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: $$

Having grown up in and around the Oakridge area, I’d often noticed Tony’s Beef Noodle right across the street from Oakridge Mall but for some reason, I never ventured inside. Maybe it was because it always seemed empty in the evenings or maybe because I always had other plans in mind for lunch. In any case, Jenkins and I happened to be in the area one weekend afternoon and decided to finally check it out for lunch.

I debated a bit about what to order but in the end, I decided to order the small beef noodle in soup. As you can see in the photo below, the broth was not too greasy and it also had a ton of great beefy flavour. Instead of thinly sliced beef shank in many other beef noodle places, the beef here was actually thick chunks of beef, which were cooked quite tender. The noodles were a tad overcooked for my liking but overall, the beef noodles exceeded my expectations. I should also note that the small order of the beef noodle was more than enough for me that day.

Jenkins decided to order the crispy salty peppery chicken with rice. This was pretty substantial and also came with half a marinated egg, some cabbage, and tomato with egg. The chicken was indeed quite crispy with a pretty thick batter. I would have liked for there to be slightly more chicken so that the pieces were juicier but this is my personal preference when it comes to this dish. It went quite well with the rice though and the tomato with egg added some moisture to the dish. Even though the tomato and egg was just a side dish, it was actually one of my favourite components of this dish.

Overall, Jenkins and I enjoyed our lunch at Tony’s Beef Noodle. For days when we’re at Oakridge and don’t feel like eating at the food court, it’s nice to know that this place is conveniently located just across the street.

Details:
5754 Cambie Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-327-5061

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 2.5 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: $$

There have been many restaurants located in the same space where Wang’s Taiwan Beef Noodle House is located today. Unfortunately, it’s just the latest in a string of unsuccessful ventures. I was actually pretty surprised that Shanghai Village closed down since I thought the food seemed to be pretty good. In any case, Jenkins and I decided to check out Wang’s for dinner one evening.

It was around 7pm on a Saturday evening and there were only two other tables occupied in the restaurant. That doesn’t seem to bode well but Jenkins and I were still optimistic. I ordered the minced pork with rice and pickled vegetables. The pork lacked flavour and I wasn’t too impressed with the fact that the pickled vegetables were still cold. My bowl was also mostly rice with only a thin layer of pork and pickled veggies on top. The marinated egg was also cold but it did have a nice five spice and soy flavour to it. If the egg had been warmed up, I think it would have tasted much better.

Green onion pancake with beef is one of my favourite Taiwanese dishes. Unfortunately, the pancake here was either too doughy or slightly undercooked and similar to the pickled veggies in my dish above, the marinated beef shank was also cold. This was definitely one of the less successful versions of this dish that I’ve tried.

Jenkins decided to have the crispy chicken on rice. The chicken was actually fried quite nicely and exhibited a nice flavour with just the right amount of saltiness. It went quite well with the rice but due to the fried nature of the chicken, this dish was a bit on the dry side so you may need something to wash it down. Jenkins noted that the side veggies included were a bit run of the mill.

Unfortunately, neither Jenkins nor I were too impressed with our meal at Wang’s. I can see why there was no one inside and unless they improve the quality of their food substantially, it might not be long before another restaurant sets up shop in this space. I do have to note that service was quite friendly and attentive at first, probably due to the fact that there was basically one server per table. However, maybe boredom got to them after a while because our server disappeared towards the end of the meal.

Details:
3250 Cambie Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-872-3618

Summary:
Food: 1.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 2 out of 5 stars
Price: $

My post on Alaska king crab is so far past the season that I considered scrapping this post altogether. But since we ate other items at Imperial Court to supplement the main dish of Alaska king crab, I decided to stick with it. When I originally called my mom to ask if she’d like to go for Alaska king crab, she took it upon herself to scour the newspaper and see if there was a new place that we could try out. She stumbled upon Imperial Court, which seemed to be reasonably priced so we decided to check it out.

First came a standard cold plate appetizer. It wasn’t as varied as some of the other ones I was used to and the flavours were pretty standard with what one would come to expect.

Then came some Peking duck. As you can see, the skin had a bit of a sheen but it was not too greasy. The skin was crispy and pretty flavourful and I tucked a piece in the warm pancakes provided and a generous dollop of hoisin sauce and a chive sprig. Nothing spectacular about this dish either but I thought it was quite well executed.

The first Alaska king crab course finally arrived in the form of steamed crab legs with garlic sauce. There was a lot of garlic but surprisingly, it did not overwhelm the delicate flavour of the crab. Even though our dinner was towards the end of the season, our crab was still quite meaty and had a sweet and fresh flavour. Our server took the plates of steamed crab broth away to use for a noodle base in one of our later dishes.

