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Chinese

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Kitchen by Maji creates delicious Chinese meal prep kits for those who want a quick meal without the fuss. The owners behind Kitchen by Maji had a restaurant in Richmond called Maji, but decided to go the route of high quality meal prep kits to fill the need in the market for Chinese comfort food. I’ve seen a lot of meal prep kits around town, but its great to see more Chinese options that are really really delicious.

Everything is made at their Oak street location in Vancouver and they use high quality ingredients to craft these delicious meals. All items are freezer-friendly and have a good shelf life, so you can order a lot and not worry.

They aim to create these meal for those who want to prep their meals quickly and with little to no kitchen skills.

What I love about their packaging is that there are many ways to heat of the meals in their ready-to-serve packaging. Some dishes require a bit more time than others, but you won’t be disappointed.

They sent me a few kits to check out.

Delivery

They currently do free delivery if your order is over $120 for the Greater Vancouver area.

They are able to deliver to Burnaby, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Delta, New Westminster, Vancouver, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey, Tsawwassen, and White Rock.

If you don’t live in those cities, just contact them to see what’s possible.

Taste Test

We didn’t try everything on the menu, but I do prefer the saucy dishes where you can just pair it with rice. A lot of the kits feed 2 people, so that’s perfect for our little family of 3.

The noodle dishes were great as well. Love the handmade noodles that have a fantastic taste and texture. Each noodle dish does feed 1 person and you can stretch it out to 2 people if you want, but you may need something else with the meal to get full.

Don’t forget to add their spreads to your order as they are really good. A nice treat!

Beefy Beef Noodle
Chicken Laksa Soup
Deluxe Seafood Congee
Curry Braised Brisket
Milky Custard Paste

Top Selling Dishes

I reached out to them to ask what are the top 5 selling dishes so far and here is their answer.

  • Asian Style Beef Brisket
  • Taiwanese Traditional Braised Pork Belly
  • Curry Braised Brisket
  • Beefy Beef Noodle
  • Chicken Laksa Soup

All great choices!

Final Thoughts

I loved how easy the meals were to prepare and the cost is very reasonable. We enjoyed it so much that we put in a big order. Now I’ll have a freezer full of delicious food ready to go whenever I get lazy to cook lunch or dinner.

I highly recommend them if you want to give it as a gift. Great for new parents, grandparents, or just anyone who wants a good quick comforting Chinese meal.

Address:
8335 Oak St, Vancouver, BC V6P

Website:
https://kitchenbymaji.com/en/

Jingle Bao is located close to Denman and Robson serving up delicious buns, noodles and dumplings. Of those three items, the freshly made xiao long bao (XLB) is really what draws people in. The Signature Rainbow XLB and Supersize XLB makes it very instagram worthy.

We were invited to give their menu a try. We’ve dined here in the past and now we’re back again.

Dining In

When we were dining here, we saw they are using proper safety protocols during this pandemic to keep everyone safe. You can see all staff are wearing masks and there is plexiglass divider separating the dining area and preparation areas.

All guest were spaced far apart so there is proper social distancing.

Take Out and Delivery

It is always best to call them directly for take out as they retain more profit instead of giving a cut to the delivery companies.

If you do want to do delivery, they are on Uber Eats, Door Dash and Skip the Dishes for those in Vancouver.

Menu

Iced Lemon Tea

A classic drink made of black tea, sugar, and lemon. Can’t go wrong with this choice.

Hot Chrysanthemum Tea

If you’re looking for a hot tea, the hot chrysanthemum tea is served in a pot and is deliciously floral.

Signature Rainbow XLB

There is a colourful assortment of XLB in this bamboo basket. It has:

  • Classic (white)
  • Sriracha (pink)
  • Mushroom (brown)
  • Shrimp (orange)
  • Spinach (green)
  • Curry (yellow)
  • Garlic (blue)

Each XLB sits on top of a slice of carrot to prevent it from sticking to the bamboo steamer. It’s a very colourful dish. You’ll want to wait for it to cool down a bit so you don’t burn your mouth with the soup hiding inside the dumplings. The rainbow XLB is a great way to try a variety of their XLB on the menu. Our favourite was the mushroom truffle XLB.

Its hard to share, so we recommend one order per person so you can try them all.

Mushroom Truffle XLB

Just our luck that we also ordered a whole order of Mushroom Truffle XLB. We loved it. It has a very savoury umami flavour to it.

Crispy Snowflake Dumping

You can choose between pork, veggie, beef, chicken, or fish. We ended up choosing pork. The dish has a nice presentation. It is pan-fried and attached to each other like a snowflake, thus giving it the signature name. It is topped with green onions and spicy mayo sauce. The filling felt very soft and fell apart. We would have preferred it to be a bit firmer.

Taiwanese Salt and Pepper Chicken

This is a classic Taiwanese dish and it’s nice to have something fried to compliment the steamed items in the meal. All the chicken sits on top of a bed of fried vermicelli noodles. A solid dish compared to other places around town.

BBQ Pork and Seasonal Greens Chow Mein

It’s been a while since we had a chow mein dish and it also has seasonal greens in it. It’s not something we usually order but it was solid. Not too oily and good depth of flavour. This dish is good to order if you want more of a filling dish.

Seafood with Sticky Rice

In this sticky rice, it has tiger prawns, scallop, squid, onion and veggies served on top of a bed of sticky rice. The dish was bland and underwhelming. It could have been better executed.

Malay Cake

The malay cake is served in a steamer. It has good flavouring but was a touch dense and could have been fluffier.

Green Tea Sesame Ball

Each order comes with 2 pieces. This was one of our favourite items. It is nice and chewy on the outside. The inside has liquid black sesame inside. Absolutely loved it and its not too sweet. Highly recommended.

Final Thoughts

Overall, you can’t go wrong with their xiao long baos and theres such a variety. We enjoyed watching the chef craft each dumpling for the order and there are no secrets to them. Just good quality ingredients.

We definitely recommend some XLB and their green tea sesame balls.

Address:
774 Denman St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://jinglebao.com/

Cold Tea Restaurant has now taken over the spot of the historical Tsui Hang Village Restaurant. The veteran owners have reimagined the space and have filled a hole in the market through creating a modern dim sum experience with a Vietnamese twist that is laid-back and accessible to everyone.

We were invited to check out a few of their dishes at Cold Tea Restaurant.

The restaurant’s name is paying homage to the history of the building they have leased, as their predecessor, Tsui Hang Village Restaurant, was notoriously known for serving late night tea pots full of beer, which you could order as “cold tea” after legal serving hours.

Interior

The space seats 130 people seated and 160 people standing, but with the pandemic, they currently can only have a 80 person capacity with social distancing. The space is unpretentious, inviting, modern, earthy, with classic Chinese elements.

Garden Fizz

This cocktail has Hendricks Gin, Pimms no1, strawberry syrup, lemon juice, and egg white. It was a nice drink strong in flavour with citrus notes. The addition of lemon juice made it very refreshing. It is served in a tall glass served with strawberry and fresh mint.

