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 have been long-time fans of Ebi Ten so when we learned that there was going to be an addition to the Ebi Ten family in the form of Ramen Jinya, we were eager to check it out. I’m not sure if all of the Ramen Jinyas worldwide are owned by Ebi Ten but the Los Angeles location of Ramen Jinya was voted as one of the 10 best dishes of 2010. With such promising accolades, Jenkins and I had high hopes.

We went to Ramen Jinya for dinner one evening and although it was fairly busy, we only had to wait a few minutes before snagging a table. I decided to choose the shio tonkotsu ramen, which was advertised as the pork premium rich broth and limited to only 20 servings a day. The noodles used at Ramen Jinya are the straight egg noodles rather than the curly noodles and I find that this generally means the noodles have  a firmer texture. The pork was nice and fatty, as was the broth itself but I felt that the broth exhibited a lot of fattiness without the richness in flavour. Although certainly not the worst ramen I’ve had, I felt that there was a bit of a greasy aftertaste to this dish that I didn’t really like.

Jenkins went the slightly less glamorous route and decided instead on the shoyu tonkotsu ramen, which was the original pork broth. Interestingly enough, the original pork broth seemed darker in colour but I found the flavour of the broth to be pretty much the same as my supposedly richer pork broth. I tried this dish again on a subsequent visit and found that both times, the broths suffered from the same greasiness but lacked a richness which is usually present in such ramen broths.

Jenkins and I felt that Ramen Jinya put up an attempt to bring tasty ramen to the other end of Robson Street but if you are really looking for a good bowl of ramen, I’d recommend that you stick to the Denman side of Robson. If you’re in a pinch and desperate for ramen, Ramen Jinya may be the place for you.

Details:
270 Robson Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-568-9711

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

A few years back, Jenkins and I went to Sushi Maro for dinner one day. I think it may have even been before this blog was created so it was quite a while ago. In any case, the food was terrible and service was a little suspect so we never ventured back. Recently though, a co-worker mentioned to me that he often gets takeout from Sushi Maro for his family and Jenkins heard a lot of good things as well so we decided to give it another shot. One thing we did notice upon entering was that the decor had changed so it’s possible that there was some type of ownership or kitchen change as well.

We weren’t overly hungry that day so we decided to share only a couple of items. We started with the sushi pizza, which is also one of our favourites from Sushiyama so we thought it would be fun to do a little comparison. It took a while to come out but I think it was worth the wait. The deep fried sushi rice on the bottom maintained a nice crispy exterior and a chewy interior. I thought it was a little difficult to eat since the pieces of tuna and salmon were cut into chunks, which fell off as I bit into each “slice”. That being said, I thought the sushi pizza was quite good, with the creamy avocado and sashimi slices being quite fresh and contrasting nicely with the crispy pizza base.

The Maro combo also sounded interesting so we decided to give that a try. It consisted of a dynamite roll, spider roll, California roll, and a salmon roll.

Nothing too spectacular about the Dynamite roll but I thought it was pretty tasty. The rice was nicely seasoned and the prawn tempura was not over-battered. There was also a good rice to filling ratio. The spider roll was also pretty tasty and pretty solid. Similar to the prawn tempura in the dynamite roll, the soft-shell crab was not over-battered and there was also a good amount of crab in there. My only (minor) complaint was that the crab was probably put into the roll immediately after coming out of the fryer so the entire roll was a little too warm for my liking.

The California rolls were pretty standard but the sesame seeds were nicely toasted, which gave the rolls a hint of a nutty flavour. Sushi Maro uses only wild salmon so the salmon rolls here had a great flavour that is lacking in the salmon rolls made at other places using farmed salmon.

Jenkins and I thought our meal at Sushi Maro was pretty solid. The sushi pizza was tasty and their rolls were well-executed and made with fresh ingredients. Since our original visit, Jenkins and I have gone back quite a few more times for lunch and dinner so we’ve definitely become converts. For a reasonably priced sushi dinner in downtown, Sushi Maro is a pretty good option. I think I still like Yamoto Sushi more as a downtown option, but Sushi Maro is slightly closer for me so I go there when I don’t feel like walking too far.

Details:
220 Davie Street, Vancouver
Tel: 778-371-8332

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

Bistro Sakana in Yaletown used to be on of Jenkins and my go-to places for Japanese food in downtown. For whatever reason, we hadn’t been for many years though so we decided to check it out one day when we were in the mood for Japanese food but didn’t want to wander too far from home. Luckily for us, this was before the weather turned super cold so we were able to sit outside rather comfortably.

We started first with the soba salad. Many items on the menu didn’t have a full description so we originally thought this would be mainly noodle with some veggies thrown in but it turned out to be quite the opposite. The soba salad was actually mostly mixed greens with a few bundles of soba and mixed with a ginger soy dressing. The dressing was pretty tasty but we both found this salad a bit bland.

We also ordered some tuna sashimi, which came marinated with the same ginger soy dressing from our soba salad. The dressing actually went better with the meaty tuna and this dish had a nice freshness to it.

I’m a huge fan of the aburi sushi at Miku so when I saw that Sakana had aburi salmon available, I decided to order it. It was very similar to Miku’s version in that the wild salmon was sandwiched between two layers of sushi rice and topped with some more salmon, mayo, onion shavings, and a slice of jalapeno. Taste-wise, it was close to Miku’s version but I liked how I could taste the charcoal smokiness used to torch the top of Miku’s aburi sushi more. If I wasn’t comparing with Miku’s version though, I would say that the version at Sakana was a good attempt.