The tofu, shrimp, and cuttlefish hot pot was pretty good, especially when paired with rice. It was not too sweet and I really liked the generous, meaty chunks of tofu. The prawns had a nice bounce and were not overcooked, which I appreciated.

The dishes were starting to come quite quickly so in my haste, the only picture I have of the pea sprouts with mushrooms is the blurry picture below. The pea sprouts were very tender and the mushrooms were all quite tasty. I wish there wasn’t so much broth/sauce though as I would have liked a slightly drier dish.

I’m not usually a huge fan of the free range chicken and although this was slightly juicier than what I was used to, I found the chicken a bit tough and a little too salty for my taste.

Finally, the second duck course came in the form of lettuce wraps. The duck meat was diced up along with celery, carrots, zucchini, onions, and some other crunchy veggies. There seemed to be way more veggies than duck meat in this dish but I did like the crunch of the veggies. The filling overall was a bit on the bland side so I added a little extra hoisin to my lettuce wraps.

After a long hiatus, the next Alaska king crab dish also arrived in the form of baked seafood rice right in the crab shell itself. Although impressive looking, I found the rice to be pretty bland and lacking in flavour. I had once had a version of this but the sauce was made Portuguese style, which I thought went really well with the rice. I didn’t end up eating very much of this rice.

I really should have taken a picture of the cod steamed with soy sauce and chives before the server took the fish apart as it looks a bit depressing below. However, I can say that the fish did taste better than it looked. The meat was quite tender and the light soy broth used is one of my favourite types of preparation for this type of fish.

Our last dish of the evening was also our last Alaska king crab course. The broth from the steamed garlic legs were used to make the broth for the yee mein noodles. Because the flavour from the steamed broth was so delicate, I found that it was a bit lost on these noodles overall and resulted in a fairly bland dish.

Overall, I would say that we had an ok meal at Imperial Court. Surprisingly, a lot of the dishes were quite bland so I’m not sure if it is because they don’t use as much MSG as other places. I also found it interesting that we had come primarily for the Alaska king crab but most of those dishes were pretty lacking and below expectations. Even though we came on a weekend evening, the restaurant was not busy at all so perhaps other people have come to the same conclusion as us.

Details:
6360 No. 3 Road, Richmond
Tel: 604-270-6169

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

Located right in Cambie Village, Copa Cafe is in quite a convenient location for me and Jenkins. We’ve been going there since it opened a few years ago during the Canada Line construction but only learned recently that it was a spin off of a Coquitlam location. It had been a while since I had last seen Samantha, Lucy, and George so we rounded them up to join us for dinner. Luckily for us, they were all able to make it.

The last time I was at Copa Cafe, I accidentally ordered the beef tongue with tomato and spaghetti. I usually get the baked version of this and with rice instead of spaghetti…but I ended up quite liking this alternative version. As a result, I decided to order it again. I was presented with some linguine instead of spaghetti and although it was slightly past al dente, I expected this and so it wasn’t too bad. The tomato sauce was not overly sweet and the combo of beef tongue, onions, and tomatoes made for a tangy and sweet combo that worked. I’m also not sure if it was just my imagination, but there seemed to be more pieces of beef tongue in this version than in the baked version but that could just be me. This easily could have been split into two meals but I was really hungry that evening and managed to polish it off by myself.

Jenkins ordered the baked pork chop with rice, another one of my favourites. Made in the typical Hong Kong style cafe method, it came bubbling hot out of the oven. The pork chops themselves were lightly breaded and fried before being baked with the rice and cheese. The tomato sauce here was similar to the one used in my beef tongue dish, being mainly sweet with a slight hint of tanginess. What I especially liked about this was that the pork chops were nice and crispy and were not over-breaded.

There is nothing really spectacular at Copa Cafe but I always find that they have a pretty consistent offering with what one would expect at a HK-style cafe. The prices are also on par with other places and the serving sizes are quite large, as you can see in the pictures above. They’ve also expanded the space at the Cambie location quite a bit so we rarely have to wait for a table, which is nice.

Details:
4030 Cambie Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-873-8974

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

Jenkins and I were in the mood for Shanghainese food one day. It had been quite a while since our last visit and since we happened to be in Richmond, we decided to drop by and check it out for lunch. I wasn’t really in the mood to wait for long though so I was somewhat relieved when the waitress told us we would only need to wait for 10 minutes before a table would be available.

