skewer

You have to come here for the lamb skewers, we got these with medium spice level. There is a minimum order of 5 pieces.

Lamb Meat Stuffed Dumpling

The dumplings were boiled and can be eaten with vinegar and chili oil. Very delicious too. Simple and just like what you would get at home. It’s a nice change.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the food was delicious and had a homey taste to it. Not too salty at all. If you’re a lamb lover, you’ll enjoy their signature dishes. I would definitely go again.

If you want to pay with card, you have to pay the whole bill. If you want to split the bill, it all needs to be paid in cash. Fair enough, but just so you know.

Address:
4653 Garden City Rd #2215, Richmond, BC

Website:
https://www.shinevalleylambsoup.com/

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In Bubble Tea

Exposure Social House 曝光奶茶: Bubble Tea in Richmond

Exposure Social House is one of the newer bubble tea shops that opened in Richmond. They are also an event space and hiphop culture event centre. When I was in Richmond, my friend told me about this place, so we headed out to give it a try. They pride themselves of using real ingredients like Avalon Milk.

The parking is a bit tough during the day as there are a lot of other popular restaurants and a grocery store in this plaza. You may need some patience when navigating this area.

Interior

The interior is small as they only have seating capacity of 10. Most people come grab their bubble tea to go.

Mostly standing room, 3 tables, a washroom and a retail area at the back of the shop.

There’s also a lot of little figurines to look at all. This place sure has character.

Menu

Devil’s Fresh Milk

Devil’s Fresh Milk is essentially brown sugar milk tea using Avalon milk. It’s the most trendiest bubble tea drink lately and has taken Asia by storm too. You can get this at set times during the day and may sell out.

Japanese Roasted Milk Tea

Japanese Roasted Milk Tea with pearls was my friend’s choice. The tea is fragrant and tastes pretty good. A classic item to order.

Supreme Milk Tea

I went for the Supreme Milk Tea which comes with a base of pudding an pearls. You can choose your tea, which can be JX Light Oolong, Earl Grey, Assam, Spring Green Tea, Jasmine or Gyukuro. I went with Assam tea for mine. I also got it 50% sweet and less ice. It was pretty good and I enjoyed the combination of pudding and pearl toppings.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s good to have more diversity of bubble teas in Vancouver. Any opportunity to customize is great too. On the menu, there is a little bit of everything. They can also make your bubble tea with almond milk, soy milk, ice cream or yogurt.

Address:
131-4600 No. 3 Road
Richmond, BC V6X 3V7

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In Fusion

The Deck Kitchen + Bar: Drinks and Sharable Bites in Richmond

The Deck Kitchen + Bar is located inside the Pacific Gateway Hotel in Richmond. It is situated right by the Fraser River will waterfront views and a patio. They are open for a convenient and casual lunch, dinner, and drinks. Their Executive Chef, Morgan Lechner, delivers fresh, organic, and local flavours to the menu that gives guests a few options. We were invited to check out the space and some of their dishes.

Interior

The deck is heated and would make for a great time during the Summer, but as we went during the Fall season, it feels a bit cold, but there are heaters everywhere. If it’s not enough warmth, just grab a blanket.

The views are still nice all around and as it’s built right over the water, you feel like you’re floating on water as you dine.

They have enough space for small to large groups. Best to make reservations ahead if you have a large party so they can prepare for your arrival.

Food

Happy Hour starts from 3 – 6pm daily, so if you can make it, it’s a better deal if you just want to have a few drinks and nibbles with friends and colleagues.

A lot of the dishes on the menu are more tapas style with a fusion twist.

Sushi Stack

The sushi stack is a popular item and it contains saw tuna, yam, cucumber, avocado, eel sauce, Korean ssamjang sauce, sushi rice, sesame, tempura and nori. One of our favourite dishes of the night.

Ginger beef

This is from their wok menu and it is crispy and served with their chili sauce. Another dish we enjoyed for the texture and the sauce.

Edamame

The edamame is simmered in a dashi broth and cooked with sriracha for added spice. It is served with a sweet mayo dip.

Deep Fried Cauliflower

The deep-fried cauliflower was delicious. It has a nice crispy exterior texture.