Dark Tea

This mocktail has blackberry tea syrup, black tea, lemon, simple syrup, bitters, and coke. The dominant flavours were of the blackberry and black tea. You can taste the hint of bitters with the coke. There is definitely a lot of depth to this drink. The drink isn’t too fizzy because of the coke. It was a good drink served in a tall glass with blackberry and fresh mint.

Pork Belly Bao

This has braised pork belly, marinated cucumber, pickled red onion, sriracha mayo, and scallions. This bao has a very nice flavour and it was tender.

Big Bird Bao

This other bao has fried chicken thighs, marinated cucumber, pickled red onion, sriracha mayo, and cilantro. It was ok, but we did like the pork belly bao more as it fit more with our flavour preferences.

Vegan Potstickers

We tried the vegan potstickers and it has kobacha squash, coconut cream, and lemongrass. We normally wouldn’t have chosen this option, but the flavour combination surprisingly worked. We wished there were more pieces to an order.

Lai Fun Carbonara

This dish is definitely very fusion. It has lai fun noodles, 5 spiced cured bacon, cream, sous vide egg, parmesan, green onion, and chili threads. This turned out to be very good. It was flavourful and not too salty. Since they do use lai fun noodles, they are more soft in texture than regular al gente pasta.

Green Papaya Salad

This salad has beef jerky, green papaya, cucumber, red bell peppers, cilantro, mint, Thai basil, and a sweet and sour fish sauce. The flavours are very nice and refreshing. A good balance of flavours so nothing is too overpowering. The strips of beef jerky was really good. There is also a vegetarian option with tofu on the menu.

Vietnamese Coffee Creme Brulee

This was a good end to the meal. This has French roast coffee in the creme brulee with condensed milk.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we liked how each dish is thoughtfully put together and well balanced. They really nailed the combination of Chinese and Vietnamese flavours. Well executed and we will definitely be back.

Cold Tea Restaurant is a great addition to the neighbourhood.

Address:
1193 Granville St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.coldtearestaurant.com/

Times are changing with the Covid-19 pandemic and restaurants like Torafuku have created new menu items that are ready to be enjoyed at home. The Torafuku@Home is a new collection of heat-and-serve offerings featuring long-loved favourites and Kuan family recipes. It’s a great way to get a taste of their dishes without dining in.

The new Torafuku@Home dishes come in convenient packaging for storing or freezing; all meals can be prepared within 10 minutes. Each item or meal package is accompanied with reheating instructions. Most items are vacuum-sealed and require only a quick drop into boiling water to reheat.

All menu items can be ordered on their website at www.torafuku.ca

As a family of 7 (8 if you count the little spud), I built our dinner around the Family Meal for 4, then had a few extra items to add to the meal. We also made rice to stretch out the meal. Our family loves a taste of everything.

They have recently launched their regular menu for takeout and delivery. Now, you can have their classics like the Kickass Rice Bowl and Crack Salad. If you really can’t wait to reheat up the meal kits, these ready-to-eat dishes hit the spot.

Pick Up

Orders are available for pickup daily between 3:00pm – 5:00pm from the restaurant.

Delivery Options

Delivery is available for pre-ordered items and is complimentary for orders over $50 within Vancouver. Delivery to Richmond and Burnaby is available with a $10 fee. Delivery service is available daily between 5:00pm – 7:00pm.

Family Meal for 4

I got the family meal for 4 because it was a good way to try an array of items off their Torafuku@Home menu. This serves 4-5 people.

You get:

  • 2 x Yuzu Pomme Puree
  • 1 x Le Tigre Style Pork Belly
  • 1 x Sake Braised Beef Shank
  • 2 x Miso Veggie Chowder
  • 2 x Everyday I’m Brusselin’
  • 1 x Gone Fishing

They have instructions on how to reheat everything and it was easy. Since I was running around with the kid, my sister decided to reheat this slowly using a sous vide machine. Of course you don’t have to be fancy like us, but we just needed an excuse to use it.

Yuzu Pomme Puree

Mashed potato isn’t boring anymore! This has creamy and buttery mashed potatoes with house made yuzu butter and Japanese yuzu peels. It was a bit hard to wrap my head around eating dinner and having an Asian fusion dish of mashed potatoes. It was different but the yuzu was very fragrant and complimented nicely.

Le Tigre Style Pork Belly

The pork belly is braised with orange, star anise, and sweet soy. Tender and melt in your mouth pork belly. Remember to save the sauce and put it on your rice.

Sake Braised Beef Shank

These are sake and soy braised beef shanks with Torafuku house-made chili oil, house-mixed five spices, ginger, and shaoxing wine. This is also the asme beef shanks in the Beef Noodle for 2 kit. The beef shank is thick but still flavourful and tender. Very meaty and was enjoyed.

Miso Veggie Chowder

Miso vegetable chowder has cabbage, carrots, fingerling potatoes, Japanese Kabocha squash and onion. It’s not a thick chowder at all. It’s more like a soup.

Everyday I’m Brusselin’

This salad has grilled brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, balsamic black bean vinaigrette, crunchy chick peas, roasted almonds and crispy quinoa. It is so good. It’s always been my favourite dish. Highly recommended.

Gone Fishing

They take a whole market fish and deep fry it. It is paired with a tamarind sweet and sour sauce, mixed herbs, and fried soybeans sprinkles. This dish is great when you dine in at Torafuku, but the texture of the fish does suffer a bit.

Beef Noodle Soup Kit for 2

There are 4-5 pieces of sake and soy braised beef shanks, 1L of Torafuku beef noodle soup with hand-pulled white noodles (uncooked), Asian sauerkraut, and marinated soft-boiled eggs for 2 people.

The says it serves 2, but you can stretch it to make 4 bowls if you wanted to. The broth has a depth of flavour and a kick of spice. The beef shank just melts in your mouth and is so meaty. The noodles have a nice bounce to them and so enjoyable. Highly recommend this kit!

Pork Napa Stew

This is a traditional Taiwanese stew with marinated pork shoulder, Japanese Napa, shiitake mushroom, enoki mushroom and eggs. Add some rice to this dish and it soaks up all the sauce. The pork shoulder was nice and tender too.

Fried Egg Floss Cabbage Stew

This is Traditional style Taiwanese cabbage stew with wood ear, shiitake mushroom and house made fried eggs floss. Love the crunch of the wood ear mushroom. Definitely reminds me of home cooking. You will want some rice with this too.

Old Grandma’s Tofu

This is Mapo Tofu style with house-blended chili bean paste, green onions, garlic, ginger, and ground pork. There is 16oz in each pouch and easily reheated. It has a depth of aroma to this dish and it wasn’t too spicy at all. Very fragant and is amazing on rice to soak up all the flavour.

Three Cup Chicken

This has Taiwanese-Style saucey pan-fried chicken thigh with ginger, garlic, shaoxing, soy, basil and a touch of Thai chili. Another delicious dish that does great on rice. There is 20oz in the pouch, so its good for 2-3 people. Just make sure to make a pot of rice.

We saved the leftover sauce and added more chicken into it the next day to make a new dish. Their sauces are very very fragrant and can’t be wasted.

