Jenkins and I met up with Jenkins’ mom for dim sum one sunny weekend afternoon. Jenkins’ dad was supposed to come as well but there was a slight mix-up in coordinating the date and our original lunch for four ended up being just for three. I had previously reviewed Top Shanghai Cuisine a few years ago but it had been quite a while since my last visit and I had never actually been for dim sum before.

Jenkins’ mom was pretty flexible and decided to let me and Jenkins do the majority of the ordering. We thought we weren’t very hungry that day but we ended up ordering a good mix of dishes anyway. We started with the spicy wontons. I kind of expected them to be similar to the Cantonese version but the Shanghainese version was completely different. The small pork wontons came dressed in a sweet and spicy peanut and chilli sauce that was delicious. The peanut flavour was further heightened by the crushed peanuts on top. I would say this was a fairly spicy dish but it didn’t bother me at all. This dish was quite a hit at our table and we ended up saving the sauce as a condiment for some of our later dishes.

One of Top Shanghai Cuisine’s specialties is obviously the xiao long bao so we definitely needed to order some. I thought that the skin was slightly thicker than my previous visit but still gave way easily to the juicy pork filling inside. I think this place still ranks among the better xiao long bao eateries in the city.

One of Jenkins’ favourite dim sum items is the pan-fried pork buns. Nothing out of the ordinary with the offering here but it was well made nonetheless. The bottom was quite crispy and the filling seemed to be the same as the pork filling used in the xiao long baos. Even though the pan fried buns were not as juicy as the XLBs, they were definitely juicier than the version at many other restaurants, which I liked.

In hindsight, we probably shouldn’t have ordered the pan-fried dumplings because they tasted like a cross between the pan-fried pork buns and the xiao long baos so we really didn’t get a lot of variety. The only comment I can make here is that they were fried nicely, with the bottom being nice and crispy. Similarly, the filling seemed to be very similar (if not the same as) the filling for the XLBs and pan-fried pork buns.

We also wanted to order a filler item so we perused the noodle section of the menu for some options. I really like the sticky rice cakes so I wanted something that had that and Jenkins settled on the Shanghai rice cakes with vegetables and pork. I thought the sauce was a little on the salty side but the rice cakes are generally pretty bland so it soaked up a lot of the flavour so the saltiness wasn’t overwhelming. I enjoyed the chewy consistency of the rice cakes and the veggies provided a nice crunchy contrast.

Overall, we had a pleasant lunch at Top Shanghai Cuisine. As I probably noted in my previous review and as many other people have noted, service really isn’t the best here so you have to go in with fairly low (if any) expectations. That being said, the service at lunch seemed to be slightly better than what we’re used to during the dinner service. The food here is quite good though and their dim sum menu is a nice change from the usual Cantonese dim sum fare that I’m used to.

Details:
5880 No. 3 Road, Richmond
Tel: 604-278-8790

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 2 out of 5 stars
Price: $$

Jenkins and I met up with his family one morning for some dim sum at Shun Feng Seafood Restaurant, located in Parker Place mall in Richmond. This location has changed names a few times but I had never been here in its latest incarnation. Jenkins’ mom had seen a dim sum promotion in the newspaper for Shun Feng so she suggested that we check it out.

I’m not sure how long this deal is in effect for but if you submit your order prior to 11AM, you get the “Dim Sum Special for 4”, which is basically 4 dim sum items plus a pot of congee for $20. You don’t get to pick the congee but this is still a pretty good deal. The congee that was available that day was a pork congee with pickled snow vegetables. It was actually quite flavourful with the richness of the fatty pork cut slightly by the tang from the pickled vegetables.

We also ordered some jah lurng, which was also pretty good. The Chinese doughnut in the middle was slightly denser than what I was used to but the rice noodle wrapper had a nice buoyancy to it and was not over-steamed.

Jenkins wanted to have some steamed chicken buns. It’s one of his favourite dim sum filler items. Nothing out of the ordinary that I can really note here but it did have a nice amount of chicken filling. There was also quite a bit of ginger in the version here, which I liked.

The har gow (shrimp dumplings) were ok tastewise but I found the shrimp filling to be slightly watery. For shrimp dumplings, I don’t think this really worked from a texture perspective but there was a nice amount of shrimp flavour in general.