Flatbread

They have 7 different types of flatbread on the menu for vegetarians to meat eaters. This one in-particular is the bison sausage with capers, kalamata, feta, confit red onion, peppers, cherry tomato, and basil.

Caesar Salad

The caesar salad has romaine, kalamata, crispy garlic, preserved lemon, radish, and garlic caper dressing. A pretty standard salad and tasted average.

Drinks

The drink menu has beer, cocktails, wine and non-alcoholic options too.

Final Thoughts

If you’re in the area for drinks and small bites, The Deck is a good option to hang out with friends. Some dishes are a tad pricey for what you get.

They do have a few larger dishes for dinner, but there isn’t too much variety.

Address:
3500 Cessna Dr, Richmond, BC

Website:
https://www.deckkitchenandbar.com/

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In Cafe

Miss Lina Crepe Cakes: Pastries and Drinks in Richmond

Miss Lina Crepe Cakes in Richmond is another new addition to Alexandra Road for desserts. There have been a few dessert shops in Metro Vancouver opening up that specialize in Crepe Cakes, so it’s interesting to see the demand for them. They also have a liquor license if you want a boozy drink to go with your sweet treats.

We came here specifically for the crepe cakes but they do have other items on the menu like Afternoon Tea.

Interior

The interior is nice and has lots of tables for small to large groups. They try to make the decor look luxurious with the simple and light colours.

Menu

Matcha Crepe Cake

Matcha crepe cake is a classic flavour with 25 layers of matcha creme and crepes. It’s definitely a labour of love to create, but delicious to devour. Matcha is generally bitter, so you will have to like matcha to fully enjoy the balance of sweet and bitter tastes.

Earl Grey Crepe Cake

Earl Grey tea is infused into this crepe cake with a good balance where the earl grey shines through and overall isn’t too sweet. Pair it with some tea and it hits the spot.

Taro Crepe Cake

Have you heard of taro crepe cake yet? It’s a pretty great combination that I don’t see that often. If you are a taro fan, you’ll enjoy this. The natural colour of the taro shines through and it’s very good.

Final Thoughts

The crepe cakes that we tried were very delicious and delicate but can be pricey as you are paying over $12 per slice. Even their rainbow crepe cake has a price tag of $16. Definitely not an everyday indulgence.

Address:
1200-8580 Alexandra Rd, Richmond

Website:
https://www.misslinacrepecakes.com/

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In Cafe

SweetHoney Dessert: Now Open in Richmond

SweetHoney Dessert is a new Hong Kong style dessert restaurant in Richmond. It’s tucked away in a small plaza near Aberdeen Mall. They serve many hot and cold soup based dessert items.

SweetHoney Dessert takes pride in preparing all ingredients in-house daily. They let us know that they don’t use powdered additives, instead they grind the raw ingredients in their kitchen. This extra step makes a difference in taste, texture, and quality. The morning is spent doing prep, then they open at 3:00pm until 12:00am everyday.

SweetHoney Dessert Richmond is part of a franchise that have over 600 locations in China, over a dozen in California, and now its first location in Canada.

Interior

The interior is cute, well lit, and welcoming. It’s a large space with plenty of comfortable seating. As part of a franchise, the look and feel is consistent with other locations throughout North America.

Mango, Strawberry, and Durian Pancakes

SweetHoney Pancakes is fruit and fresh cream wrapped in surprisingly thin crepe. The wrap is so delicate, there is one dedicated staff trained to make them.

We tried mango, strawberry, and durian. My favourite was the strawberry, which had sesame flecks on its wrapper and provided a flavour contrast.

Durian and Thai Black Glutinous Rice

Fresh durian and black glutinous rice ball are served on vanilla “frost”. Frost is a semi-sweet sauce that is half liquid, half very finely shaved ice. It looks liquid but retains a slushy texture as you eat it. The durian is flown in from Thailand.

Mango with Grass Jelly in Vanilla Frost

This is one of their most popular items. It’s served with a generous amount of fresh, ripe mango. The grass jelly and their signature vanilla frost is a great combination.