Ugly Zongzi (Frozen 2pc)

This is their Southern Taiwanese Style Zongzi, a special nostalgic food with flavoured sticky rice, marinated pork, salted egg yolk and mushroom. It is also paired with Torafuku’s house-blend special condiment.

Each Zongzi is smaller but the quality is nice and very very flavourful. That marinated pork with salted egg yolk is heavenly. It was good to have this in the freezer and ready to heat up either by boiling it or steaming.

I Love Dumpling (Frozen)

There are 20 pieces of frozen classic pork and chive dumplings. This is served with Torafuku’s house-made chili oil vinaigrette. Very good pairing. A quick boil for a few minutes and it’s ready. Very delicious and hits the spot. Can’t go wrong with dumplings.

Lucky Dumpling- Vegetarian (Frozen)

There are 20 pieces of frozen vegetarian dumplings with eggplants, wood ear, konyaku, kale, shiitake mushrooms, and gem tomatoes. This is also paired with the Torafuku house-made chili oil vinaigrette.

Another solid option as we always have frozen dumplings in the freezer. It was delicious and I loved the combinations of veggies inside.

Final Thoughts

Clearly, we have tried a lot of items off the Torafuku@Home. It’s a nice variety of items to choose from for families that are big or small. There are more asian fusion flavours and then the more traditional flavours inspired from Mama Kuan’s recipes.

As they do delivery and takeout, it’s easy to gift these items to friends and family or even enjoy for yourself. Of all the takeout options I’ve had during this pandemic, Torafuku is by far our favourite.

Address:
958 Main St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.torafuku.ca/

Like many Chinese restaurants, dining rooms are close and have to rely on delivery and take out. Chef James on Hastings is only during take out at the moment and we saw an ad in the Chinese paper for a great promotion when you order. I’ve never dined at Chef James on Hastings, but only heard raving reviews from customers. It was my dad’s birthday and we would normally go out to a Chinese restaurant to have dinner, that isn’t possible because of Covid-19. We opted to order take out.

It’s a pretty good promotion. No indication when it ends, but when you call to make you order, just say you saw it on the paper and on their Instagram.

  • Order $35+ and get free Hai Nam Chicken on Rice
  • Order $60+ and get a free Half Hai Nam Chicken
  • Order $80+ and get a free Curry Beef Brisket

It’s definitely a difficult time for all restaurants, so we try to do take out a few times a week to support local restaurants.

We ordered the items below:

  • Daily Soup
  • Deep Fried Crispy Whole Chicken
  • Peking-style Pork Chop
  • Pan-Fried Pea Leaves with Garlic sauce
  • Tofu and Rock Cod Hot Pot
  • Gai-Lan with Beef
  • Curry Beef Brisket

All the items were pretty good and we ordered enough for 7 adults. As this was takeout, the Deep Fried Crispy Whole Chicken wasn’t crispy anymore by the time it arrived, but it’s bound to happen. None the less, we loved everything else that we ordered. It was nice to have a Chinese meal together where we didn’t have to cook it.

Plus, the Curry Beef Brisket was definitely a highlight.

Final Thoughts

They only do online orders for pick up and delivery for a certain area. As we are outside of the area, we decided to pick up.

Hopefully once the pandemic is over, we can go dine inside Chef James on Hastings to experience what it is like inside the restaurant.

Address:
2683 E Hastings St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://jamesonhastings.ca/

Since we only make one trip outside a week from groceries, we have really been depending on delivery services to get us whatever will delivery to our home during the Covid-19 pandemic. I had mad cravings for Chinese buns, so when I was browsing through delivery apps, I discovered Pine House Bakery is close enough to deliver to us. Oh boy, was I super excited. A lot of the Chinese bakeries near us have either closed down or only do take out.

Pine House Bakery has many locations throughout the Lower Mainland. On UberEats, there aren’t a lot of options, so we picked up the pack of assorted sweet buns and another pack of assorted savoury buns. There’s no options to swap anything out unless some items are sold out.

Assorted Sweet Buns

This pack comes with 2 Coconut buns, 2 Pineapple Buns, 2 Red bean paste buns , and 2 Egg Tarts. All the items were decent. We didn’t like the red bean paste as there was too much bun and very little red bean paste. The ratio was really off. The best item was definitely the coconut buns. $14 for 8 buns was ok.

Assorted Savoury Buns

This pack comes with 2 BBQ pork buns, 1 chicken bun , 2 curry beef buns, 1 ham and egg bun, and 2 hot dog buns. Unfortunately, after we placed the order, they ran out of the ham and egg bun as well as the chicken bun. I just got an extra BBQ pork bun and curry beef bun.

All of the savoury buns were good and it hit the spot. $16 for 8 buns was ok.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was decent and it was the only delivery option to us in Burnaby. I paid a bit more than normal, but at least we got the convenience of having it delivered. The buns tasted ok. It’s not my favourite bakery but it will do to get my Chinese bun fix.

If you’re looking to have Chinese Buns delivered too, you can find them on Uber Eats.

The Fish Man (渔人) is located on Alexandra Road and specializes in Szechuan style Chinese seafood made with Oceanwise seafood where possible. In 2019, their Stir Fry Spicy Clams won Critic’s Choice Award at the Chinese Restaurant Awards.

The menu boasts an array of seafood-forward dishes, then there are some BBQ items that round out the menu.

Bo Li, is the man behind The Fish Man (渔人) who used to run Li’s China Grill in Vancouver before selling the operation to new owners. Li is a talented young chef creating stellar Szechuan style dishes.

Interior

The space is large and clean. It’s still a fairly new restaurant and I love the modern yet rustic look of the space. Great for small to large parties.

The menu is very customizable and is meant to be eaten family style. You can find the full menu at the end of this article.

Geoduck Clam Sashimi

The Geoduck Clam is freshly prepared raw as sashimi and paired with salmon roe and seaweed. There is also soy sauce and wasabi on the side too. This was very fresh and we really enjoyed it as an appetizer.

Stir Fry Spicy Clams

This award winning dish was so good! A good amount of spice and had a depth of flavour. The clams have a good amount of meat and natural sweet taste that compliments the sauce.

This was one of my favourite dishes of the night.

Ginger Onion Razor Clams

The razor clams were fantastic and cooked perfectly. Razor Clams are a bit tricky to cook as it is easy to overcook and become chewy. There was none of that and they really know their seafood. Under the razor clams were bean sprouts.

Baked Beach Oyster

The beach oysters come 4 pieces to an order and we got it in a garlic and motoyaki sauce. Both flavours were delicious but I just love how meaty these beach oysters are.

BBQ Lamb Skewers

The lamb skewers were deliciously seasoned. It’s a good appetizer to add to your meal and pair with beer. The lamb was tender, nicely seasoned, and had a good hint of spice.

BBQ Beef Tongue

The beef tongue had a similar spice to the Lamb Skewers. It was very thin, but still tender and delicious.

Spicy Local Shrimp

The shrimp were a little bit small in size, but they were nice and sweet. Perhaps it’s just the season. The sauce was delicious and spicy. Pairs so well together.