I don’t recall the English translation for these dumplings but they were shrimp dumplings with corn, peas, and diced carrots wrapped in a soy wrapper. I liked the unique combination of the shrimp with veggies in this dumpling but Jenkins noted that he preferred the more traditional har gow more.

You can’t really tell in the photo below but we actually thought the sui mai (pork dumplings) were  a bit on the small side. The pork to shrimp ratio was also a bit off with there being way more pork. Personally, I like a more equal ratio so I thought these sui mai were only so-so.

The phoenix claw (chicken feet) were pretty well made. They weren’t over-steamed so each foot actually retained its shape and had a lot of the sweet soy flavour infused.

We were starting to get pretty full at this point but we still had a couple of more dishes to go. We were expecting the salty fish with chicken rice to be made in a clay pot but for some reason, it came in a mini casserole dish. The salty fish and chicken was seasoned nicely had the chicken had all the great salty fish flavour infused in it but I found the rice to be too dry.

The scallop and pea shoot rice rolls were a bit flavourless and I had to supplement it with a generous amount of the soy dipping sauce. The pea shoots must also have been cooked separately because it seemed to be over-steamed in relation to the other ingredients in this dish.

We were about to call for the bill but a cart came by with fresh tofu pudding. My mom actually makes a delicious tofu pudding so I don’t usually order it when I’m out but I had a hankering for it that day. The version here is quite silky and served warm with some ginger syrup. I liked how they provided a separate bowl of ginger syrup for us so we could add as much (or as little) as we liked.

Overall, the dim sum here was pretty good. It did take quite a long time for some of the dishes to come but I suppose that is ok if you’re trying to pace yourself. For us though, we were tempted to cancel a few of our dishes because it took so long to come. Without the benefit of the dim sum special that we took advantage of though, the prices do tend to be on the higher end of the dim sum spectrum and I’m not sure if the quality of the food is consistent with their regular prices.

Details:
4380 No. 3 Road, Richmond
Tel: 604-304-6088

Summary:
Food: 3 out of 5 stars
Service: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $$

Jenkins and I were doing some grocery shopping in Chinatown one day when we decided to stick around for some lunch as well. We wandered past Kam Wai Dim Sum on Pender Street when I remembered Sherman doing a review about it fairly recently. I’m always game for dim sum and Jenkins did not need a lot of convincing that day so we stepped inside. It was about 1PM and the place was bustling but luckily for us, we only had to wait about 5 minutes before a table cleared for us. The place was pretty bare bones with plastic table clothes that were stripped off after each seating only to reveal yet another plastic table cloth. But we didn’t mind as long as the food was good.

First up was some spicy beef tripe in Szechuan sauce. Jenkins isn’t a big fan of beef tripe so I was left to polish this off myself. Although the sauce was not spicy or even Szechuan style at all, it was still quite tasty. The tripe was very tender and soaked up all the delicious sauce.

Next came the sui mai pork dumplings. Similar to the beef tripe, this was also prepared quite nicely without being over-steamed. There was a good balance of pork and shrimp and it had a nice bouncy texture to it.

The stuffed bean curd wraps with preserved veggies was also steamed quite well. My one complaint about this dish is that it often gets over-steamed and the bean curd comes out all limp and unappetizing. However, the bean curd in this case remained in tact and the savoury veggies and meat inside were nicely seasoned. The dish was also not as oily as usual and did not exhibit a pool of oily sauce on the bottom, which I appreciated.

Jenkins wanted to give the pan-fried pork potstickers a try and although these turned out to be nicely pan fried on the bottom and not oily at all, I found the skin too thick for my liking.

The wonton in spicy chili sauce is another one of my favourite dim sum standbys. There were a lot of won tons but I found the spicy sauce more vinegar-y than spicy so this version was not my favourite. I should also note that these wontons are of the pork variety but that seems to be the case most of the time for this particular dish.

The har gow shrimp dumplings were one of the last items to arrive. I was quite looking forward to this but although the shrimp filling was tasty and had a slight crunch from the bamboo shoots, I found the skin on this a bit thick as well and it was slightly oversteamed.