Of course, we had to order the xiao long baos. Since it was lunch, we restrained ourselves and just put in one order. I think Shanghai Wonderful makes a pretty good xiao long bao. The skin is quite thin and not too doughy and the meat filling is juicy, which is aided by a plentiful amount of soup inside.

Between the two of us, we also decided to share a couple of noodle dishes. Noodles always seem like a lunch time dish to me so I felt that it was the appropriate thing to order. First of were the tan tan noodles. The menu stated that these were spicy but we really couldn’t taste much spiciness in this dish. The peanut flavour was quite strong though with a hint of tanginess from some vinegar but I liked how the peanut soup base was not overly thick. The noodles retained some chewiness and soaked up the flavour from the peanut soup quite nicely.

The ja jian mien (or meat sauce noodle per the English translation in the menu) was a bit of a miss for us. The meat sauce itself was quite good but the noodles were so overcooked and soggy that not even the meat sauce could save it. Even though the same type of noodle as the tan tan noodles were used, the way the two were cooked, you never would have thought it was the same type of noodle. I did like the cucumbers, which added some much needed crunch but even more would have been nice.

Overall, Jenkins and I had a fairly satisfying meal at Shanghai Wonderful. Although the meat sauce noodles were a bit disappointing, we did enjoy the xiao long baos and the tan tan noodles. It has actually been quite a while since I last went for Shanghainese food so perhaps I will come back in the near future and drag a bigger group with me for dinner so we can sample more dishes.

Details:
8380 Lansdowne Road, Richmond
Tel: 604-278-8829

Summary:
Food: 3 out of 5 stars
Service: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $ (for lunch)

A group of my co-workers were trying to figure out where to go for lunch during a team building event. We wanted to have lunch in Richmond and since I haven’t been very on top of the Richmond dining scene, I wasn’t sure where to go. Winnie suggested trying to go for Shanghainese food at Northern Dynasty and since I’m always up for some xiao long baos, I readily agreed.

We ordered a double order of xiao long bao because I knew it would be quite popular with our dining companions. Many of them had never had Shanghainese food before so we tried to order a nice representation of food that would give people a good idea of what Shanghainese food was all about. The xiao long bao arrived steaming hot and although the skin was not the thinnest I’ve had, they were quite tasty. There was also a nice amount of soup inside and I have to admit that it took me by surprise and I ended up spilling some of the soup.

The pan-fried pork buns were a little greasy on the inside but had a nice crunch to the bottom. There was also some sesame seeds sprinkled on the outside which gave it a hint of something unique. Inside, the filling was pretty regular but overall, I quite enjoyed these pork buns.

The shredded chicken salad with noodles and sesame dressing is another one of my Shanghainese favourites. The chicken was a bit dry but the sesame dressing was able to mask this a bit and the cucumber provided a nice crunch. Overall, nothing really stood out but it was well-made.

The spicy Shanghai fried noodles was spicier than some of us expected but I liked how it was not too greasy. Flavour-wise, I could mostly taste the spice but not much else.

The crispy rice with ham, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms is always a hit and this time was no different. The deep fried rice quickly wilted under the steaming sauce and although I think it could have been saltier, the combination of the sprouts, ham, and mushrooms was quite nice.

We were intrigued by the picture of the pan fried buns with pork but when they finally arrived at our table, we all agreed that it looked better in the picture. I found these to be a bit bland and also felt that they could have been pan-fried a little longer in order to make a crispier exterior.

I expected the marinated garlic cucumbers to be spicy, similar to what I’ve had at other places. However, this version was of the non-spicy variety. I found the garlic a little overpowering for my taste and for some reason, it was very salty.

The spicy wontons were very spicy but it did not hit you until a little after you’ve started chewing. These were pork wontons, as is usually the case with this dish, and there was a nice combo of spiciness and garlicky goodness.

Overall, I felt that Northern Dynasty had some good hits but there were a few dishes that definitely could have been better. Since we ordered so many dishes, we were able to get a pretty good idea of what we liked so if we come back, we’ll definitely be prepared. I have to note that service was quite slow and it took quite a while before our dishes started arriving. The restaurant was full and there were only 2 servers so it took quite a bit of effort to get their attention. We were there for lunch so I’m not sure if service at dinnertime is any better.

Details:
8391 Alexandra Rd, Richmond
Tel: 604-303-1192

Summary:
Food: 3 out of 5 stars
Service: 1.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $$

Ever since the old Hugo HK Cafe closed down and Shanghai Village opened in its place, I had wanted to give it a try. However, I never went because I felt like it was a place where you had to go with a large group and whenever Jenkins and I eat large Chinese meals, it’s with our families in a location that someone else usually picks. We decided finally that this didn’t really matter and decided to go to Shanghai Village with just the two of us.

