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 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: $$

Jenkins and I were in the Main Street area and were looking for a quick bite to eat. It was around 2 in the afternoon so we were hoping that Au Petit Cafe would not be too busy and we could lunch on some Vietnamese subs. Even though we considered it to be pretty late for lunch, I guess a lot of people didn’t feel the same way as there was still a crowd of people outside Au Petit Cafe waiting for a table. We decided to go next door to Long’s Noodle House instead to give it a try.

Jenkins and I decided to order a few things to share. First came the green onion pancake with beef slices and chives. I’m not sure if the green onion was intentionally left out at the Long’s version but the pancake came plain. That did not bother me very much but the pancake itself seemed to be over-fried, yet cold. Due to this unfortunate combination, the whole thing was rather chewy although the beef slices itself were marinated very nicely with a five spice-based sauce.

The Shanghai dumplings at Long’s seemed to be quite a hit with several of the restaurant diners and since it is also one of Jenkins’ favourite things, we decided to order it. The dumplings were much better than the beef pancake. The skin of the dumplings was nice and thin and the inside was filled with a delicious soup and meat filling. It was juicy and delicious…we would have liked to order a second one if we knew how good it was in advance.

Finally, we shared a healthy noodle soup in a clear broth with veggies and chicken slices. The noodles themselves seemed to be freshly made and had a nice, slightly chewy consistency to them. There was also a good amount of veggies and chicken in this dish.

Jenkins and I enjoyed our simple and inexpensive lunch at Long’s Noodle House. I hear it can get quite busy for dinner but it was only about a third full when we were having our lunch. There were quite a few things on the menu that looked quite tasty to me and since we could only eat so much for lunch that day, I will be back to try their other items.

Details:
4853 Main Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-879-7879

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