I have to say that 4 egg tarts for 2 people is a bit excessive but I love egg tarts when they’re made well and I’m a bit embarrassed to say that I ate 3 of them. The puff pastry crust was flaky and buttery and the sweet egg custard filling hit the spot.

The challenge with dim sum for 2 people is that you always end up paying more than you would per person when compared to going in a larger group. That being said, the prices at Kam Wai are more than reasonable, with the dishes ranging between $2.75-$4.50. Between Jenkins and I, we ate about $20 before tax, which wasn’t too bad. It’s a pretty utilitarian place so prepared to eat and leave…mingling will have to be saved for some other location.

Details:
249 East Pender Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-568-6692

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 2 out of 5 stars
Price: $

For people who used to frequent the old XS Cargo on No. 3 Road in Richmond, they’ll probably also know that it moved to another location a few blocks down by Alderbridge and No. 3 a couple of years ago. What they may also know is that in the location where XS Cargo was originally located, a new restaurant opened up called Rainflower. Every time I drove past Rainflower, I noticed that they seemed quite busy as the parking lot was already full. Jenkins noted that it was probably because of this success that they did not even bother to change all the signage from the XS Cargo to Rainflower. What was the point of changing the signs when people were flocking there already?

My grandparents suggested that our family meet up here for dim sum one day and I was quite curious about checking this place out since I had driven past it several times. We arrived quite early, around 10:30, so the restaurant was only about half full.

Some of my relatives had arrived before me so they had started things off by checking a few things they wanted to order off the menu sheet. We decided to ask our server to start the dishes coming while we decided if we need to order more things. First up was one of my dim sum favourites, shredded chicken with pickled veggies, jellyfish, and cucumbers. The dish was served cold, as usual, and tossed in a light sesame dressing. This dish was done quite well and I enjoyed the crunch of the pickled veggies.

Next came a dish I had never tried before. Rice rolls were wrapped around a crispy layer of bean curd, which was stuffed with veggies, mushroom, and fish paste. It seemed to be a slight version on rice rolls wrapped around a Chinese doughnut and I felt that this dish was quite unique and tasty. The crispiness of the bean curd went very well with the rice roll and fish paste.

Next came the pan-fried pork buns. The version at Rainflower seemed to be a bit larger than what we were used to so we actually asked to cut the buns in half. The outside was crispy and not too oily while the inside pork filling was pretty standard tasting but good.

Alvin was on a vegetarian diet that day so we ordered some plain rice rolls for him with soy sauce. They tasted ok but were a bit plain compared to the other goodies we ordered so we left him most of this dish. I did note that the noodles themselves were cooked just right though and were not over-steamed.

The deep fried tofu was very crispy on the outside and gave way to a silky smooth texture on the inside. It was lightly tossed in some salt and spices and garnished with jalepeno peppers. Not much to say about this except that it was a well-executed classic.

The pan fried rice noodles with bean sprouts seemed to be quite a hit with everyone at my table. So much in fact that everyone had scarfed it down before I could even have a taste! Everyone enjoyed telling me that it was very tasty though so I’ll just need to take them on their word…plus the fact that this dish was basically inhaled by everyone.

The pineapple buns stuffed with char siu (BBQ pork) were pretty standard tasting. The “pineapple” crust was not too sweet and crumbled in your mouth.

I felt that the har gow at Rainflower were done quite well. They were chock full of crunchy shrimp and the skin was chewy yet thin. We enjoyed this so much that we actually put in two orders of har gow.

The Shanghai pork dumplings were a miss though. Whereas the har gow had a thin and perfectly steamed skin, the wrapping for the pork dumplings was too thick and doughy. Jenkins noted that we should have known better than to order Shanghai pork dumplings from a non-Shanghainese restaurant though.

We finally wrapped up the non-dessert portion of our meal with some siu mai. The siu mai were actually done quite well. The pork and mushroom filling had a bit of crunch or bite to it and the skin was again, cooked just right.

For dessert, my first choice was actually some mango pudding but for some reason, they did not offer this. So instead, we decided to share a couple of items. First up were some egg tarts. The puff pastry was very flaky and crispy while the egg custard was smooth and slightly sweet. Nothing really out of the ordinary but the egg tarts were made quite well.