Mango Pomelo Sago Tofu Pudding

These are all ingredients that I know and love together. SweetHoney makes its own tofu in-house, which was very delicate and semi-sweet. The pomelo bits were a burst of flavour. It’s cool, refreshing, and is easily my favourite item on their menu.

Sesame and Almond Soup with Glutinous Rice Balls

SweetHoney also serve warm dessert options. They toast, grind, and make all the ingredients in this dish within their kitchen. It’s tasty, comforting, and would be a perfect cold, weather treat when fall arrives.

Final Thoughts

I visited during the heatwave and the cold desserts were a perfect way to cool down. The fruits were all very fresh and juicy.

Fair warning: the portions are large, and because the warm soup can be quite filling, make sure to bring a friend or two. Treat it like dimsum, more people means more options!

SweetHoney Richmond is slightly difficult to find because of the parking lot layout, but it’s worth visiting. They offer so many ingredient variations and options, that everyone can find something they will like.

Address:
160 4200 No 3 Rd, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.sweethoneydessert.com/

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In Dim Sum

Fisherman’s Terrace Seafood Restaurant: Dim Sum Madness in Richmond

Going for dim sum on a long weekend is crazy. You need to book ahead of time to ensure you get a seat. Even with a reservation, you’ll have to wait. It’s definitely no guarantee. The family and I headed to Fisherman’s Terrace and there was definitely along line up of people waiting to have their name be called. We arrived early for our reservation and waited patiently. Since we have a very common last name – Chan, there was another group that took our table which turn out also had a party of 5 too. They really should be relying on the phone numbers that were given.

Nonetheless, the manger sorted it out and got us a table soon after.

Interior

The space is large and they have tons of tables here for large groups. It’s always a family affair here.

We waited a while to eat, so we ordered a lot for 5 people. The results of ordering when you’re hangry.

Shrimp Dumplings

An order comes in 4 pieces in a bamboo steamer. There are pieces of shrimp inside the rice skin. Very delicious and I like to eat it with XO Sauce or hot sauce.

Pork and Shrimp Dumpling

Another classic dim sum with a mixture of pork and shrimp. There are good sized pieces of shrimp and there isn’t too much fat mixed in.

Bean Curd Rolls

Inside of the bean curd is a pork mixture and it is delicious. It has 3 pieces but it is cut up so there are 6 pieces.

Shredded Chicken Salad

This dish is served cold and has some deep fried wonton crisps, shredded chicken, and veggies. There is a prominent sesame oil taste to it too.

Pan Fried Stuffed Eggplant with Shrimp Paste

There are 3 pieces and they cut it up in half to share with more people around the table. The eggplant is deliciously tender and the shrimp paste is good too.

Beef Rice Roll

There are 3 rolls to the order cut up into pieces as well. It is served with a soy sauce and it is delicious, I like how the beef is mixed with water chestnuts to give it a nice crunchy texture.

Deep Fried Glutinous Rice Dumplings

There are 4 pieces cut in half, so a total of 8 pieces. It is deep fried till a nice golden brown on the outside and filled with a savoury pork filling, which is delicious.

E-Fu Noodles with Spinach

We got the noodles off their other menu and you can tell its a lot larger than the other dishes. The noodles were soft and tender with a nice savoury taste.

Deep Fried Chinese Donut in Rice Roll

This is served with a hoisin and sesame sauces. The donut was a bit dry this time around

Braised Duck and Tofu Curd

Another dish from their regular menu of duck and tofu curd. If you have some rice, it goes well with it.

Assorted Veggie and Mushrooms

We needed some vegetables in our meal, so we oreded this with some peas, cabbage, broccoli and mixed mushrooms.

Durian Mochi

Durian mochi isn’t for everyone as some love it and others hate it with a passion. It’s soft and fluffy in texture, but some may think it stinks like skunk. I personally think it’s more like a sweet onion.

Final Thoughts

We definitely ordered a lot for 5 people, but thats what happens when we’re hungry. We totally had enough for left overs for the rest of the day. Fisherman’s Terrace is busy on weekends, the food quality and prices are fair. Don’t forget to make reservations.

Address:
4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond, BC

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In Event

[Sneak Peek] Tramonto Wine Dinner at River Rock Casino

At the River Rock Casino in Richmond, you will find Tramonto Restaurant showcasing classic flavours and dishes of West Coast-inspired cuisine with an innovative, fresh and local approach.

