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 PlatterHand Sliced BeefSupreme 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 BallsHand Made Cuttlefish BallsHouse Special Shrimp Paste with RoeDeep Fried PorkDuck Blood CakeFried Bean CurdHand Made NoodlePacific White ShrimpArgentinian Red ShrimpFrozen TofuChinese Fried Donuts with Shrimp PasteHouse Special Beef TripeCrown Daisy (Tong Ho)Fried Buns with Condensed MilkHouse Special YogurtHouse 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.
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.
The Dolar Shop is a global chain specializing in premium hot pot experiences with 52 locations and over 3000 employees worldwide. This is their first location in Canada.
Each customer orders their own individual hot pot and then shares all the other dishes at the table. A great way to do hot pot and not share any germs.
I was invited by The Dolar Shop and I brought my parents and sister to experience this type of hot pot.
Waiting Area
The waiting area is pretty nice. There is a claw machine for kids, snacks, hot tea, and even complimentary phone chargers. I was definitely impressed as they really care about their guests even before they begin dining.
Interior
The restaurant has a lot of booth style seating and great for small to large groups. Each table/booth has their own indiction stove for everyone’s individual hot pot.
The space is very comfortable and mostly has white decor, which makes it look very clean and enjoyable.
30% off Deal
If you dine at Dolar Shop on Monday – Friday between 2pm – 5:30pm or 10 pm – 12am, you get to enjoy 30% off your entire bill (except alcohol).
You must begin dining at 2pm and finish by 5:30pm to get the deal. Be sure to follow them on their social media account for more details as this deal is available at the writing of this article and might be subject to change.
Appetizer, Fruit and Sauce Bar
For an additional $3.99, you get access to the sauce bar as well as appetizers and seasonal fruits. You do get The Dolar Shop Sauce made right at your table, but if you wanted a few different flavour options, the sauce bar is a great choice.
Look at all those sauce combinations that you can create!
There are 3 different kinds of appetizers.
It’s nice to have some fruit and appetizers to nibble on before the meal begins.
The Dolar Shop Sauce
They make the Dolar Shop Sauce table side with green onions, garlic, cilantro, Thai chili and soy sauce. If you don’t like spicy, you can omit the Thai Chili. Its nice to see they make everyone’s sauce in front of the table and it’s delicious too.
Soup Base
There are 6 different kinds of broth to choose from and they are around $6 – $9 per pot. I personally like the combination so I can dip the meat into the spicy portion and veggies into the non-spicy side.
Combination of Szechuan Hot & Spicy with The Dolar Shop Spare Rib BrothPepper Pork Tripe and Chicken BrothPork Leg Bone BrothMushroom Broth
Balls and Paté
It’s not a hot pot without balls and paté right? They don’t have a large selection of balls or paté on the menu, but it’s very tasty and fresh.
Secret Agent Balls (Secret Off Menu Item)Noodle Forming Shrimp & Fish Paté
Meats
There is a large selection of beef on their menu and some lamb. The quality of the items were really good and they offer premium beef like wagyu and A5 Miyazaki Beef. All very delicious as well.
Selected Beef Platter with boneless short rib, boneless beef plate, beef tongue, and wagyu cubesA5 Miyazaki BeefThick Cut WagyuCrispy Pork
Seafood
Their seafood options are pretty large too with live seafood sold at market price, so the price does change depending on the season. They have tanks of seafood so they are very much alive.
To get a taste of the seafood menu, the deluxe platter is a great option.
Deluxe Platter with Shrimp paté, jumbo scallop, wagyu cubes, King Crab Legs, raw oysters, and white shrimp.Sea Cucumber Meat
Fungi
Mixed Mushroom Basket with wood ear mushroom, enoki mushroom, oyster mushroom, Shimeji mushroom, shiitake mushroom, and king oyster mushroom.
Vegetables
Gotta have veggies to balance out the meal.
Veggie Basket with napa cabbage, lettuce, snow pea sprouts, spinach, tong ho and purple lettuce.Fried Bean CurdFrozen tofu, Seaweed Knots, Quail Eggs and Gluten
Starch
Tri Colour Hand Crafted Noodles
Complimentary Ice Cream
At the end of the meal, everyone gets complimentary ice cream. The cone is nice and crisp and the vanilla soft serve is filled all the way down into the cone, so you get a lot of ice cream.
It was a perfect end to the meal.
Final Thoughts
My family and I were impressed by The Dolar Shop! The service was great and the staff was very informative and gave a lot of good recommendations on what to order as the menu is a bit overwhelming with so many choices.
A lot of the ingredients we ordered with our hot pot was very fresh and flavourful. You can decide to be more fancy by othering the platters if you have guest you want to impress or go with the other cheaper options. It is still more expensive than some other hot pot options in Vancouver, but you are going to get great service, and quality ingredients here.
I like the use of the individual hot pots as you don’t have to share broth and spread germs. Plus, it’s just nice to have different hot pot broths.
Chun Yang Tea has opened up their first North American locations in Richmond, BC and two in Ontario. They are best known for their black teas, use of real milk, and the Brown Sugar Pearl with Fresh Milk. They also have soy as a milk alternative so great for those who are lactose intolerant.
As were were in Richmond, my friends really wanted to go as we heard great things. I love bubble tea, so it was a no brainer to give it a shot.
Interior
The interior is really small. There are maybe around 9 chairs. Most people grab their drinks to go. You definitely don’t want to come here with a large group.