Laureen also decided to order some tapioca balls stuffed with a sweet peanut paste. I’ve never made this before but I have a feeling it must be quite difficult to time the cooking part just right so that the tapioca balls are chewy and not overcooked. Rainflower’s take on this was done quite well. As mentioned, the outside was nice and chewy with a slight sweet flavour that went very well with the peanut filling.

I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of food at Rainflower. I guess I didn’t have high hope originally because of their lack of effort in fixing up the exterior of the restaurant. However, most of our dishes were done very well and service was also quite prompt. I ended up coming back to Rainflower a week later to have their Alaska king crab special and that also turned out to be fantastic. I would definitely make this one of the regulars on my dim sum circuit.

Details:
3600 No. 3 Road, Richmond
Tel: 604-278-7288

Summary:
Food: 4 out of 5 stars
Service: 3 out of 5 stars
Price: $$

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We had a large family get-together one morning and congregated at Empire Chinese Cuisine on Alexandria Road in Richmond for some dim sum. Even though we arrived at the restaurant at 10:30 in the morning, it was already packed with people.

There were about about 13 of us and whenever my family goes for dim sum, we are always ready to eat until we’re stuffed. If you don’t believe me, check out this photo I took of our stacks of dim sum steamers:

We first started with some congee, which was a relatively healthy start to our eating extravaganza. The salted pork with preserved egg congee was quite tasty with the salty pork imparting quite a bit of flavour to the congee. As usual, I wished that there was more preserved egg in this congee but other than that, it was quite well made.

We also ordered a clay pot of steamed rice with spare ribs, Chinese sausage, and veggies. This dish always reminds me of my childhood when my mom would make my brother and I personalized little clay pots just like this for dinner. The spare ribs here were quite juicy and went very well with the Chinese sausages.

The rice rolls with minced beef were fairly standard.  I liked that they mixed some spinach in with the minced beef, which gave the minced beef a bit more texture and a nice flavour.

I preferred the minced beef rolls over the minced chicken with mushroom rolls. Although I find that chicken and shitake mushrooms usually make a great flavour combination, the beef version had more flavour overall.

Of course, no dim sum meal is complete without the obligatory order of sui mai pork dumplings. There was nothing special bout these but they were tasty nonetheless.

The har gow shrimp dumpings were another dim sum standard. I found the skin on these dumplings to be over steamed though and fell apart when I tried to pick the dumplings up with my chop sticks.

The pineapple buns were fresh out of the oven and the warm crusty top just melted in your mouth. They were just crumbly enough and not too sweet, which I really liked.

I always like nibbling on the deep fried chicken knees. They are crunchy and salty with a slight hint of spiciness from the jalepenos. My mom always likes to joke that the knees are brought to us by the chicken mafia. I prefer the less threatening description of Chinese chicken popcorn.

Steamed sticky rice is another popular option and also a good filler item. The sticky rice at Empire had a lot of ground pork, Chinese sausage, and mushrooms for filling.

A healthier version of the steamed rice rolls is the version with dried shrimp and chives. I enjoyed dipping this in the accompanying hoisin and sesame sauces. The rice rolls at Empire were all steamed just the right amount and were not mushy at all. They all had a nice consistency to them and I guess you could almost say they were cook al dente, Chinese style.

Steamed BBQ pork buns are one of Jenkins’ favourite dim sum items. There was just the right ratio of bun to filling in these buns.

Steamed beef tripe is one of my favourite dim sum items but I find that it’s not always available these days. If a restaurant does have it, the people I’m with don’t always want to eat it so I was lucky I had a lot of willing participants that day. I enjoy the crunchy texture of beef tripe the most although the seasoning they use for this is also quite tasty.

We also had Chinese doughnut wrapped in rice rolls, which you can dip in either hoisin or sesame sauce. You have to eat this fairly quickly though because the hot rice roll can make the doughnut soggy and doughy. I found the rice wrapping to be too thick around the doughnut, which made the whole dish too heavy for my liking.

The veggies with chicken broth and dried shrimp was quite tasty and provided a lighter fare to our array of dim sum items. The slightly chewy dried shrimp actually paired quite well with the veggies, although this dish was a bit on the salty side.

The gai lan stir-fried with broccoli and fish sauce was aromatic and had a nice flavour but the leafy parts of these greens were overcooked.