Grilled Catfish

You cane have the catfish prepared any way you like. You can select your sauce and side items. Ours had black fungus, bean curd, and quail eggs.The cat fish was very crispy on the outside and enjoyable to eat in this hot pot.

The broth was nice and spicy. I couldn’t get enough of it. Very delicious.

Sour Cabbage Tilapia Fish

This dish may look intimidating with all the red peppers, but this was so flavourful. The first few bites were heavenly. I was surprised as it was tilapia but they were able to cook it so well in this hot pot.

You can drink the broth too and its delicious.

Steamed Green Ling Cod

This was great as well. They really can’t go wrong with any fish they cook. Just so succulent and cooked perfectly.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed all the dishes. Well executed and so much flavour. I really love spicy food that has a depth of flavour to it. The fish is really main feature and I like how there are many varieties to choose from. Their execution is great and know how to cook seafood very well.

I’ll definitely be back and the prices are not bad too. If you love Szechuan style food, you’ll enjoy The Fish Man (渔人). I was very impressed.

Address:
8391 Alexandra Rd #1170, Richmond, BC

Website:
https://the-fish-man.business.site/

Full Menu

This is the menu at the time of publication and is subject to change.

Yauti Jr. Food Stall is located in New Westminster close to a few other popular restaurants. I have been on the hunt for some good hidden gems in the Lower Mainland and Yauti Jr. Food Stall caught my eye for their congee and rice rolls. Their Hong Kong style breakfast and lunch items seemed promising.

Interior

The interior is clean and spacious. There’s nothing up on the walls, so it’s a bit bare and stale. Lots of space for small to large groups.

Kids

They provide high chairs, which is great. We didn’t go to the bathroom, so we don’t know if there is a changing table in there.

Menu

Hot HK Style Milk Tea

The milk tea was served luke warm and in paper cups. As we ordered a lot of food to eat at the restaurant, it was weird that it was not in a mug. Looking at their beverage station, there were mugs. Not sure what happened here.

The milk tea is very mediocre.

Sweet Chinese Donut

It’s not often that you find sweet Chinese donut at restaurants. We gave this a try and its not bad. Just get some scissor to cut it up and share with the table.

Salted Chinese Donut

The salted Chinese donut goes great with congee. Just dunk it in the bowl and it’s a great accompaniment.

Crispy Chinese Donut Wrapped with Rice Roll

The portion size was generous. I was thinking it would be half the size. It comes with sauces to dip into. It was decent, not my favourite, but it will do.

Preserved Egg and Salted Pork Congee

We went with the classic Preserved Egg and Salted Pork Congee. It has a decent amount of preserved egg and salted pork in it. We were surprised the salted pork was slices rather than ground up pork.

Steamed Fish Sui Mai

I wasn’t a fan of this. It feels like the ones I’ve had frozen from the grocery store. Wouldn’t order this again.

Curry Fish Balls

The curry fish balls were meh. Nothing very excited about this. Wouldn’t order this again.

Final Thoughts

We ordered a lot of items, but nothing really stood out. We were very disappointed from the milk tea and it never really recovered from there. The menu has a lot more items we didn’t try as we stuck to breakfast items.

If we had to come back, I would just get the congee and the salted Chinese donut. They don’t take credit cards but will take Interac.

Address:
609 12th St, New Westminster, BC 

Harmony Bakery is a hidden gem in Richmond for their rice rolls and congee. Of course, they sell many types of Chinese baked good, but what is surprising is their freshly made rice rolls. There’s lots of rice rolls in Richmond, but there’s not many that blow your mind.

They are located inside the Central Square Plaza where Lido is also located.

Interior

The space only has 2 tables with 4 chairs. There is a counter on the right and more baked goods on the left. There’s not much to this place. They just do what they do best and bake goods.

Menu

Steamed Beef Rice Noodle

The steamed beef rice noodle is made to order and there is a good amount of beef inside and once you add some soy sauce over top, it’s fantastic. You can taste the difference. This was our favourite.

Steamed BBQ Pork Rice Noodle with Egg

Next, we had the steamed BBQ Pork Rice noodle and we added $1 extra to have it with a fried egg. This was pretty good as well. The rice noodles had a great texture and the bbq pork was good.

Steamed Shrimps Rice Noodle

The rice noodles were great like the other versions. This one was a bit more plain as the shrimp didn’t add too much flavour.

Preserved Egg and Pork Congee

They have a small and large size, but we just got a small size to share. It was decent congee and it paired really well with the rice noodles. It’s pretty cheap, so you might as well get it too.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we were very impressed by Harmony Bakery and their rice noodles with congee. If you’re in the area, its definitely worth the visit. Also, make sure you bring cash. Everything is super super affordable and cheap.

Address:
4231 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond, BC

Yue Restaurant has been a staple in Richmond and best known for their Hong Kong–style dim sum along with Cantonese dishes for dinner. They have won countless awards from the Chinese Restaurant Awards to Vancouver Magazine Awards.

A few years ago, they relocated to Alexandra Road and the space is stunning with a decent amount of parking. During peak dining times, it might be a bit tricky to find parking.

We were invited to try a wide variety of items from their dim sum menu as well as some Chinese New Year specialties.

Interior

Th interior is large and there are lots of round tables in their main dining area as well as private areas.

Photo Credit: VanFoodies

Dim Sum menu

Award Winning Dishes

Yue Restaurant has 3 award winning dishes on the menu – Steamed Prawn Dumpling, Baked Durian Tart, and Singing Beef Brisket and Rice Rolls in Pot.

Steamed Prawn Dumpling 水晶蝦餃皇

In 2015, their steamed prawn dumplings won Chinese Restaurant Awards Social Media Choice for Best Steamed Prawn Dumpling. There are lots of prawns inside without too much filler and the rice skin in a good thickness. I love eating this with XO sauce or spicy sauce.

Baked Durian Tart 泰式榴槤撻

This isn’t a dish for everyone, but if you love durian, its a must. In 2016, this won Chinese Restaurant Awards Critics’ Choice for Best Durian Eggtart.

I actually don’t see this on the menu that often at other dim sum restaurants, so it was nice to see a baked durian tart on their menu. The tart had a nice crunch with the creamy filling.

Singing Beef Brisket and Rice Rolls in Pot 啫啫牛腩腸粉煲

Another winner in 2017 at the Chinese Restaurant Awards Critics’ Choice for Best Stewed Beef Brisket With Rice Roll. It was really good as well. The beef was tender and the rice rolls had great flavour.

Steamed Prawn and Spinach 柳葉鮮蝦菠菜餃

Each order comes with 3 dumplings per order. The exterior skin is green in colour due to the spinach. The prawn and the spinach inside was very delicious. Also excellent with XO sauce.

Steamed Spare Ribs with Pumpkin 金蒜南瓜蒸排骨

Can’t go wrong with juicy steamed spare ribs. A staple dish in Cantonese dim sum. It’s something my parents order every single time.

Steamed Pork Dumpling with Crab Roe 蟹籽切肉燒賣皇

Another classic dish that is a must. There is a good ratio of pork and shrimp in the mixture, plus not too fatty either.