Chun Yang Black Soy Milk Tea with Pearls
This has a layer of the pearls, soy milk and then the black tea on top. It’s nice to see the layers between each item.
Chun Yang Black Soy Milk Tea
This is the drink without pearls. The drink was ok but the black tea needed to be stronger. At 100% sweetness, this was ok but could be a tad less.
Chun Yang Oolong Soy Milk Tea
The oolong tea isn’t as dark as the black tea but it does have a nice fragrance to it. 50% sweetness is good but I wouldn’t recommend going any lower than that. The soy milk was a good option even though I’m not lactose intolerant.
Final Thoughts
It’s good that they have soy, sugar and ice level options. With the oolong and black tea, we wished it was stronger with perhaps less milk. We did enjoy it with 50% sugar and any lower would make the drink too watery tasting.
My other friend ordered the popular Brown Sugar Pearl with Fresh Milk and really enjoyed it.
Hot Star Large Fried Chicken is open in Richmond and is a chain restaurant originating from Taiwan. They are best known for their massive chicken cutlets served in a white and blue sleeve. It’s essentially the size of your face.
My friend wanted to come here for her birthday, so we made sure to come here right when it opened on the weekend to avoid any lines. It has been a month since opening, but they are still in soft opening phase and a lot of the menu items are still coming soon. We thought it would be smoother by now but sadly not.
Interior
There are tables and seats on either side of the restaurant. Most people we saw did get it to go. We personally loved eating it when it’s hot and crispy.
Menu
Original Large Fried Chicken
This comes in a few varieties – Salt + Pepper, Spicy, Seaweed, Plum, and Curry. They didn’t have a lot of these flavours so we went with Salt + Pepper and Plum.
Salt + Pepper reminded us of a huge Taiwanese Salt and Peppery Chicken but in a cutlet format. Definitely our favourite of the bunch. The exterior was crisp and the inside was moist and flavourful.
Plum on the other hand was similar but had the sour plum notes in the batter. I still prefer the Salt + Pepper flavour.
Crispy Large Fried Chicken
This comes in 2 flavours – Spicy and Seaweed. We went with Seaweed. You can tell right away that the batter is different than the other set of chicken, plus the seaweed sprinkles are on the outside. The seaweed flavour does come through.
Popcorn Chicken
We got it spicy (medium) and it was similar to the large cutlets in terms of flavour. For $7.99, it’s very expensive for what you get. I would rather get the big pieces of chicken for better value.
Plum Sweet Potato
I was really into this and one of the most surprising items we tried. The soft sweet potato is very delicious and the batter on the outside is crispy and has a crunch to it. The textures worked very well. In terms of flavour, the sweet and salty of the plum and sweet potato worked well.
Fried King Oyster Mushroom
I did enjoy the mushrooms since I am a huge mushroom fan. A bit of crunch on the outside and the juicy mushrooms hiding inside. This item is pricey for the amount that you get.
Taipei 101 Corn
This big piece of corn has nice flavour and was surprisingly juicy and sweet. A hard item to share but if you wanted to have it all to yourself, that works too.
Fried Vegetable Spring Rolls
Each order comes with 5 pieces and these were pretty average spring rolls. Nothing interesting at all. I would pass on these.
Fried Buns
The fried buns has a few options of bun filling – Creamy Custard, Taro, or Black Sesame. We went with creamy custard since it sounded good.
These came piping hot but the creamy custard was sweet and not that creamy. Not what I imagined for the custard.
Blue Curacao Yogurt
There a a bunch of non alcoholic drinks on the menu. They are all very colourful and sweet. The Blue Curacao Yogurt was sweet and tasted like those asian yogurt drinks. It was ok but we wouldn’t get it again.
Final Thoughts
We are still waiting for many of the menu items to be available but still no idea when. We ordered almost everything that was possible to order off the soft opening menu. We had our eyes on the hot cheese fried chicken but sadly not available yet.
Everything is essentially deep fried but it took a very long time for our order to come out. We were the first group there and everyone else after also had to wait a long time for their order too. Given that they are in the soft opening phase, hopefully it improves. You don’t want to order here if you’re in a rush or short on time.
For what we could order, the only items I really liked were the Salt + Pepper Original Chicken and the Plum Sweet Potatoes. Everything else I wouldn’t get again.
Address: 1623-4791 Mcclelland Road, Richmond, BC V6X 0M5
We are back at the 2019 Richmond Night Market to cover a lot of food stalls this year. Some new, some old, but always an exciting time to visit one of the best Night Market’s in North America. It’s open now and runs until October 14, 2019.
Admission
The line up to get into the night market can be long. It is $4.75 for adults and free for children (under 8) and seniors (60+).
Want to skip the long line for express entry? Check out their Express pass for $28, which gives you 6 entries to the night market and is transferable to others. It’s good for those who know they are going to the night market several times this Summer.
Shops
When you get to the night market, you’ll see a lot of stall side by side selling things from Korean socks, stationary, jewelry, and a lot more.
If you’re a food lover, skip this and go straight to the back for all the food stalls. You have time to shop later and not have your hands full with stuff you’ve bought.
Entertainment and Games
There’s always something going on at the night market with performances, games, and photo opportunities all over. Don’t be distracted just yet and go straight to the food stalls. There is time for entertainment later.
Food
This section is the big draw to the night market. Food, food, food and more food! Below is everything we had and if we recommend it or not. As we went to 37 stalls, it will be very brief.