Just when all of us were starting to get full, my grandparents insisted on ordering a couple more items, just to make sure none of us went home hungry. First, we added the stir-fried mochi or “neen goh” type noodles, which were stir-fried with soy sauce and prawns. I really enjoyed the texture of these “noodles”, which were chewy and absorbed the soy sauce flavour quite well. However, I did find this dish to be quite oily so it’s probably not the best thing to order if you’re watching your weight.

My cousin also chose to add what he called a Japanese or Korean-style congee (I can’t remember which). Instead of the thicker Chinese-style congee, this version was more brothy with a smaller amount of browned fried rice at the bottom. The rice must have been cooked with the broth so although the rice was once quite dry and crunchy, it was softened by the broth and had absorbed all its flavour. My cousin noted that this did not taste like the authentic version but since I did not know any better, I found it to be quite different and enjoyed it quite a bit.

Finally, for dessert, a bunch of us shared some tapioca puddings. I found the crust on this to be a bit dense and I also would have liked it more if there was some red bean at the bottom.

I found the quality of dim sum at Empire Chinese Cuisine to be fairly standard. There were some things that they made well and others that were sub par, but I did enjoy the variety of dishes that they had available. I had the opportunity to try some new items, such as the congee just above, so it kept our meal interesting. I’m not sure if there is a promotion if you eat earlier on the weekends because it did seem to be quite busy for 10:30 in the morning but I’m not sure since I was not the one paying. If you decide to go around the same time, it’s probably best to make reservations.

Details:
8251 Alexandra Road, Richmond
Tel: 604-303-9780

Summary:
Food: 3 out of 5 stars
Service: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $$

Jenkins’ parents wanted to go for dim sum one weekend and since I am a sucker for dim sum, I eagerly accepted their invitation on behalf of Jenkins and myself. It had been a while since I was at Golden Ocean for dim sum because I normally don’t like waiting too long to be seated at restaurants. Probably because it’s one of the only dim sum places in the area, there is almost always a long wait – even if you make reservations. Luckily for us that day, we only waited about 10 minutes before we were seated.

Golden Ocean operates its dim sum in a traditional manner in that most items are pushed around in carts or are carried through the restaurant on trays. One of the first items that marched past our table were some pan-fried pork buns. This is one of my and Jenkins’ favourite dim sum items so we definitely had to order it. The bun part was nice and crispy on account of it being pan-fried but I found the pork inside a bit on the mushy side.

We also ordered a plate of BBQ pork rice rolls. Jenkins likes this dish but only if there is no cilantro, which was the case here. A small bowl of sweetened soy sauce accompanies this dish and we chose to dip the rice rolls in the soy sauce rather than pouring the soy all over the rolls. This dish was steamed just right and the rice roll wrapping had a slight buoyancy to it.

The sui mai pork dumplings were quite good. It had a slight crunch and juiciness to it, probably from the pork fat and shrimp. Although it didn’t have any shrimp roe on top, which I normally enjoy, I found these dumplings to be quite tasty.

The BBQ pork buns were a bit plain tasting but always a nice filler item at dim sum.

We had to special order these shrimp dumplings because there just wasn’t anyone bringing these around. Sadly, even though these are normally one of my favourites, I found them to be quite disappointing this time around. The dumplings were steamed for too long so the skin was broke apart when I tried to pick them up with my chopsticks.

To balance out all the seafood and meat we were eating, we decided to also order a plate of steamed gai lan vegetables with oyster sauce. The gai lan was very fresh and crunchy. The light oyster sauce was the same way I had often eaten these veggies at both my and Jenkins’ homes.

We were starting to get pretty full and we decided to finish off our meal with some lotus leaf-wrapped sticky rice. Some restaurants skimp out on this and it turns out to be mostly rice but this time around, there was a nice ratio of rice to mushrooms and meat.

Details:
2008 W 41st Ave, Vancouver
Tel: 604-263-8886

Summary:
Food: 3 out of 5 stars
Service: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $$

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

Summary:
Food: 4 out of 5 stars
Service: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $$

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

Summary:
Food: 3 out of 5 stars
Service: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $$

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

Summary:
Food: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 2 out of 5 stars
Price: $