Besides their dining menu, they occasionally host Wine Dinners featuring local wineries and guest speakers. We got a sneak peek of their first wine dinner with Haywire & Narrative Wines by Okanagan Crush Pad.

Interior

Situated on the 3rd floor of the River Rock Casino is Tramonto. They feature a beautiful dining room, which overlooks the Fraser River and the River Rock Marina. As you look out the window, there are gorgeous views where you can relax and enjoy a delicious meal with friends or family. The atmosphere is inviting and intimate.

They also have a private dining room that can seat up to 18 guests, making it the perfect setting for evening for large groups.

Tramonto Wine Dinner

The Tramonto Wine Dinner comes with a five-course meal complete with wine pairings, presented by Guest Speaker Mike West of HQ Wines.

You get the opportunity to learn about the history of Okanagan Crush Pad Winery and the wine pairings, selected with care by Tramonto’s sous chef, Kenneth Konkle. The dinner costs $100 per person plus tax and a 18% gratuity.

You can find the upcoming dinners listed on their website with menus and any extra details. You need to make reservations ahead of time.

Amuse-bouche: Northern Divine Caviar with on a tater tot and creme fraiche paired with a glass of Haywire The Bub

I was surprised (and excited) by the tater tot! Everything worked very well in the pairing of this dish and set the tone for the night.

The caviar and creamy tater tot paired well with the Haywire’s The Bub champagne – a light, crisp, refreshing champagne with the perfect amount of acidity and crisp apple notes to balance out the richness of the abuse-bouche.

Course 1: Foie Gras Ganache with peanut butter topped with apricots paired with a glass of Haywire Switchback

This is a dish that you get to interact and play with. The foie gras and peanut butter are combined to create a ganache that you spread onto the cracker. The apricot helped balance the dish and the flavours and textures worked well together.

I really enjoyed the pinot gris pairing. It was cool, refreshing, dry, and had notes of guava and stone fruit but also had a unique creamy mouthfeel and clean finish. This is something I’d definitely buy to try again.

Course 2: Heirloom Carrot Veloute topped with nori, pea shoots, and sprinkle of red pepper paired with a glass of Haywire Freeform White.

I don’t think I’ve truly tasted carrot until this moment. I couldn’t get enough of this dish! The sweet carrot flavour stood out and blended well with the other flavours and textures.

The wine pairing was a slightly orange-coloured wine that Haywire created with very little intervention, leaving it free to develop naturally. It smelled and tasted of tropical fruits initially and further developed to finish dry with a herbaceousness.

Course 3: Seared Digby Scallop on top of toasted wheat berries, corn, corn shoots, and chamomile cream paired with a glass of Haywire Chardonnay (unoaked).

This scallop dish was perfectly cooked and delicious! The corn and chamomile cream elevated the wheat berries. By this time I was already starting to get full. Again, the pairings worked well for this course.

Course 4: Roast Fraser Valley Duck Breast served with beets, berries, apple mash, and chard paired with a glass of Haywire Gamay Noir.

The duck was perfectly cooked and I could feel how crispy the skin was as I cut through it. The portions were generous and overall, this was another delicious dish. The gamay was lighter bodied, juicy, and had a fresh acidity that paired with the berries, apples, and duck.

Course 5: Miso Mascarpone Cremeux servied with caramelized white chocolate, a port marshmallow and marcona almond paired with a glass of Narrative Fortified

I was initially curious about this combination and wasn’t sure how i’d like it but the miso mascarpone cremeux was another favourite of the night. The miso flavour married with the mascarpone beautifully. It reminded me of a cheesecake but the flavours in it made my taste buds curious and wanting more.

The fortified wine wasn’t overly sweet nor did it overpower the dessert.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the food was delicious and portions are great, so you don’t have to worry about whether you’re going to leave full.

The 5-course meal with pairings is a great value for a special night out. You don’t have to go downtown for a fine dining experience. If you don’t live in downtown, it’s something worth driving down to Richmond for. Alternatively, it’s located right beside the Skytrain Station if you want to take a more environmentally friendly route.