La Meza Grill: Taco Trio (Lechon, Pork Sisig, and Tofu Sisig) [Recommended]
We loved the flavours of these tacos. Bite size and super delicious! If you ever get a chance to dine at their North Delta restaurant, it’s one of my favourite Filipino Restaurant in Metro Vancouver.
Afghan Yum: Mantu
These Afghan dumplings are definitely different and unique. Good flavours.
Rotato: Sour Cream and Roasted Garlic Pepper
A classic item to get at a night market, but make sure to go early or else the line up can get pretty long. You can choose a variety of flavours for your rotato.
You can find this at a few retailers across Metro Vancouver, but their recently launched cheesecake mochi is pretty darn amazing if you like sweet mochi desserts.
Milk Cha
They are best known for their quirky colourful drinks in a baby bottle. They also have duo drink cups where you can choose 2 kinds of flavours off the menu.
MacSnacc: Four Cheese Mac n’ Cheese
This is massive and definitely really good to share among a group as you’ll probably get full off this.
iTofu: Tofu Parfait
Winner of the 2019 Chinese Restaurant Awards for best Tofu pudding in Vancouver! Really beautiful and delicious.
Big Beard: Skewers and Deep-Fried Squid
Richmond Night Market staples include assorted skewers and deep-fried squid. Great items for those who are going to the Night Market for their first time.
Mr. Crabzy: Deep-Fried Crab Claws
It is pretty expensive but if you want a solid deep-fried crab claws, this is the place.
Fluffy Souffle: Strawberry Soufflé Pancake
It takes a while for them to crank out these soufflé pancakes at the night market and come in a variety of flavours. The concept is very popular across Metro Vancouver, but this is the only place you can get it at the night market.
Say Cheese: Rainbow Grilled Cheese
This is the most instagrammable item to get this year at the night market. It is $6.50 and is visually stunning. They do add condensed milk into their grilled cheese, so it’s a bit sweet and savoury. Definitely not for everyone.
Mango Yummy: Mango Shaved Ice [Recommended]
Long time Richmond Night Market vendor – Mango Yummy is a must for their mango shaved ice. The summer time is perfect as mangoes are ripe and super sweet.
Chef James: Skewers and Roasted Corn [Recommended]
Chef James is the one place at the Richmond Night Market to get skewers and roasted corn. Really delicious and while you wait, it’s fun to watch them make all these skewers on the open flame.
Zzim Drumsticks: Spicy Drumstick with Rice Cakes [Recommended]
These are delicious and the sweet, savoury and spicy notes from their sauce is so good with their tender drumsticks and chewy rice cakes.
Salty’s Lobster Shack: Chowder and 1/2 Lobster Roll, Full Lobster Roll, Lobster Toast
Lobster, lobster, and more lobster. This is where you can get a taste of the East Coast on the West Coast.
Fusion Wrap: Kimchi Beef Wrap
A handheld meal wrapped up with a lot of good flavours. The roti-like wrap works well.
Sugarcane Juice
If you’re ever wondering what sugarcane tastes like, they have this at the night market freshly squeezed.
Tuk Tuk: Original Panna Cotta with Thai Cookies [Recommended]
The talk of the 2019 Richmond Night Market. A great dessert and the Thai cookies add such a great texture to the soft and smooth panna cotta.
Teapressu: Matcha Parfait with fresh fruit and twist soft serve on top
Cool down with some matcha parfait at Teapressu. Teapressu is best known for their delicious bubble tea but they recently launched their parfaits.
This is like carnival eats at 2 Sweet Guys. Very decadent and will satisfy your sweet tooth cravings. They also pride themselves for their deep-fried watermelon that has a very interesting texture that messes with your taste buds.
Mangoo: Rainbow Drink
Layer upon layers of different slushies to create this rainbow-like beverage.
Okonomi Bites: Tonkatsu Poutine
Poutine with a Japanese twist is what Okonomi Bites is all about. They solid out of their cheese tonkatsu version but we got their regular tonkatsu poutine.
Taco Tigre
They have fusion taco flavours like beef pho taco, chicken banh mi taco and 5 spice pork belly taco.
Nori Express [Recommended]
Sushi Noritaco with Tuna (Yellowfin Tuna, eel, sauce, veggies, and rice) and Spicy Salmon (Alaska sockeye salmon, spicy mayo, veggies, and rice.
This is like a sushi roll turned taco and it surprisingly works really well.
Icy Bar [Recommended]
Summer Special Icy with fresh strawberries, mango, basil seed, strawberry puree, coconut milk, shaved ice, and tapioca sago. Icy Bar is also another Richmond Night Market staple. If you can’t make it here, they also have a few cafe’s located across Metro Vancouver.
Rainbulb
Drinks served up in a flashing lightbulb is very aesthetically pleasing but just tastes like a normal soda. It’ll light up your night at the night market.
Bella Gelateria
We got 2 scoops of gelato in a cone – Akbar Mashti and Yuzu Citrus. They have a good range of flavours on their menu to keep you cool this summer.
Final Thoughts
So many food stalls that draw a serious crowd! There are people everywhere and that really makes the food area bumping. Later in the evening, you might just be shoulder to shoulder with other people going through the aisles of food. Sometimes I have thoughts that someone might accidentally poke my eye out with a lamb skewer as they walk past.
Yuan’s Chuan Chuan Xiang is located inside Aberdeen Mall on the second floor. They specialize in Chengdu region of HotPot. They have many locations all over China and also one in Amsterdam too.
Chengdu is the capital of southwestern China’s Sichuan province and is known for their chili oil.