Deep Fried Shrimp and Cheese Spring Roll 蒜香芝士春卷

There was a lot of shrimp in these big spring rolls. I was very surprised by the size. The exterior was very crispy and the shrimp filling had a nice bounce.

Pan Fried Turnip Cake 臘味煎蘿蔔糕

An order of turnip cake has 3 big pieces. You can also cut them in half so you have 6 if you want a smaller piece. I did find it was a tad salty.

Pan Fried Sticky Rice with Dried Seafood 老茶居鳳凰煎米雞

Hidden inside this thin omelette is the pan fried stick rice.

Baked BBQ Pork Bun 鮑粵軒焗餐包

Another great item is their baked BBQ Pork Bun. It has a good amount of delicious BBQ pork inside the delicate bun. Highly recommended.

Steamed Rice Rolls with Beef 香茜牛肉腸粉

Their rice rolls are unique here as the ingredients are spread throughout the roll rather in the centre like other restaurants. The beef version was pretty good. Just pour a bit of soy sauce on top to add extra flavour.

Steamed Rice Rolls with BBQ Pork and Corn 金粟叉燒腸粉

Similar with the beef rice roll, but this has the BBQ Pork and Corn. Also very delicious and generous amount of ingredients inside.

Steamed Rice Rolls with 3 Kinds of Mushroom 香素三菇腸粉

You’ll definitely want to add some soy sauce to this one aw well. It has a good amount of mushroom flavour and good for mushroom lovers.

Steamed Egg Yolk Bun 黑金流沙包

The buns are freshly steamed and had the hot egg yolk custard in the centre. Just be careful eating it as it can just squirt out. I actually like to rip it in half and then eat it. It takes some skill to do that, so don’t be to aggressive with the bun.

Baked Egg Tart with Milk Puff Pastry 酥皮焗鮮奶葡撻

This is a treat as well. I’m surprised this hasn’t won any awards. Very crisp flaky pastry on the outside and smooth egg custard in the centre. I also like how it’s smaller and bite size.

Pan Fried Vermicelli with Beef and Bitter Melon with Black Bean Sauce 豉汁涼瓜牛肉煎米粉

I’m not a fan of bitter melon, but some people are. It was a solid dish with different texture throughout the dish.

Pork Hock with Maggi Sauce 美極豬手

The pork hock is cut up into smaller pieces and isn’t too salty either.

Fried Squabs 紅燒乳鴿

The fried squabs were ok. It’s hard to beat the ones from Hong Kong. Lovely presentation, but I would have liked the skin to be a bit more crisp.

Pork Rib in Special Spicy Sauce 將軍過橋骨

This is one big pork rib and it reminds me of a bridge. This is one of the Chinese New Year Specialty dishes. Some parts of it were quite dry and not as tender as I would have liked. With the amount of spicy sauce, it was quite salty.

Deep Fried Bean Curd Sheets with Prawn and Chives

Not too oily and it has a good amount of filling inside.

Tao Jiao Peach Resin Cake

A fun little dessert to have all by yourself, but if you have to, you can share too. It’s not too sweet and its the perfect little bite to end the meal.

Lychee and Sweet Olive Jello

I also enjoy this type of dessert too. Not sweet and very floral tasting.

Chinese New Year Specialties

Yue Restaurant is offering Chinese New Year specials between Jan 20 and Feb 9, 2020 for dinner time.

Yue’s Appetizer

The appetizers has a variety of items from jelly fish, baby octopus, surf clams, smoked salmon and braised beef shank. It’s a good item to order during dinner as guests can snack on it.

Braised Dried Oysters and Dried Black Moss in Bean Sauce 

One of my favourite Chinese dishes. It’s so saucy and so good assuming you like black moss and oysters.

Final Thoughts

Overall, dim sum at Yue Restaurant was really good. I was pleasantly surprised and would definitely make a trip to dine again. You can’t go wrong with dim sum. We tried a lot of items and they were either average or exceeded our expectations.

Make sure you call ahead of time for a reservation as weekend dim sum rush can be a bit crazy.

Address:
110-8351 Alexandra Rd, Richmond, BC

Bing and Noodle World is open in the Marpole neighbourhood serving up a variety of Chinese noodles and wraps. We were invited to check out a few of their signature dishes.

It’s great to see more and more restaurants opening up in this area as it gives customers more options.

Interior

Inside is very nice and bright with lots of tables inside. All of the tables are set up in 2’s and 4’s but if you have more people, they can adjust the tables.

Menu

Bings

Bing is a type of bread that is a Chinese bread dish made of wheat flour and stuffed with different fillings. They have a few different types on the menu. It’s not that easy to find Bings in Vancouver, so its good to see more variety in Vancouver.

We enjoyed the texture of the dough. They cut it up for you, so some corners might have more filling than others .

We tried 3 kinds – Pickled mustard plant stem with pork, minced pork with preserved vegetable, and beef pancake.

The pickled mustard plant stem with pork bing is our favourite. The pork has a great texture when paired with the pickled mustard. Can’t go wrong with that combination.

The best seller is the minced pork with preserved vegetable bing. There is also an option to add salted duck egg, which is also delicious.

Lastly, the beef bing was good if you really love beef.

Steamed chicken with chili oil sauce

This was pretty food. One of our favourite dishes. The chicken has a great texture and it’s not too fatty either. The meat is very moist and full of flavour from the sauces. Highly Recommended.

Spicy Cucumber and Beef Tendon

The marinated cucumber and beef tendon was a good combination. You get the crunch of the cucumber with the chewiness of the tendon, plus the hint of spice from the sauce. We enjoyed this too.

Braised Pork Bone

This was a newer dish on the menu and seemed popular because the tables around us ordered it, so we did too. Its good if you love braised pork with bones. Some may not like because of bones.

Deep fried boneless chicken thigh

The chicken thigh comes out big and thin. It is crisp on the outside and served with some pickled vegetables. It was another recommended item on the menu.

Fresh Meat Wontons

The wontons are small compared to the typical wontons from other places. This skin in thin and has good flavour when paired with the soup broth.

Shredded pork, preserved veggie and sliced bamboo thin noodle soup

Of course you gotta get noodles here. The soup broth come is bone soup and its thick, milk and delicious. It comes with a good amount of noodles. If you leave it for too long, the noodles tend to get soft and soak up the broth. Best to eat it right away.

Pan Fried Dry Noodle with Pork Intestine

We had to try a dry noodle dish too. We did find that the noodle texture quite different than the ones in the noodle soup. We did enjoy the texture more in this dry noodle dish. The dish was good but we wished there was a bit more sauce as it would make mixing the noodles a bit easier as it started to clump together.

Braised Beef on Rice

This was a really good dish. You get a good amount of braised beef. The beef was really tender and soft. It also came with 2 sides of picked veggies, which went well with the dish. Highly recommended.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we really enjoyed the steamed chicken with chili oil, pickled mustard stem with pork bing, and the braised beef on rice. They have a good selection of items on the menu and you’ll find something you like.

Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area for some comforting food.

Address:
185 Granville St, Vancouver, BC 

Heritage Asian Eatery is best known for their take on modern Asian comfort food and a signature menu of Far East-inspired fare such as baos, rice bowls, dumplings and noodles.

