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Kitchen by Maji: Chinese Meal Prep Kits in Greater Vancouver

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/

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In Chinese

Jingle Bao: Buns, Noodles, and Dumplings in Downtown Vancouver

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/

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In Chinese

Cold Tea Restaurant: Modern Chinese and Vietnamese Fusion Cuisine in Vancouver

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/

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In Chinese

Chef James on Hastings: Take Out and Delivery

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/

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In British Columbia

Pine House Bakery: Take Out and Delivery

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.

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In Chinese

The Fish Man (渔人): Chinese Seafood Restaurant in Richmond

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.

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In Brunch

Yauti Jr. Food Stall in New Westminster: Review

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 

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In Chinese

Harmony Bakery: Rice Rolls and Congee in Richmond

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

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Bing & Noodle World (好吃的饼) Review

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 

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In BBQ

Heritage Asian Eatery on Broadway Launches Chinese BBQ Menu

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

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HQ Chinese Skillet (川味坊): Szechuan Spicy Cuisine on North Road

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/

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Me + Crepe: Chinese Breakfast Crepe, Tea Eggs, and Tofu

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

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New Mandarin Seafood Restaurant 時代文華海鮮酒家: Instagram Worthy Dim Sum in Vancouver

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.

Address:
4650 Gladstone St, Vancouver, BC

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Freshbowl: South-East Asian Cuisine in Vancouver

Freshbowl is a family run restaurant with 2 stores in Vancouver. They focus on healthy South East Asian cuisine and put their twist on it so its non-GMO, hormone & antibiotic free, and MSG free. FreshBowl also has vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, organic and natural options available on the menu for those with dietary restrictions.

They also strive to be more green by using a lot of compostable materials to keep waste away from landfills.

I’ve passed by many times before and I always assumed it was a salad bar due to it’s look, but there is nothing but South East Asian cuisine here.

Interior

You order up at the counter and then find a seat to sit at if you’re dining in.

The space isn’t too large, but there are still a decent amount of seats inside for small groups. You can have larger groups here if you come early enough to snag the tables.

Menu

Thai Iced Tea

A classic drink full of flavour and very popular among customers. It tastes very good and has strong bold flavours of the tea. It’s not too sweet compared to other places in town and has a creamy texture because of the milk.

Hibiscus Tea

The hibiscus tea has floral notes, good strong flavour, and a touch of sweetness.

Chicken Laska

You can build your laksa how you want based on the different options on the menu. It was very yummy and tasty, plus the noodles were nice and soft in texture. The laksa is served with veggies including kale, beansprouts, some red cabbage, cucumbers and carrot.

The chicken in this dish are small bite size pieces and is tender, beautifully presented. Can’t go wrong with that laksa broth either. This bowl was devoured quickly and it’s not too large.

Prawn Pad Thai

They use fresh tamarind in the dish and it really shows to build up the flavours. It tasted good but the noodles were broken for some reason. There could have been a touch more acidity in the dish. They also don’t use fish sauce as it’s hard to find one that is preservative free. The prawns are also OceanWise certified.

BANELLA Roti

Eat this when it comes out fresh so the roti stays very crisp. It is made in house with the banana and Nutella filling. There’s not a lot of filling but the flavours are there. It has a good level of sweetness and can be a shared dessert for those who just want a taste.

Final Thoughts

It’s a good option in the area as there aren’t a lot of healthy South East Asian restaurants options around in the area. If you’re looking for something healthy, definitely check out Freshbowl.

Address:
1128 Pacific Blvd, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.freshbowl.ca/

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Joojak Restaurant: Xian Cuisine in Vancouver

Joojak Restaurant specializes in Northern Chinese Cuisine, specifically Xian. I love this type of food known for their use of chili oil in their dishes. A lot of fragrant spices and its drool worthy.

I’ve been trying to go to a lot of restaurants specializing in Xian cuisine and this has been recommended a lot, so I had to come here and take my parents for lunch. Then I went an additional time with some friends to order more.

Interior

The space is quite small, so only 4 tables. 3 of the tables seat 4 and 1 table seats 6. As we came around 12:30pm on a weekday, it wasn’t hard to get a table for 3 people. On weekends, it will be much harder, so best to show up at 12 when they open.

Menu

Steamed Chicken with Chili Sauce (Saliva Chicken)

Don’t worry, there is no saliva in this chicken dish, it’s just a direct translation. This is one of their most popular dishes that you have to get. It has cold steamed chicken covered in their delicious chili sauce and under it are some pickled veggies. Highly recommended. It has a kick of heat but its so fragrant. The sauce is amazing!!

Spicy Fried Chicken Wings Griddle Cooked in Pot

This is essentially fried chicken wings and fries in a delicious chili and black bean mixture. Another item the staff highly recommended. It was good! Definitely not healthy at all but we couldn’t stop eating it.

Dumplings in Spicy Sour Soup

We got this with pork and chives dumpling and there were 12 pieces in total. It has a good hint of spice and not too overpowering and is balanced by the sourness.

Lamb and Green pepper Burger

This is a Xian specialty item. One of the better burgers I’ve had as the meat wasn’t too moist that is soaked the bun. The bun was crisp and everything held together very nicely. The cumin, garlic and Jalapenos went well with the lamb.