They are a little but hidden in the mall, but if you find the pandas, you’re in the right place. They have pandas because Chengdu is famous for their Giant Panda Breeding conservation center where visitors can view endangered giant pandas in their natural habitat.
We were invited to check out their unique hotpot concept.
Interior
There are lots of booth-style seating and good for small to large groups. There is ample ventilation too so you won’t smell like your food at some other restaurants.
There are seat covers to ensure no smell or splashes get onto your bag. If you want, they also have aprons to wear too.
They have private rooms if you have a gathering that you want to dine in a more intimate setting.
Menu
Making Your Own Sauce
As with any hot pot, sauce is a must! They have a sauce station for $2.45 per person.
The Chengdu way is a bowl of sauce made of garlic, peanuts, cilantro, green onions, a little oyster sauce and then top it up with their branded mini can of sesame oil. They recommend 1 can per person, 1/2 a can if people think it’s too much.
The sauce was actually really good. Usually customers don’t opt in to get the sauce, but the experience isn’t the same without it.
You gotta try it for the full experience.
Soup Base
For your soup base, we went with half house-special non-spicy broth and house-special spicy both. It’s a bit extra but good to try both kinds. Extra-spicy is an option too if you can handle it.
They suggest drinking the non-spicy soup base before you begin the hotpot as it’s the Sichuan way. The non-spicy soup has a very tasty depth of chicken and pork aroma, but it is salty. Some may say it might be too salty to drink. Cooking food in the soup base actually seasons it quite nice so you don’t need additional sauce, but it is still good though.
How to Hotpot at Yuan’s Hotpot
We initially thought the skewers of meat were for grilling but there isn’t a grill anywhere. The skewers are meant to be dunked and cooked in the hotpot, apparently that’s how they do it in Chengdu.
The skewers are 90 cents each or $4.50 for a set of 5. There are also bigger meat platters too, but at a higher price point. Skewers are recommended for people who are in smaller groups like us as we were only 2 people.
It is recommended to cook the non-spicy skewers into the non-spicy soup, and the spicy in the spicy soup. The spicy soup does have a nice kick of heat, so perfect for items like meat. For veggies, dunking it in the non-spicy soup is best.
Assorted Veggie Skewers
Bamboo Shoot Skewers
Spinach Skewers
Assorted spicy and non-spicy meats
Beef Throat
Deep Fried Pork
You can eat the deep fried pork when it’s hot. It’s very delicious, but when it cools down, you can actually throw it into the hotpot and it’s pretty amazing too. It’s like pork two ways.
RiceCake
The rice cake is eaten on its own and not dunked into the hotpot. It’s a bit sticky and sweet. Sometimes it good to have something sweet and warm.
Ice Jelly
This has konjac jelly topped with seasonal fruits, crushed peanuts and haw flakes. A good way to end the meal.
Peach Soda
They have their own signature drinks that pairs well with the hotpot to cool you down like this peach soda. Sweet and refreshing.
Final Thoughts
Overall, we enjoyed this different style of hotpot at Yuan’s Chuan Chuan Xiang and it’s fun using skewers of meat and veggies instead of just throwing it into the pot. You’ll never forget what you put inside as the sticks are visible. Definitely worth a try and you’ll most likely spend around $30 – $40 per person.
Address: Aberdeen Centre 2F, 4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond, BC
Globe@YVR is the restaurant inside the Fairmont Vancouver Airport and is quite popular among travellers to and from the Vancouver International Airport, as well as locals. They boast a solid afternoon tea, brunch, as well as lunch and dinner made with local seasonal ingredients by Executive Chef Nandaskishore Rangan.
His style of cooking that is represented on the menu as he calls it ‘local and honest’. They work really closely with local producers like Gastown Greens to secure the best produce and support local businesses. I really admire this as they put a lot of care into their dishes.
As a bonus, if you spend a minimum of $30, you get 3 hours of free parking at the airport.
We were invited to get a taste of a few of the items off their Spring menu. Pretty exciting as we haven’t dined at the Globe@YVR yet.
Amuse Bouche
The amuse bouche was a beautiful bacon wrapped scallop with a maple glaze. Really delicious and the maple goes so well with the bacon. The scallop was seared nicely too.
Globe@YVR Signature Beer Bread
You can add this to the start of your meal and it’s really delicious. It is made with local honey and baked fresh from the oven. It’s a treat and we really liked it.
Mushroom
This dish is comprised of a variety of mushrooms, spinach tortellini, small vegetables, ricotta, and Gastown Greens. I like how they add a bit of interactivity to the dish as well. The come out the pour the broth and also shred the cheese.
The dish is simple but packed full of flavour with all these local ingredients. The mushrooms have a lot of savoury umami flavour.
Nova Scotia Lobster
This is flown in daily to retain its optimal freshness. It is paired with sautéed spinach, triple-cooked fries, garlic toast, béarnaise, and charred lemon. Really great item to share among the table.
Haida Gwaii Halibut
This is accompanied with parisienne potato, zucchini, tapioca crisp, and crab bisque. The halibut was soft with a delicious seasoning that doesn’t overpower the beautiful taste of it. I really enjoyed that tapioca crisps that came along with it.
Mascarpone
For dessert we have a mascarpone mousse on the bottom, fresh strawberries topped with a kataifi nest. Then a strawberry consommé is poured around the dessert. It’s a light dessert and I like the contrasting textures of the mousse and nest.
