Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
Jenkins and I met up with Jenkins’ parents one weekend afternoon for some dim sum at Golden Ocean in Kerrisdale. Although I’ve come here before, it’s usually for dinner and it was the first time I had been there for dim sum in quite a while. Because Golden Ocean is one of the few dim sum places in the Kerrisdale area, it’s almost always packed during meal times. Lucky for us, that day, we only had to wait about 10 minutes before we were seated.
Jenkins’ mom was responsible for ordering most of the items that day. First came one of Jenkins’ favourites: pan-fried pork buns. It looked quite tasty but the bun part was a bit mushy. The pork part was quite tasty though and went very well with the red vinegar dipping sauce.
Next came the har gow shrimp dumplings. These were nicely steamed with the rice wrapping skin having some nice elasticity to it. It sucks when the skin is over-steamed and it starts to melt away when you try to pick up the dumplings with your chopsticks. 
I had never had these pan-fried turnip cakes before but they were one of my favourite items of the day. The toasted sesame seats on top added a nice roasted and nutty flavour and the puff pastry was flaky but not too oily. I’d definitely order these again.
I’m not sure what these are called in English but they are bean curd rolls with minced pork and some veggies inside. Some restaurants make this oilier than it really needs to be but at Golden Ocean, there was hardly any oil and it actually made you think it was healthy. :) (Or should I say healthier…)
The sui mai pork dumplings were also quite tasty. It was a bit smaller than I was used to but the pork and shrimp had a nice crunchiness to it.
These shrimp dumplings also had garlic chives in it which gave the dumplings a mild garlic flavour. It only had three pieces though so the four of us had to share.
The stamed spare ribs with black bean did not have too much black bean taste but had a great garlicky flavour to it. I think it would have gone really well with a bowl of rice.
It doesn’t seem like we ate too many dishes but I’m trying my best not to overeat at dim sum these days. I figure that way, I’m able to go to dim sum more often without it being too unhealthy. :) If you are ok with waiting a bit to be seated or are able to go earlier in the day, dim sum at Golden Ocean is always a good option.
Details:
2008 W. 41st Ave, Vancouver
Tel: (604) 263-8886
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Price: $$
Posted in Vancouver, Dim Sum, Lower Mainland Cities, Asian, Chinese, Reviews | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 9th, 2008
I headed over to Spicy Court one day for some dim sum with Jenkins’ family. Spicy Court is located diagonally from Oakridge Centre and is pretty close to Jenkins’ family and some of my family members. As a result, I tend to go there pretty often. :) If you order your food and get the bill before 11AM, you can also get 10% off your meal.
We started with sui mai (pork dumplings) as this is one of Jenkins’ favourite dishes. The sui mai at Spicy Court are quite big and juicy. I usually break it into four pieces with my chopstick so it’s more manageable.
Jenkins’ family introduced me to this chicken and noodle dish at Spicy Court. They are a pretty healthy bunch so this dish is right up their alley. The noodles come in a light broth with shredded chicken and lettuce. The bowl is fairly large and makes for a good filler dish.
It was the first time I had tried the scallop and spinach rice rolls at Spicy Court and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The scallops were quite large and plentiful and went very well with the spinach.
Shredded chicken with jellyfish is one of my favourite dim sum items…as mentioned several times before. I don’t think the one at Spicy Court ranks among the best I’ve had…although that doesn’t stop me from ordering it!
Jenkins always likes steamed bbq pork buns. There is quite a bit of filling in this version at Spicy Court…which is much better than when all you get is the white bun part.
We also had some steamed bean curd stuffed with pork and bamboo shoots. Nothing too special about this dish but it was still quite tasty.
Spicy Court seems to be mainly a dim sum place and can get quite busy during lunch time. Sometimes, it even seems busier earlier in the morning because everyone is scrambling to get their 10% discount before 11AM! The dim sum is a good price for what you get although the selection can sometimes seem a bit limited.
Details:
101-5638 Cambie Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-325-1189
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Price: $$
Posted in Vancouver, Dim Sum, Lower Mainland Cities, Asian, Chinese, Reviews | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008
I first went to Po King a while back when my grandparents introduced it to me. It’s a relatively cheap Chinese restaurant that opened a few months ago and offered dim sum for $2.99 per dish. As such, it’s pretty busy at lunch and it’s best to get there a bit before 12 (at least on week days) if you don’t want to wait for a table. Po King is located along Kingsway about a three minute drive east of Metrotown.
Most dim sum restaurants these days require you to order from a sheet and the dim sum is then brought to your table. Po King kicks it old school by bringing carts of dim sum around. One thing to note though is that the rotation of dim sum can be pretty scant at times so if you see something you want, it’s best to grab it right away.
The bean curd with pork and bamboo shoots was quite tasty. Sometimes, this dish can get a bit oily but Po King’s version was not so. Because there is so much pork packed in the bean curd wraps, it is actually quite filling so it’s best to ask your server to cut them in half.
I am always a fan of these Chinese beef balls, especially when there is an accompanying vinegar dipping sauce.
These bbq pork buns also have a sweet topping which makes for a unique combination of salty and sweet. My aunt first introduced these to me quite a while ago and they always make for a tasty filler dish.
We sure do like our bbq pork buns! We also had the regular version with no sweet coating on top.
My grandma ordered this dish of steamed eel. There were quite a few bones so it is some work to eat it but also worth it.
I really enjoyed this dish of fried leather jacket fish in Maggi sauce. The bones weren’t too difficult to navigate and the crunchy outside of the fish went very well with the Maggi sauce.
We were still a bit hungry so we also ordered some fried noodles with chicken and veggies. This dish was made fresh so the noodles were nice and crunchy.
One of my favourite dim sum dishes is the shredded chicken with jellyfish “salad”. I would say that there was more jellyfish than chicken and I found it to be a bit watery towards the bottom. It tasted good though and I liked the pickled sweetness of the pickled ginger and turnips.
Po King is a great deal for the type of food you get and the price. I’m really glad that another good dim sum place has opened up near where I work. I’ve already dragged my co-workers here a couple of times since first going there with my grandparents.
Details:
150-5665 Kingsway, Burnaby
Tel: 604-436-2986
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Price: $
Posted in Burnaby, Dim Sum, Lower Mainland Cities, Asian, Chinese, Reviews | No Comments »
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