The environment also makes a winery dinner enjoyable because of the intimate setting.

Address:
 8811 River Rd, Richmond, BC 

Website:
https://riverrock.com/promotion/tramonto-wine-dinner/

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In Noodles

Banh Mi Tres Bon: Vietnamese Cuisine in Richmond

Banh Mi Tres Bon is a new restaurant in Richmond by the Walmart Super Centre. I’ve heard lots about this place, so I decided to come here after work to grab some dinner with M before we went home. We don’t spend a lot of time in Richmond, but when we do, it’s for eating.

Interior

The space isn’t too large but can fit small to large groups if you come at non-peak hours. On a weekday, it did start getting busy later in the evening. There were other couples and families coming here.

Menu

Savoury Mini Crepes

This comes in a hot cast iron pan and has 7 pieces of mini crepes. This is one of their popular dishes. There is a jar of fish sauce that you pour into each slot and it starts steaming up due to the heat. As much as it looks great in a photo, I didn’t really like the taste of it as the fish sauce wasn’t the best pairing in my opinion.

Vietnamese Fresh Soy Milk

This soy milk is very unique and seems like it is infused with pandan, which was very nice and subtle.

Phở Très Bon

I got the beef tenderloin and meatball noodle soup. The broth was very clear and delicious with depths of flavour. There is even a piece of decadent bone marrow too. There were a lot of jalapeños but it wasn’t too spicy.

There is lime, bean sprouts, and basil on the side on this cute boat. You can add it to the pho to add more flavour to it.

Bánh Mì Jambon-house special

This has Vietnamese ham & braised pork belly. The bun is crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Delicious flavours.

Butter Garlic Chicken Wings

We also ordered some crispy chicken wings. Nice and crispy. It comes super hot and right from the fryer, so you’ll want to wait for it to cool down.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we were pleasantly surprised with the food here and we’ll definitely be back for more pho and banh mi.

Address:
4720 Mcclelland Road #1840, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.banhmitresbon.ca/

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In Hot Pot

Mr. Black Restaurant 黑桑: Meal Sets, Hot Pots, and Drinks in Richmond

Mr Black is a newer restaurant located in Aberdeen Centre Mall serving up Japanese and Taiwanese inspired tapas and meal sets. Mr Black is a little hard to find but it’s right above H Mart on the 2nd floor of the mall. They occupy the previous space of Guu Richmond.

We were invited to give a few of their dishes a try.

Interior

The interior is mostly black and concrete, so it has an industrial look to it. There is enough seating for small to large groups. If you want to see where all the action is at, the bar seats look directly into the open kitchen.

Menu

Strawberry Sparkling Water

This is made with sparkling water and real strawberry puree. You can even see the seeds and pieces of strawberry flesh on the bottom of the cup. Very refreshing for the summer.

Calpis

Their version of Calpis isn’t as sweet as the ones you find in stores. Pretty good.

Fried Diced Blackened Wagyu Beef

What is unique about Mr Black is that some menu items are black to play off the name of the restaurant. This wagyu beef is coated in their secret coating and what makes it so black is charcoal. It is served with shredded cabbage. This dish reminded me of lumps of coal but a delicious kind. It is topped off with come chili peppers to balance out the taste.

Fried Chicken

This fried chicken was really good! The chicken is moist on the inside and the skin and batter were so flavourful. Highly recommended.

Salmon and Mentaiko Korokke

These balls are a pretty good size. It has a potato and salmon mixture surrounding the mentaiko inside. When we were eating it, the salmon felt a bit lost as well as the mentaiko. We did like it overall with the wasabi mayo. The exterior was crisp and the middle was predominantly tasting of fluffy potatoes.

Hokkaido Milk Chicken Hot Pot

This was one of my favourite dishes, it has chicken, imitation crab, mushrooms, tofu, egg, and cabbage in the milky broth. It was very comforting an comes with a bowl of rice and slice of grapefruit. Highly recommended.

Halibut

The deep fried halibut is covered in a bread crumb crust and served with shredded cabbage, soup, rice and salad. A pretty well rounded meal.