Final Thoughts
It was my first time dining at Globe@YVR and it was good to get a taste of what Executive Chef Nandaskishore Rangan has done to transform the menu. It is very representative of BC and what this province has to order, so, locals and visitors will get a joy from experiencing the dishes here.
They are popular for Afternoon Tea as it’s a great price and conveniently located right by the Airport as well as transit. Next time, if you’re at the airport and want to treat yourself or your friends to a great meal, check out Globe@YVR.
Address: Vancouver International Airport, 3111 Grant McConachie Way, Richmond, BC
Ramen Taka has opened their second location at Aberdeen Centre on the 2nd floor. Their first location is on Bidwell and Robson Street. They are best known for their delicious broth that is topped with seasoned Hokkaido lard. It is very rich and piping hot, so make sure not to burn yourself.
We were invited for a sneak peek of their new location and try some menu items.
Interior
There is one long table of communal seating and some smaller tables on the side of the restaurant. Good for small to large groups.
Menu
Drinks
It’s great that they have Japanese drinks on the menu that pair with their appetizers and ramen. It’s fun when some drinks just bring back nostalgia like the ramune.
They have alcoholic drinks on the menu but isn’t available just yet.
Ramune is fun because you pop the marble into the drink and it’s like a fizzy soda. UCC Coffee is what the chef’s recommended and you can get it hot or cold.
Dragon’s Wing Gyoza
This comes with 5 pieces to an order. It’s also another chef recommended item on the menu. The gyoza were ok, but we wish they were cooked a bit more crispier on the exterior.
French Fries with Truffle Salt
Who can say no to fries? We clearly couldn’t. These were good but a tad on the soft side. Also, the truffle salt wasn’t as noticeable.
Kakuni
It was described as melt in your mouth, but it was more on the dry side as you can see from the picture. Perhaps they are still working out kinks.
Paitan Dragon’s Dewdrop Shoyu
This has their creamy white tonkotsu pork broth with their signature soy sauce flavour. It also comes with seaweed, chashu, mushroom, bamboo and half an egg. We added corn to this ramen as well as less lard. The broth was delicious but we wished the corn was more crunchy. The chashu was a bit dry and the noodles were a tad overcooked.
Paitan Supreme Dragon Miso
This has their hearty and rich white paitan tonkotsu pork broth with a blend of different miso pastes. This broth was a tad on the salty side but still delicious. It also comes with seaweed, chashu, mushroom, bamboo and half an egg.
Similar to the other ramen, chashu was dry and the noodles were soggy and overcooked.
Final Thoughts
Overall, they have a few kinks to work out before their grand opening. We’ve been to their original location and we know the potential they have and it can be really good. It was nice to see their new second location, but we would recommend waiting a bit till they get a rhythm going.
Hidden away in President’s Plaza in Richmond is AnAr, a stall specializing in Persian Cuisine. Take the escalator up to the second floor and you’ll find it in the back of the food court. I’ve heard lots of good things about Anar, so we had to check it out with some friends.
I never realized that there was a food court here. You would normally think it would just be a bunch of stalls with Chinese food, but there is Persian food too.
They are family owned and there is definitely a lot of soul in the food that they create.
Menu
Dolmeh Barg
These are stuffed grape leaves with rice and herbs. Reminds me of a similar greek dish – dolmades. An appetizer to start off the meal to get those tastebuds going.
Lamb Shank
One of the best deals in town for a whole lamb shank and a huge side of dill rice. This would be very filling for one person but we shared it among the 3 of us. The lamb was very tender and flavourful.
All the juices under it go so well with the rice to soak up all the flavours. Highly Recommended.
Kubideh
There are two skewers of seasoned premium beef and lamb served with rice and salad.
The beef and lamb were very tasty and flavourful. Huge portions for lunch and it’s great. I would also highly recommend this as well.
I’m so impressed what they can create from the small space of a food court setting.
Final Thoughts
Overall, all the dishes we had were great and would come here again. They are opening their Steveston location soon, so we are looking forward to that.
Address: President Plaza Second, 8181 Cambie Rd Floor 2260, Richmond
iTofu is a new tofu shop that has opened up in Richmond and got their start at the Richmond Night Market years ago. They serve up a variety of items from sweet to savoury. They recently won best tofu dessert at the Chinese Restaurant Awards.
There are some reserved parking stalls out front, but most of the parking is reserved for other businesses, so parking can be tricky. Also note, they only accept cash and debit, so no credit cards.
Interior
The space is a decent size and they have a few tables of 4 in the space. We went on a weekday afternoon and it wasn’t busy at all. It’s probably more busy on weekends and weekday evenings.
Menu
Sugar and Syrups
There are 3 types of sugar available to add onto your tofu pudding – ginger syrup, simple syrup, and cane sugar. All great items to add, so personally I add a bit of each.
Cold Tofu Pudding with Taro Balls
This is a popular item to order from the menu. It has the base of tofu pudding and topped with their colourful taro balls. Add a bit of sugar into it and it’s simply delicious. The tofu is smooth and silky, plus the taro balls have a good chew to them. Highly recommended.
With their tofu puddings, you can customize it with whatever toppings you want on top. Depending on what kind, it can be $1 or $2 extra.
Tofu Parfait
You get layers of tofu pudding and 3 topping options or $8.50. A pretty good price since it is a big size. If you want to premium toppings added, it’s only a $1 extra instead of $2 as this parfait comes with toppings.
We got ours with black glutinous rice, black sesame, and taro balls.