The main item that I wanted to eat that day was some Xiao Long Baos (surprise surprise!) and I was pleasantly surprised when our server told us that we would get a free order if we ordered over $20 worth of food. Since all the dishes cost around $10-15, this was not a difficult feat. The wrapper on these baos was actually not too thick and the porky soup inside was quite flavourful. For a complimentary dish, I would say this was a great deal.

I was intrigued by the spare ribs with with meat stuffed sticky rice balls. The pork ribs were fall off the bone tender and had an excellent five-spice flavour to it. It was quite strong tasting so the rice balls ended up tempering this nicely. Another alternative would be to eat this with some plain steamed rice, which I ended up doing with the leftovers for lunch the next day. The sticky rice balls were another pleasant surprise for me. There was a tiny filling of pork inside and in some ways, this was similar to a regular pork dumpling but with rice as its wrapper instead of the traditional wrapper. Jenkins and I both agreed that this was our favourite dish of the evening.

We also ordered a version of Shanghai Noodles but with rice patties instead of regular noodles. The patties were slightly chewy but I would have liked for them to have a little more bite. There was also a little too much sauce for my liking, which overwhelmed the pork and napa cabbage somewhat. I felt that this dish could have been better if it didn’t have so much sauce.

Jenkins and I were pleasantly surprised with our meal at Shanghai Village, especially since I had heard some mixed reviews from other people. This definitely would have been a good place to go with a larger group of people so Jenkins and I are going to convince our families to come with us to check this place out in the near future.

Details:
3250 Cambie Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-872-3618

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 3 out of 5 stars
Price: $$

I normally visit my parents on the weekend for dinner but they happened to be out of town one weekend. I wasn’t in the mood to cook for Jenkins and myself and I suspected that Grick and Snoopy were in the same boat so I called them up to see if they wanted to join us for dinner someplace. Lucky for me, I was right and we agreed to meet up at Dinesty for dinner that evening. Dinesty had actually been around for a while but it was one of the few restaurants I never tried out when I was still living in Richmond.

Everyone left most of the ordering up to me so I was able to pick some of my favourite dishes. First up was some cold cucumbers in garlic sauce. The cucumbers had a good amount of spiciness from some chillis to them. The garlic and sesame oil flavour permeated through the crunchy cucumbers and this was a great appetizer for us.

Next came the xiao long baos (steamed pork dumplings). It took me a couple of shots before I could capture the picture below because they were so hot and steamy, my camera kept on fogging up. The skin on these baos were quite thin, although not as much as the ones at Shanghai River. However, they had a ton of soup in them and there was a burst of flavour when I popped them in my mouth.

The pork in the shredded pork in hoisin sauce with pancakes was amply sauced and slightly sweet and salty at the same time. It came with a few pancakes to wrap them in (similar to the one used for Peking duck) but not enough to accommodate this mountain of pork. We ended up ordering another plate of pancakes to finish off the pork and also ate it with rice, which was really tasty.

Marinated beef with soy sauce wrapped in pancake is one of my favourite Taiwanese dishes. I wasn’t too impressed with the version here though. The beef did not have a very strong flavour to it and the green onion pancake was also slightly greasy. I would have liked the pancake to be crispier.

We all agreed that our winner dish of the evening was one of Grick’s choices, the wok-fried spare ribs with salt and hot peppers. The ribs were crispy with very little batter and spiced with jalapenos, Thai chilis, and garlic. They also had a hint of sweetness which really rounded out the flavours. We ate the spareribs with rice as well and I could have eaten bowls and bowls of these.

Snoopy suggested that we also add a tofu dish so we decided to go with an old standby, the Mapo Tofu. There was more tofu than pork in this dish but we really didn’t mind. There was a slight hint of spiciness in this dish as well but it was more garlicky than anything else. As you can imagine, this was another dish that went really well with rice.

The four of us walked away feeling super full but also very satisfied. If I had known how great the food at Dinesty was, I definitely would have come a lot sooner! Their mix of Taiwanese and Shanghainese food seems to work for them and that can be evidenced by the steady stream of people walking in all evening. Service can be a bit sparse but once all your dishes arrive, you don’t need to interact too much with the servers anyway.

Details:
8111 Ackroyd Road, Richmond
Tel: 604-303-7772

Summary:
Food: 4 out of 5 stars
Service: 2 out of 5 stars
Price: $$