Spinach Biang Biang Noodles with Chili Oil and Pork

This dish was ok. The noodles were a bit overcooked so it wasn’t as firm. All the other dishes were excellent but this one was a let down. It could have use more chili oil too.

Biang Biang Noodle with Pork Meat and Hot Chili Oil

Similar to the dish above but with the regular biang biang noodles. It was a tad overdone as well, so the noodles didn’t hold together as well.

Xian Cold Noodle with Gluten and Sesame Paste

Mix this dish very well. It wasn’t too spicy and needed more sauce, so what we ended up doing was taking the extra Saliva Chicken chili oil and added it to these noodles and it really elevated this dish.

Fried Green Beans

We needed some veggies to go with our carb filled meal. It was a good balance of a mild spice and went well with the meal.

Final Thoughts

The best part of the meal was really the saliva chicken and most people order this at their table. The burger and dumplings are also very good too. It’s just too bad the biang biang noodles were a bit subpar. Nonetheless, still very good Xian cuisine in Vancouver.

Address:
3337 Kingsway, Vancouver, BC

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Alvin Garden: Szechuan Cuisine in Burnaby

Alvin Garden is located in South Burnaby just behind Metropolis at Metrotown. They have been around for many years specializing in Szechuan cuisine. They have been recipients of the Chinese Restaurant Awards and Vancouver Magazine restaurant Awards for many years and is quite reputable. It’s actually located close to our home but we never came here until now. I wanted to take my family somewhere we havn’t been before so this was a perfect opportunity.

Scroll to the bottom of the article for the whole menu. (All 23 pages hahaha).

Interior

The interior isn’t that special but the space did fill up quite quickly, so I was glad I made reservations ahead of time. If you’re coming in on a weekend, doesn’t hurt to have a reservation.

Soup

We started with a large soup containing lettuce and taro. Surprisingly very flavourful and delicious. A large size for 7 of us was perfect so everyone can try it and get seconds if they like it.

Stir Fried Beef and Onion

This was also a very flavourful dish. Remember to get a bucket of rice on the side to soak up the juices. Very good portions too.

Mouth Watering Chicken

This is a must order dish and highly recommend. It is delicious and tender cooked chicken with chili oil and peppers. Even though it looks spicy, it has a good amount of fragrant peppers that isn’t mouth numbingly spicy. Those who can’t tolerate too much spice also enjoyed this dish.

Tea Smoked Duck

You can get this as a half duck or a whole duck. For the 7 of us, we opted for the half as we had quite a few dishes ordered. It was a good size as there are a lot of pieces.

Good flavour of the tea and smokey flavours penetrating the meat. Very enjoyable.

Stir-fried Garlic Bolt with Hunan Smoked Pork

Another popular dish on the menu, I love the garlic bolts as its like a mild green onion and garlic combination. Pairs well with the pork slices very nicely.

Cumin Lamb

This is a very popular dish and I love the cumin spices with lamb. So good! It also has red peppers and green onions. The lamb is tender too.

Dongting Broiled Fish in Chili Soup

Even though you see all the chili oil and red peppers, it’s not too spicy at all. Very good amount of fragrant spice that won’t numb or sting your mouth badly. Highly recommended as the dish is very moist and tasty.

Cauliflower with Hunan Chili and Pork

This was the last dish to arrive and it looked like most tables ordered this too. It has cauliflower, thin slices of pork belly in their Hunan Chili oil.

Final Thoughts

We really enjoyed Alvin Garden for their Szechuan cuisine. The prices are very fair and the food is well executed. All the dishes were a hit and none of them were disappointing. Even with all the peppers, its still a good place to have spice and non-spicy eaters all at one table.

Address:
4850 Imperial St, Burnaby, BC

Menu

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Good Mong Kok Bakery: Take Out Dim Sum in San Francisco

Good Mong Kok Bakery is a popular spot for homemade dim sum and baked goods in this tiny shop. They are located in Chinatown in San Francisco. As we arrived on a weekend in the morning, there was already a long line up. Since we wanted a small snack and had some time to kill, we thought we would give this place a try.

Don’t forget to bring cash.

Line Up

Everyone self-organizes themselves into a line, so you just need to ask around to find the end of the line. The line up was long when we were here but it moved at a decent pace.

Interior

The space is very small and cramped inside and it is to go only as there are no seats. Dim Sum and buns are pumped out constantly from the shop. When you get your order, don’t forget to ask for utensils if you’re eating it nearby.

If you come later in the afternoon, they sell out of popular items so don’t come here too late or else you’ll be out of luck.

Menu

Shrimp and Chive Dumplings

It comes with 3 pieces each and it’s very very affordable. The skin was a bit thicker than what I normally like, but the shrimp and chive filling inside was good.

Sticky Rice Ball

The big round thing on the right side if a big ball stuffed with sticky rice. Something interesting that I haven’t seen that often.

BBQ Pork Bun

The BBQ pork bun was big and had a good amount of filling. Sweet and meaty. Highly Recommended.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I thought this Good Mong Kok Bakery was ok because I come from a city that has some of the best Dim Sum in the world. If you’ve never had dim sum before, you’ll enjoy this place. Just know its not very typical to have dim sum for take out. I personally prefer to sit down at a restaurant to have dim sum.

Address:
1039 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA

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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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