Tofu Drink
Their tofu drinks come with 2 toppings, so it’s not a regular plain tofu drink. I got mine with coconut jelly and grass jelly. I really enjoyed it as I got the mouthful of soy milk, tofu pudding, coconut jelly and grass jelly.
Final Thoughts
I love love love tofu pudding, so it is good to see another place open up in Metro Vancouver that specializes in it. The menu has a great selection that is more innovative than just the usual tofu pudding. Highly recommend this place but make sure you have cash or debit.
A new bubble tea shop is in town and it’s The Ooleaf Tea Lounge located right beside Aberdeen Skytrain Station. They are currently in their soft opening phase and are working out any kinks before their grand opening. They specialize in handmade oolong based tea beverages
Currently, their promotion is 50% off select drinks on their menu. When we went, there was only 1 drink on that menu and it was the black milk tea.
Interior
The space isn’t too large but there are a few small and large tables for different sizes of groups. I can imagine more people doing take out than actually sitting here, but who knows.
Menu
Brown Sugar Matcha
You can see the different layers of ingredients in here, but you should stir it up before you drink it. I usually don’t like brown sugar drinks but this was the right about of brown sugar where it isn’t too sweet or overpowering. Make sure to stir ip up really well before drinking.
Black Milk Tea
This was the special of the day with pearls, milk and the oolong tea. Make sure to stir it around since some of the sugar tends to settle on the bottom. We really enjoyed it and the pearls as well. Bold oolong tea and it was just a solid milk tea.
Bitter Melon Pineapple Fruit Tea
My friend got this because she was so curious what bitter melon pineapple fruit tea would taste like. It could be either really good or really bad. The bitter melon juice is obviously really bitter but there is a good amount of pineapple paired with it to attempt to offset the bitterness. For us, that still didn’t work, but we did still appreciate this drink and how some other people might like it.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I really liked the strong oolong tea in the drinks. Their menu is different and innovative especially with the bitter melon pineapple fruit tea…even though we didn’t personally like it, it’s very unique.
I would definitely come back for their other drinks for sure. Good balance of tea, milk and sweetness.
We are back at Bobii Frutii in Richmond BC to try even more items off the menu with some friends. Last time we only made a small dent in the menu, but there is so much more to try beyond their signature drinks.
I really like their drinks since it’s more tea-forward and not too sweet. They really take their time to craft the drinks, so the quality is definitely there. Plus, the drinks look pretty amazing.
There are some drinks like the matcha series are a tad more expensive but that’s because of the ingredients they use must be imported to retain the similar standards of Bobii Frutii around the world.
Interior
The space is quiet during the weekday, so that means there are tons of tables and wifi if you’re looking for that sort of thing.
I Don’t Want to Work
This has Oolong Tea, Milk and Butterfly Pea Boba. It’s not too sweet at all and the essence of oolong is nice. Very similar to the extraordinary milk tea but not as sweet.
I Don’t Want to Grow Up
This has Strawberry, Mango, Milk and Yogurt. Similar to the other drinks, they keep them in separate layers without mixing. It’s nice that you can taste both of the layers. Yet again, another good drink for the Summer.
Pandora Treasures
This beautiful drink has lemon, honey, Butterfly Pea Bobii and their Original Bobii. Definitely more icy but the lemon and honey combination work well together. Would be great and refreshing for a hot summers day.
Uji Snow
One of the more expensive options at Bobii Frutii and it’s their Matcha beverages as they use carefully selected Marukyu-Koyamaen matcha from Uji, Kyoto. Each order is hand whisked to ensure quality.
There is matcha, milk and their original pearls in this drink. The matcha is so good and you can taste the quality and its not too sweet. A good ratio of tea and sweetness.
Uji Snow Koicha Thick Tea
We were intrigued by this on the menu as it said ‘thick tea’. It’s very similar to the Uji Snow but with stronger intensity of matcha. If you look closely, it does have a darker colour to it.
Mermaid’s Tears
Sounds like a sad drink but isn’t. It is made with blended ice with mango, lemon, honey, milk and topped with Butterfly Pea Bobii.
Definitely super Instagrammable and delicious. It will give you a brain freeze if you drink it too fast but the flavours are nice.
Grapefruit Oolong Tea
This was a special they had in store and it has fresh grapefruit, and oolong tea in a slush format, then topped with a real slice of grapefruit. Very refreshing and the oolong tea is strong and compliments the grapefruit well.
Childhood Memory
This has brown sugar, bobii, and organic milk. Since the brown sugar milk beverages are making a big splash in Asia and now in Vancouver, almost every bubble tea shop has their own version.
This version by Bobii Frutii isn’t too sweet but has a good ratio of the bobii, milk and brown sugar. Definitely one of my favourites as I feel other places in town are too sweet or have bad pearls.
Yuzu Green Tea
This is very nice. The green tea taste pairs well with the yuzu like those Korean marmalade beverages. We got is as a slush but you can make it how you like. You can add different bobii to it too.
Uji Milk Foam
Look at the intense colour of that uji matcha. They do not skimp out of matcha at all. It is topped with the cheesy salty sweet milk foam on top. It’s not for everyone but if you are a milk foam lover, this might be for you.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Bobii Frutii is one of my favourite bubble tea places in Metro Vancouver, but it’s always a bit far for me personally as it can be a 45 minute drive. When I am in Richmond, I would recommend it to friends. The quality is there and is unique aesthetic quality when you look at the drinks.