They are pivoting their menu to offer new Chinese BBQ items exclusively at their Broadway location including its own Heritage BBQ chicken recipe, soy chicken, BBQ duck, and BBQ Pork.

All they’re missing are roast pork and pork sausages. Either way, having 4 options is better than no options given the area. There really aren’t any Chinese BBQ options near Vancouver City Hall area.

The new menu is best eaten family-style, but if you want your own portion, they have the BBQ meats on rice.

We were invited to check out their new Chinese BBQ Menu.

Menu

Heritage Chicken

This is their signature item on the menu. I liked how the chicken was moist on the inside and the outer skin was thin and full of flavour. Very enjoyable. You can order this as a half or whole chicken, but unfortunately no individual portion on rice. Recommended.

Soy Chicken

The soy chicken was impressive as well with thin skin but the flavour penetrated into the chicken. Very moist as well. Highly recommended.

BBQ Duck

The BBQ duck has a nice flavour but I felt like the fat between the meat and skin could have been rendered better as a few pieces would have quite a bit of fat. This is served with plum sauce.

BBQ Pork

The BBQ pork is quite meaty, but I thought the the caramelization of the sauce surrounding the pork could have been better. It’s decent but not the best I’ve had.

Chili Wonton

The prawn wontons are served with chili and vinegar. This was really good and I like the amount of prawns in the wontons. That chili sauce is so good. We wanted them to jar it up and sell because we loved it so much. Highly recommended.

Crispy Wonton

These are golden prawn wontons and it is served with their house sauce. Great texture and it is very crispy on the outside and the soft bouncy prawns inside were yum. Highly Recommended.

Fried Edamame

I didn’t like the sweet and salty seasoning on the edamame and would have just preferred boil and salted. I totally understand their twist to fry it, but didn’t work out for me.

Wonton Soup

There is a few prawn wontons in the broth. It’s a good side dish if you want soup with your meal. It is large enough to share with a few people if you just want a taste.

Five Spice Chicken Wings

These are gluten-free chicken rubbed with their signature five spice dry rub. I wasn’t a fan of the coating around the wings and the red chili flakes were very potent for the pieces on top. It was a bit heavy handed.

Pork and Chive Dumpling

These are pan-fried pork and chive dumplings. These were ok, but I wished there was more filling.

Gai Lan

The gai lan is steamed and topped with crispy garlic and sauce. Sometimes you just need veggies as part of the meal and its a great portion.

Spicy Tofu

The tofu is crispy and served with their version of spicy gochujang sauce. That sauce is really nice and goes so well with the tofu. It is spicy, so I love the extra kick of heat to it. Highly recommended.

Milk Custard

They have seasonal toppings on their milk custard and it can be coffee, tapioca or a special. When we were here today, they had their brown sugar tapioca topping. It sounded very intriguing as you see the layer of milk custard on the bottom and the brown sugar tapioca on top. I wanted to like it but I felt the tapioca and brown sugar took away from the milk custard. It masked the taste of it so it had an overwhelming taste of the sugary syrup.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the addition of the Chinese BBQ meats is brilliant because this area needs something like this. Whether you are eating the items family-style or just getting your own portion on rice, it definitely fulfills those cravings. There is enough variety on the menu with the sides and share plates that you can craft an excellent meal.

They also do delivery and pick up, so if you’re looking for a quick lunch and don’t want to go outside, you can get it straight to your door.

Address:
382 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.eatheritage.ca

HQ Chinese Skillet is located on North Road and Lougheed Highway inside the same plaza as Insadong. We passed by and noticed it was new, so we decided to come here for lunch with family.

The dishes that they have are Szechuan style, so they use a lot of spicy peppers in their cooking. I was excited once I saw the menu since there isn’t that many Szechuan cuisine in the neighbourhood.

Interior

It is bright inside with lots of tables for groups. There is booth seating as well as larger tables. We also noticed that their wok is so powerful that it can be heard from the dining area.

Menu

Stir Fried Pork Slices with Pepper

This dish arrived at the table and it didn’t look like the image on the menu. What looked like green pepper on the menu was jalapeño in the dish. When we ordered it, the staff said it wasn’t very spicy at all.

The pork slices had great flavour but once you eat too much of the jalapeño, the spice really adds up.

Stir Fried Lamb with Cumin

The lamb was tender and the spices were really good with this dish. Can’t go wrong with lamb and cumin.

Cauliflower Dry Pot

There is Taiwanese Cauliflower in this dish and there were also pork slices, onions, red peppers, green peppers, dry chilis, and Szechuan peppercorns. Very aromatic dish with the chilis but those Szechuan peppercorns really numb your tongue.

Beef Fried Rice

The fried rice went well with the other dishes as it was the only non-spicy dish we ordered.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the food was good and you need to be able to handle your spice. I found the food very delicious and great for the Burquitlam area. The prices are a very fair and all the dishes are meant to be shared. If you come here at lunch, they do have some good lunch specials for individuals.

I would come back but probably not with those who can’t handle spicy dishes.

Address:
204-403 North Rd, Coquitlam, BC

Website:
https://www.hqchineseskillet.com/

Liuyishou Hotpot was founded in 2000 and has grown from a single location on a small street in Chongqing, China to over 1,200 locations around the world. Liuyishou Hotpot in Richmond is the very first location of North America and it’s become the first location to undergo the international hotpot chain’s recent brand refresh in North America.

After a 3-month renovation, Liuyishou Hotpot Richmond has reopened its doors with a brand new look.

We were invited to check out the space and try their signature items.

Interior

The space is bright and there are tons of booth seating. There is ventilation at every table, so you won’t be smelling too much like hot pot afterwards.

Menu

Selecting your broth

To being your hot pot experience, you need to select the types of broth for your table. You can choose your pot to have 1, 2, or 3 different broths.

Our table went with Liu’s House Special Soup Base, which is spicy and the Tomato Soup Base, a non-spicy option.

Sauce Bar, Fruit and Snacks

Don’t forget to visit the sauce bar to grab your sauce for the hot pot. There are also lots of fruits and snacks there to if you want something more to your meal.

Above the bar are signs with sauce recommendations, which I loved because most of the time I’m just putting sauces and ingredients together hoping it will be ok.

I made mine with mashed garlic, sesame oil, green onion and coriander. It was pretty good and I like how their sesame oil are in these cute cans.

We did grab some fruit for the end of the meal as its pretty refreshing.

Drink the Broth

Before you begin the hot pot, they suggest giving the broth a try, but only with the non-spicy broth. They scooped everyone a bowl to try.

Sliced Meat to order

What I really loved about Liuyishou Richmond is that their meat station is visible from the dining area, so there are no mysteries about how the meat is prepared. They use an industrial grade meat slices to cut all the meat so thinly.

House Special Beef and Lamb Platter
Hand Sliced Beef
Supreme Marbled Wagyu Slices (Small)

How long do you cook the items for?

Each setting has a piece of paper indicating how many seconds or minutes you need to cook a specific item. I thought this was quite handy so you don’t end up overcooking or undercooking something.