Cheesy Mapo Curry Pork

This new items is one of their specials. It has rice, mapo curry sauce, deep fried pork cutlet filled with cheese in the centre and also some picked veggies. The dish also comes with soup and pieces of grapefruit.

As they cut up the pork katsu ahead of time, the cheese already oozes out, so there really isn’t that much inside as you can see.

Wagyu Beef

You get about 100g of wagyu beef that has been deep fried but still pink in the centre. There is also a hot black stone that you can continue grilling your wagyu beef. It is served with rice, soup and salad.

This dish was ok but I didn’t feel like the quality of the wagyu could really shine through.

Earl Grey Creme Brulee

This creme brulee is hiding under all this fruit. Great to showcase what fruits are in season. I really enjoyed it and it had a good amount of earl grey flavour.

Fried Banana

There were 4 pieces of fried banana with chocolate inside too. It was really crisp on the outside like a crisp wonton wrapper. It is also paired with a bunch of seasonal fruit too.

Duo Layer Mousse of Coconut and Soy Milk

This is served up in a skinny bottle and when you look inside, you can see the two different layers of coconut and soy milk mousse. The flavours were good and went well together, but the container was hard to eat from.

Final Thoughts

Overall, some dishes were hits and some misses. The ones I really enjoyed was the Hokkaido Milk Chicken Hot Pot, Fried Chicken, and Halibut. Those a good items to have for either lunch or dinner.

Address:
2790-4151 Hazelbridge Way
Richmond, BC

Website:
https://www.mrblackrestaurant.com/

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In Event

We ate at 32 stalls at the Richmond Night Market so you don’t have to

Richmond Night Market is one of the hottest places in Vancouver this Summer for locals and tourist to experience. The market has been open since 2000 and is one of the largest night markets in North America. We are very lucky to be able to experience the plethora of food stalls that attracts over 1 million visitors each Summer.

This year they are open May 11th, 2018 till October 8th, 2018.

The line ups to get inside will be long, so if you plan on coming often over the Summer, definitely try getting their zoom pass to get in faster.

This year, we were invited by Tourism Richmond and ChineseBites to eat our way through 32 food and drink stalls. We didn’t have to visit them all but we couldn’t be stopped.

Here is everything we tried:

Roasted Pork Hocks

Chef James Roasted Corn

Chef James Xin Jiang Man BBQ

[Recommended]

Senbei Japanese Seafood Cracker

 

Rainbow Churro in Ice Cream

 

Mamak La Mac and Cheese [Recommended]

Popcorn Shrimp

Big G Large Fried Chicken

Dumpling Master – Rainbow Dumplings

We are Difference – Chinese Donut Sandwich

Tsuga Fry House – Deep Fried Onion Flower

Sippy Tea – Roasted Milk Teaffee with Coffee Jelly [Recommended]

Okonomi Bites – Okonomiyaki Poutine

The Phamily Table – Braised Pork Belly

Milk Cha – Slip Cup Milk Tea and Baby Bottle Milk Tea

Asomi Mochi [Recommended]

Mr Crabzy – Stuffed Crab Claws

Whata Food – Brazillian Cheese Puffs

Chicking – Korean Style Pa Dak Chicken

Cupping 8 Cafe – Durian Tofu Cheesecake

Big Beard Super BBQ – Deep fried Squid [Recommended]

Big Beard Super BBQ – Lamb Skewers

Waffle Tower – Activated Charcoal with Golden Flakes [Recommended]

Tropical Bar – Pineapple Drink

Icy Bar – Summer Special Icy [Recommended]

Rotato [Recommended]

G8 Taiwan Kitchen – Taiwanese Stinky Tofu

Teppan Bossom – Korean Style Pork belly [Recommended]

Taiayaki

Cookies N Cream

Virgin Cocktails with Lights

Sugar Cane Juice

Final Thoughts

We made our way through 32 food and drink stalls. Some were hits, some were misses, and some were just plain gimmicks. There are still a lot more booths that we didn’t cover, but we were able to make a small dent into what is available. Hopefully this gives you an idea of the food and drinks available at the Richmond Night Market. By the end of the night, we were stuffed to the brim.

Address:
8351 River Rd, Richmond, BC

Website:
https://richmondnightmarket.com/

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