Tsujiri finally opened in Richmond, BC after a long anticipated wait. They specialize in Japanese matcha desserts that are just addictive. I went to their Edmonton location last year and was surprised their concept in Vancouver is a bit different.
Reservations
They have 2 dining areas – one for walk-ins and another for reservations via OpenTable. When I saw them offering reservations, I jumped at the chance and got a table of 4 on their 2nd day of operations at Tsujiri Pastisserie where they serve their Japanese-style High Tea.
There is also another option for Tsujiri Soba Barbut that is only for the evening with an exclusive soba menu.
These 2 locations are one and the same, it’s just a bit deceiving because they seem like 2 different places. They only have 4 tables available for reservations and can only sit for 1.5 hours which is still plenty of time.
I would highly recommend getting a reservation to avoid lining up in the cold. For myself, I went with my parents, sister and my very very pregnant self so waiting wasn’t something I wanted to do.
Tsujiri Patisserie Menu (Afternoon)
Ebiten Udon
There is only one udon on the menu and it is made with old-fashioned udon noodles in a light kombu bonito dashi broth with ebi tempura, shiitake mushrooms, tenkasu crumbs, kamaboko fish cake and green onions.
A very classic dish popularized by the Kagawa Prefecture in Japan. If you’re looking for something savoury before dessert, this definitely warms the stomach.
Unagi Dashi Chazuke
Another savoury item on the menu is their Dashi Chazuke that comes in your choice of salmon sashimi or grilled unagi. We went with grilled unagi since it’s so hard to deny that craving.
It’s a beautiful set with rice, marinated sesame kombu, tamago yaki, soba roll, green onions, wasabi, and a sprinkle of rice cracker garnish.
There is also a pot of that comforting broth that you can pour over the rice and add in whatever ingredients you want into it.
It was very good and so comforting on a cold day. We really liked how interactive this dish was.
Matcha Souffle Pancake
This has matcha-infused souffle pancake that is very airy. It is then dusted with powdered sugar and served with matcha ice cream, hojicha ice cream and whipped cream.
The pancake has a lot of matcha flavour and not too sweet at all. The ice cream served with it was a bit icy and didn’t do much for the pancake.
Matcha Parfait
A popular item as it’s served in a glass with layers of matcha warabi mochi, azuki beans, shiratama, yuzu rare cheesecake, sweet chestnut, roasted rice sprinkles and an iconic tea box moaka.
Discovering each new layer was tasty to our tastebuds and we were really intrigued by the cheesecake in the middle.
Sakura Parfait
This is similar but it has matcha warabi mochi, shiratama, hidden sakura surprise, traditional sakura kuzu mochi and sweet chestnut on top. I love the layers of the matcha frozen dessert paired with all these items. I really liked this and the different texture worked so well.
Hot Sencha Green Tea
This is a popular Japanese tea that is well-balanced in bitterness and natural sweetness. Good when you want to stay warm while enjoying some cold desserts or hot savoury dishes.
O-Matcha Latte
You can get this drink cold or hot. There are also soy milk and lactose free milk available if you have dietary restrictions.
I mixed this before drinking and it was good. Not too sweet and not too bitter.
Yuzu O-Matcha
This was an interesting yuzu infused tea and it is served cold. It has a rich and bitter matcha paired with fruity, refreshing yuzu honey drink. My sister enjoyed this but did not it was a tad sweet compared to the other drinks.
Cakes to go
We had to get some cakes to take home since we couldn’t fit anymore sweets into our stomach. They have a variety of tea infused cakes at the counter that are made daily in limited quantities. We arrived here at 2pm and by 3:30pm, all the matcha-inspired cakes were all sold out. We were able to get our hands on a few before it was all gone.
The cake flavours change up daily, so you’ll never really know what’s available until the day of.
Opera Cake
This is the same one that comes with the Japanese Style High Tea. We opted not to get the high tea set since it was a bit on the pricey side but we did want to really try the opera cake. It has alternating layers of cream, red bean, matcha cake, and other things that pair nicely together.
Matcha Cake
I can’t remember the name of this cake but it has matcha spongecake with cream and red bean in the centre.
Final Thoughts
I’m glad they finally opened as we’ve been anticipating it for the longest time. It’s great to have more dessert options in the area especially in this plaza. It’s definitely not cheap when you order certain items. The 4 of us ended up spending over $100 but maybe we ordered excessively. My other friend had a party of 2 and spent around $50. Nonetheless, the desserts, drinks and food are good.
I would go again but I would not line up for it. I really like the reservations via OpenTable but for the time-being, you have to book it in advanced as there are limited seats.
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.
Yuu Japanese Tapas is located in Richmond, BC and they serve up contemporary Japanese cuisine. They have a wide menu from appetizers, individualized hot pots, ramen and other items. Earlier in the year, The Original beer Ramen made headlines around the world for their ramen that looks like a huge mug of beer, which was made of cold bonito broth ramen.
For the Winter, they have launched a few new items – Volcano Ramen and miriku collection. We came here to check it out.
Interior
There are a lot of tables for small to large groups inside.
Menu (new items)
Volcano Ramen
Their volcano ramen comes in 2 types -AAA Beef Volcano Ramen and Jumbo Clam and Prawn Volcano Ramen starting at $19.50.
What is great about Yuu Japanese Tapas is the experience and fun they provide the customers before the meal begins. When the ramen arrived, the server pours the ramen broth into the sizzling hot stone bowl and covers it with a volcano lid, so it steams up like a volcano.