What to Order?

There are a lot of options from meat, seafood, veggies, and carbs on the menu to accompany your hot pot.

My favourite items besides the sliced meat were the beef balls, cuttlefish balls, frozen tofu, crown daisy, shrimp paste with roe, and fried bean curd.

The items were liked the least were the Pacific White Shrimp as it was weird that it looked like a frozen popsicle stick. It also took a bit longer to cook too. Another item that was disappointing was the Argentinian Shrimp because it wasn’t cleaned, so there was still the vein with the poop inside.

Hand Made Beef Balls
Hand Made Cuttlefish Balls
House Special Shrimp Paste with Roe
Deep Fried Pork
Duck Blood Cake
Fried Bean Curd
Hand Made Noodle
Pacific White Shrimp
Argentinian Red Shrimp
Frozen Tofu
Chinese Fried Donuts with Shrimp Paste
House Special Beef Tripe
Crown Daisy (Tong Ho)
Fried Buns with Condensed Milk
House Special Yogurt
House Special Yogurt

Final Thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed the hot pot experience at Liuyishou. What I do admire is how they have their meat slicing station in the open for all customers to see. All the meat is sliced to order and it hasn’t been sitting in a freezer for days.

My favourite dish was the sliced beef and lamb platter as it looks very unique and no other place has this kind of presentation. You can’t go wrong with any of their other sliced meats either.

Address:
4731 Garden City Rd #150, Richmond, BC

Me + Crepe is known for their traditional Chinese Breakfast called Jian Bing. They currently have 5 locations Greater Vancouver, so no matter which city you’re in, Me+ Crepe is somewhere close by.

We were invited to the Burnaby location inside the Old Orchard Shopping Centre for lunch.

Interior

The interior has 6 tables and its a good spot for a quick breakfast or lunch if you’re in the area. A lot of people were here for the lunch rush.

Most of the tables have chairs for 2 people. There was only one table for a group of 4.

Menu

You can check in on Yelp for an extra free egg or you can Instagram or Facebook a photo as well.

Soymilk

One of their popular drinks here is their soymilk, which you can order ala carte or as part of the combos. It comes hot or cold, but whichever one you decide, it both tastes delicious and goes well with the Jian Bing. I personally like it cold but my parents liked it hot.

Tea Infused Egg

This also comes with the combo, or you can get it free by checking into Yelp or taking a photo on Instagram or Facebook.

I really enjoyed the eggs and there was a good amount of tea flavour in the eggs. One of the better ones I’ve had so far.

Peking Duck

Crepes (Jian Bing)

We ordered a few of the different crepes on the menu.

With more than 23 ingredients that can be customized into each crepe, you can create any crepe and flavour you want (or pick from the menu of specialized crepes. I’m indecisive, so we got 4 of the pre-made ones.

  • Bing: Origin
  • Double Down
  • Lamb Cumin
  • Peking Duck

We got a mix with the Chinese donut and Fried Fritter. I felt that the fried fritter helped keep the shape of the crepe better as well it was more crispy.

All of them were pretty filling as combos. For the Bing:Origin, I wish I added a few more item inside to make it a bit more filling compared to the other three. Nonetheless, overall delicious.

Double Down (BBQ Pork & BBQ Duck)
Bing Origin
Cumin Lamb

Tofu ‘Now’

These items are so unique that I’ve never had anything like this in Vancouver. They are served hot and have a lot of flavour from the sauces.

We tried three different options on the menu.

  • Traditional Tofu ‘Now’
  • Spicy Tofu ‘Now’
  • Hot & Sour Tofu ‘Now’
  • Century Egg Tofu ‘Now’

These are essentially savoury version of tofu pudding. Of the four we tried, I liked the traditional Tofu ‘Now’ with the preserved and fermented veggies. It’s a unique taste and really reminded me of mapo tofu. If you like mapo tofu, you’ll enjoy the Tofu ‘Now’.

Hot & Sour Tofu ‘Now’
Traditional Tofu ‘Now’
Spicy Tofu ‘Now’
Century Egg Tofu ‘Now’

Final Thoughts

Overall, we were impressed with Me+Crepe. So many options and very customizable to your taste. It’s a quick and casual spot for breakfast or lunch. Highly recommend getting your crepe as a combo.

Address:
#27 4429, Kingsway, Burnaby, BC V5H 2A1

Website:
http://www.meandcrepe.com

Kuan Zhai Road is a new Chinese Restaurant on the Border of Vancouver and Burnaby. They specialize in Chinese BBQ, grilled fish and spicy food.

I saw a few friends loving this place, so I made them take me with them. I love Chinese BBQ skewers and spicy food, so this seemed like the place for me.

The parking lot is small, so it fills up really fast. Most people just park on the side roads as there are more spaces.

Interior

The space has small to large tables so you can come with a few people or lots of people. You can also call ahead to reserve.

The are booth-style seating and smaller rectangular tables too. The space is a bit dusty and cluttered with storage in the dining area.

Menu

BBQ Skewers

The menu has a variety of skewers cooked in an assortment of spices like cumin. Most of the skewers had the same spice. Our favourite varieties that we got were Taiwanese sausage, shrimp, chicken gizzards, and pork. There are more adventurous items like duck tongue and lamb testicles if you dare to try.

The skewers were ok, but one of my friends felt it was a bit bland and could have used a lot more seasoning. We did ask them for a container of spice to make it spicier.

Smashed Cucumbers

This was really good! A good balanced between the chili oil, and vinegar. It complimented the skewers very nicely.

Spicy Pot

On the menu, you can order their spicy pot, then go to the large fridge to select your skewers that will be boiled in the hot and spicy broth for $6.90.

Each skewer is $0.69 and doesn’t matter if it’s meat or veggies. We didn’t want veggies, so my friends and I went for all the meat.

Once you collect your tray of skewers, they clip on your table number so they know the skewers belong to your table. You would think this would be straight forward right? The first time the hot pot of skewers arrived, we looked at it and it had vegetables so we knew right away it wasn’t ours. They couldn’t find our pot, so they made us pick all our skewers again. This time, I made sure the table marker was the right one so it doesn’t go to someone else’s table.

It was definitely annoying but we decided to give it another shot. When the second hot pot of skewers arrived…there were vegetables again so that meant it wasn’t ours. As we told our server, I don’t think she believed us, so we showed our pictures of the skewers on our phones and how we do not get skewers with veggies because we are all about the meat life.

They took the pot away and gave it to the correct table and then tried looking for our hot pot. It was probably 15 minutes later until the finally found our pot.

We ordered medium spicy for our hot pot, but it wasn’t very spicy at all. I was surprised it wasn’t any hotter as some Chinese food can by really spicy.

Final Thoughts

This visit was definitely a miss for us. I’ve heard it’s really good. Either way, I did have patience so I wasn’t too bothered by the service as there was always some food at the table to nibble on. In the end, they did give us $30 worth of vouchers to use next time. They definitely have some kinks to work out.