AAA Beef Volcano Ramen
This has AAA Beef slices, Enoki mushrooms, bean sprouts, green onion, and a tonkatsu broth. You can add egg, butter, cheese, kimchi and more ramen noodles for an additional charge.
We had the choice of having it mild or spicy, so we chose mild. The tonkatsu broth is rich with a lot of beefy umami flavour. The noodles has a thickness to them too. We added cheese to the dish and it made the ramen consistency more thick and less soupy.
Jumbo Clam and Prawn Volcano Ramen
There are seasonal clams, prawns, bean sprouts, onions, and their rich tonkatsu broth. You can add egg, butter, cheese, kimchi and more ramen noodles for an additional charge.
We ordered mild, but it still had a kick to the broth and made it hard to taste the deep beef flavour. This was ok but we felt the AAA Beef Volcano Ramen was a bit better.
Strawberry Milk
You can get this hot or cold, but we went with cold. It tastes like milk with strawberry puree and you can’t go wrong with that. It tastes pretty good. The glass is a bit small for the price.
Melon Milk
We decided to switch things up and get this hot. It was served in the same container and served very hot to the touch. It has a strong melon taste and it felt more artificial tasting. Imagine those Korean melona bars.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the experience at Yuu Japanese Tapas was good as the dishes were unique looking, but when it came down to flavour, it missed the mark and the prices are a bit higher than normal Japanese ramen shops, nonetheless, they really make sure the experience, fun and interactivity of the dishes are their.
Bobii Frutii just opened their first Canadian location in Richmond BC and started in Taiwan, with another location in Singapore. They specialize in Instagrammable bubble teas that don’t have any artificial preservatives, stabilizers, or artificial colouring. The drinks are very beautiful, but we decided to stop here to see if it lives up to the hype.
Interior
The store has a few seats inside but its not too busy when we went on a weekday afternoon. The interior has a lot of concrete greys and brown woody colours.
Menu
Extraordinary Bubble Milk Tea 不甘平凡
This extraordinary bubble milk tea is made with layers of red tea, milk and brown sugar pearls. A classic choice and you can really taste the subtle brown sugar in the pearls that aren’t too over powering and it works nicely with the tea and milk. Delicious. Make sure it mix it before you drink it to incorporate all the layers.
Don’t Want to Work 不想上班
The name of this drink is so cheeky. It is made with oolong tea, milk and their Butterfly Pea Pearls. It looks similar to the extraordinary milk tea and taste similar but less sweet due to the type of pearls.
Uji Snow 宇治初雪
One of the more expensive options at Bobii Frutii and it’s their Matcha beverages as they use carefully selected Marukyu-Koyamaen matcha from Uji, Kyoto. Each order is hand whisked to ensure quality.
There is matcha, milk and their original pearls in this drink. The matcha is so good and you can taste the quality and its not too sweet. A good ratio of tea and sweetness.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it’s a good quality of bubble tea, looks great, tastes great, but it is higher in price compared to other bubble tea shops in the area. With so many options in Richmond, it’s definitely hard to compete.
Mama’s Dumpling and Coffee is located in South Richmond near a bunch of warehouses. You definitely wouldn’t expect this restaurant to be here, but it has gained quite a level of popularity recently for their delicious homey dumplings. I came here with a few friends on the weekday to check it out and see what everyone is raving about. It’s family-run and operated, so its a great business to support.
Interior
On the weekdays around noon, it wasn’t too busy just yet. It got busy closer to 12:30pm. We’re not exactly sure about on weekends, but we hear some of their dumplings can sell out.
Menu
Ordering
They accept cards, so we were happy it’s not cash only. Once you place your order and pay, you get this electronic device that will beep once your order is ready. As it wasn’t very busy, nor were we doing takeout, this didn’t do much for us as they delivered our order to our table.
Green Tea
We were tempted to get coffee, but it just didn’t seem like a match for Chinese dumplings, so we ordered hot green tea. They charge $1.90 per cup of tea.
Shanghai-style Fried Noodles
You get your choice of pork or chicken and we chose chicken. It was deliciously pan-fried with a good amount of char on some noodles. The noodles were a good texture.
Wontons in Spicy Chili Oil
There are 8 wontons to an order and the spicy chili oil is mixed with a sesame paste, so that was surprising as I didn’t expect that. Nonetheless, it was still delicious.
Shrimp, Egg and Chives Dumpling
You can get these in portions of 12, 16 or 20 pieces. We sent with 12 since it was just the 3 of using having lunch. They were really good! Delicious filling and the skin wasn’t too thick.
Nanxiang-Style Xiao Long Bao
Each order comes with 6 pieces. It’s hot and soupy in the centre, so be careful when eating it. You can pair it with soy sauce and vinegar on the side of the table.
Green Onion Pancake
The green onion pancake is cut up into 4 pieces. Super crisp on the exterior and has a good amount of green onion spread out.
Shanghai-Style Fried Pork Buns
When coming to Mama’s Dumpling and Coffee, a lot of people order their Shanghai-style Fried Pork Buns. It’s their most popular item and comes in 4 pieces. It can take up to 30 minutes to prepare, so they recommend pre-ordering the dish so you aren’t waiting a long time.
The dumplings are fluffy on top, crisp on the bottom and the inside is so savoury and soupy. Highly recommended.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I enjoyed the experience and all the dishes were very homey and hit the spot. For myself, the location is quite far for me to drive to and taking transit is a pain. If you’re in the area of South Richmond, definitely make a stop here.