Address:
3488 Kingsway, Vancouver, BC

Vitality Steam Seafood Restaurant is the winner of the Ocean Wise Sustainable Seafood award from the 2019 Chinese Restaurant Award. They are best known for their unique steamed seafood experience. It’s been very popular in China for the past few years, but finally it’s in Richmond, BC.

They have partnered up with a lot of local suppliers to ensure their seafood is Ocean Wise certified and is a sustainable choice to continue to keep our oceans healthy. Vitality Steam Seafood restaurant uses Blundell Seafoods, Fanny Bay Oysters, Ocean Mama Seafood and Tri-Star Seafood as some of their suppliers.

Interior

There are a lot of booth seating inside with the steaming contraption in the middle of the table. Best for people in groups of 4 or 6. It is pretty spacious inside too.

Fanny Bay Oyster with Pickle Congee

You can choose to have congee cook throughout your meal. When it arrives, they pour it into the bottom of the steamer with water so it will slowly cook.

What I love about this is that the juices from all the seafood drips into the congee, so you get a delicious seafood-infused congee in the end.

Very delicious and we liked it even more when we added a dash of soy sauce to it for salt.

Japanese Style Black Cod

Not everything on the menu needs to be steamed. There is Japanese-style black cod and its very delicious and fatty. Highly recommended.

Pan Fried Scallop

There are some pan fried scallops too. They were big and plump!

Live Spot Prawn

The spot prawns were definitely alive and jumping around before being put into the steamer. The spot prawns are in season so they were plump and sweet. The price per pound can fluctuate depending on the market price.

Live Dungeness Crab

The crabs are beautifully presented on an ice platter before putting them into the steamer. Having this steamed really highlights the delicate and sweet meat.

Live Scallop

The texture from the live scallop and the pan fried scallop is so different. This had a soft texture and you can really taste the quality. They also put in vermicelli noodles on top for steaming.

Live Manila Clam

The clams were fun to watch as they steamed. They would slowly open up to indicate they are done. The quality was really good and each clam was plump.

Deluxe Korean Abalone

Seeing the abalone steamed like this is pretty interesting as it’s usually braised. With steaming, it is a bit tough as it’s such a big piece.

Organic Shrimp Fried Noodles

The are fried noodles with organic shrimp if you want something a bit more filling to compliment the meal. The shrimp were plump and very delicious but the noodles were a bit oily.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s a new experience in Richmond featuring high quality steamed seafood with the Ocean Wise certification. Steaming is a good way to taste the natural sweetness and delicacy of seafood. It’s a fun interactive way to cook too.

If you love fresh seafood and want to impress some out of town family or friends, definitely check out Vitality Steam Seafood.

Address:
8500 Alexandra Rd Unit 140, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.vitalitysteamseafood.com

New Mandarin Seafood Restaurant recently opened their doors near Kingsway and Gladstone right beside the new T&T Supermarket. There is ample parkade parking and if you make a purchase, your parking is covered.

We decided to come here on a Friday at noon for dim sum since I saw that they had some pretty unique items on the menu. How can I resist not coming here? We made reservations an hour before we came but we still had to wait a little bit for the next available table to be ready.

Interior

There are lots of large tables and many VIP rooms and tables as well. For a Friday, this place was busy!! I can’t imagine what the weekend looks like here. The ceilings are high, lots of TV screens and a HUGE LED TV too.

I can see this place being a space for a lot of wedding receptions as they already have strobe lighting set up.

Do note that from the main entrance, there are a few steps to get to the front desk and main dining area, instead of going down the stairs in a treacherous manner, use the mini lift. Thats what we did for our stroller.

Dim Sum Menu

Ordering

What I found unique about this place is their ordering system. You can either fill out the form with pencil and give it to the staff to input into the computers or you can scan the QR Code at the table and input your own order to ensure no mistakes. It’s great because you know the price of each item as well as your whole meal will be prior to the dishes arriving.

Of course this app isn’t for everyone. I know my parents would not want to order with their phone as its such a strange concept. Some of the dishes are named differently in the app and on the paper ordering menu, so just beware. I submitted the order through the app and when the restaurant gets it, they print out the ordered items like a receipt and tape it to your table. They cross off each item as it arrives.

Rose Honey Sweet Potato Swan Crisp

This is all edible and very cute. Definitely a fun item to order as the whole table will want to take pictures of it. The exterior is very crispy and it reveals the sweet potato mixture inside. I didn’t taste much of the rose or honey in this dish. Nonetheless, it still tasted very good and I was surprised.

Panda Egg Yolk Steamed Bun

No pandas were hurt in the making of this egg yolk steamed bun. It’s a fun item to order for the table if there are kids or big kids at the table. It’s very delicious and has a decent amount of the salty egg yolk inside.

Steamed Black Garlic with Egg Yolk Sui Mai

I thought it was awesome that dish has a whole quail egg inside with the gooey centre. It was well executed and one of the favourite dishes of the meal.

Steamed Truffle Sui Mai

When this dish arrived, you can really smell the truffles. A good combination with the sui mai which I haven’t seem many people do for this dish. Highly recommended too.

Crispy Shrimp Dumplings

This was on the menu too and it’s interesting to see these deep fried instead of steamed so I was very curious about it. It does add a crispy texture to the dumplings but was missing something. Maybe like some sauce to accompany it.

Steamed Special Hot and Sour Meat in Soup Dumpling

This was like a Xiao Long Bao but filled with hot and sour soup and a chunk of meat. It was surprisingly really good and it has a kick of spiciness. If you have a very low spice tolerance, you may not like this. I personally really enjoyed this!

Steamed Carrot Buns with Mashed Taro

This is another cute steamed bun. You can tell your kids to eat their vegetables and be delighted that it doesn’t taste like a carrot. I found this bun to have a small amount of mashed taro inside so it felt like a lot of bun to get through. I wouldn’t get this again.

Steamed Beef Ball with Black Fungus

4 comes to an order and it was a pretty standard beef ball. Nothing too interesting. It is a staple dim sum dish for my family as we always order this during dim sum.

Steamed Cordyceps Flower with Chicken Rice

This was a filling dish on the menu with a bed of hot rice and topped with the chicken, cordyceps flower and veggies. Make sure you pour the sauce over the rice so it can soak up all of its flavours.

Moon Rabbits

This was a cute dessert made to look like rabbits. It tasted like a subtle coconut pudding. Decent but nothing spectacular.

Soufflé Topped with Almond Flake and Blueberry

This was a beautiful and big looking dessert made mostly with egg whites. On the outside, there are the slices of almond and in the centre there is a small spoonful of blueberry jam.

They cut it up into 4 pieces but it can serve a lot more than that. The taste was very bland and fell flat. It was missing something and we wouldn’t order this again.

Final Thoughts

It was a bit annoying to see some dim sum dishes come with 4 pieces and some other with 3 pieces. As a table of 4, sometimes we would have to half items or someone would be left without a piece and ordering another basket didn’t seem logical. Nonetheless, there are some very aesthetically pleasing dim sum that taste good too, and a few that were flops. My favourite items of the meal were the black truffle sui mai, Steamed Special Hot and Sour Meat in Soup Dumpling, and the black garlic quail egg sui mai.

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4650 Gladstone St, Vancouver, BC