Jenkins and I also ordered a variety of sushi and nigiri. The salmon and tuna nigiri was quite fresh and I would say better than average. The same also went for the negitoro roll. I can’t remember the name of the roll at the bottom but it was almost like Sakana’s version of a house roll, with tuna, salmon, and avocado. I liked the meaty freshness of this roll and the light drizzling of sweet soy went pretty well with the ingredients in the roll itself.

By this time, Jenkins and I were still a little hungry so we decided to splurge for dessert as well. The deep fried banana was Sakana’s version of Jenkins’ Malaysian favourite. The lightly tempura battered bananas were sweet and creamy, going quite well with the big scoop of vanilla ice cream right in the middle. The caramel was not overly sweet, which I liked since it didn’t overpower the ice cream and bananas but I felt that the chocolate flakes seemed a bit dry and weren’t very necessary.

Overall, Jenkins and I had a nice time at Bistro Sakana but nothing particularly stood out to us. I don’t know if my preferences have changed or if Sakana has changed but it doesn’t seem to be as good as my last visit there a couple of years ago. That being said, the ingredients used are all still quite fresh and that is also reflected in the price. As far as dining options go, Sakana isn’t bad if you are looking for Japanese food in Yaletown but it’s also not the best.

Details:
1120 Hamilton Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-633-1280

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

After Jenkins and I came back from our trip to SE Asia earlier in the year, we really didn’t feel like going for Malaysian food. After all, we ate some pretty fantastic stuff while we were in Malaysia and we knew it would be hard to beat. Nonetheless, I was intrigued by Penang Delight Cafe, which opened earlier this year (I think) in the Renfrew Heights area. I had also received many recommendations from many people from Malaysia (some on this blog too!) saying that Penang Delight was quite tasty so Jenkins and I decided to go there for lunch one afternoon.

We were quite hungry that day so we decided to order three items to share. Jenkins and I always enjoy our Hainanese chicken rice so we decided to order that. This version came with a bowl of chicken rice as well so at $8.95, we thought this was a fair deal. Our server, who we think was also the owner, told us that the Hainese chicken served here was Malyasian style, meaning that it was served warm and had some soy gravy, unlike the Singaporean version that Jenkins and I were more used to. The chicken was quite silky but we felt that it lacked flavour and had to be supplemented by some of the soy sauce that it came served in and the accompanying chilli sauce. I did enjoy the chicken rice though, which had a decent amount of chicken flavour and I liked how the rice was slightly chewy with each rice kernel being distinct.

We also decided to order some char kway teow since it’s one of our favourite Malaysian dishes. It looks pretty tasty in the picture below, but it was surprisingly lacking in flavour. The chinese sausages could have been fried a little more to bring out some extra flavour and the noodles just didn’t have the bounce that would have come with some more “wok hei”.

The last dish we ordered was the nasi lemak chicken rendang. I had never ordered this dish before until my trip to Malaysia and I have to say that the version at Penang Delight was comparable. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised because this was one of the dishes that had been recommended to us. In addition, Jenkins’ dad told us that the nasi lemak from Kuala Lumpur is some of the best in Malaysia and that turned out to be where the owners were from. Perhaps they should have called the restaurant KL Delight instead of Penang Delight but I suppose it just doesn’t have the same ring to it. In any case, the chicken rendang was superb with a ton of curry flavour and just the right amount of spice. It went great with the rice (nasi) and I mixed in the accompanying fried fish (ikan bilis), peanuts, and sambal sauce. The hardboiled egg was slightly overcooked but did a good job of tempering some of the heat. This was definitely the best dish that we ordered and is the only one of the three that we’d reorder the next time we’re at Penang Delight.

Despite the couple of misses we had with our initial dishes, both Jenkins and I felt that the nasi lemak more than made up for them. There were actually quite a few dishes that piqued my interest at Penang Delight so I wouldn’t mind giving them a try the next time I’m at the restaurant. I’ll just have to remember to stick to Kuala Lumpur specialities since that does seem to be their forte.

Details:
3885 Rupert Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-566-9898

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

Jenkins and I were invited on Saturday to preview the latest offering from Vancouver’s Foodie Tour: food carts. I had gone to one of Michelle’s tours last year along Granville Street and quite enjoyed it so I didn’t see why this time would be any different. I thought this would be a great opportunity to try some of the food cart offerings around the downtown area as I had definitely been to less than I would have liked. We met at 10:30 in front of the Granville Canada Line station but it was around 11 before the tour actually started going.

As I had suspected earlier, our first stop was the La Brasserie Street food cart. They were running a little behind that morning, which was why it took a while for us to get started.

I had been to La Brasserie Street a few times before and really enjoyed it each time so I was looking forward to this, even though it was not new to me. The chicken sandwich was just as good as the other times with the crispy fried onions adding a nice crunch to the otherwise soft and moist sandwich. Jenkins noted that he would have liked for some of the larger chicken chunks to be shredded even more so it could soak up more of the house-made rosemary beer sauce.

Since it was the first stop of the tour and the day was particularly sunny, I was glad that La Brasserie Street also gave us each a drink with our sandwiches. In addition, we were also given a butter tart each. Jenkins was pretty smart in getting us to share one since we needed to pace ourselves for the remaining carts. At first, I objected but this ended up being some good foresight on his part. As with the last time I had the butter tarts, I thought the crust was nice and buttery but the filling was a little too sweet for my taste. I also would have preferred some nuts to give the tart a little bit of crunch.

Our next stop was one of Vancouver’s oldest food carts, Japa Dog. I had first reviewed Japa Dog in the early days of Ho Yummy and then again when they opened their Pender Street location so it was definitely another food cart that I was quite familiar with.

We each got half of a Terimayo dog, which is one of Japa Dog’s original offerings. As usual, I added some wasabi mayo to the already present regular Japanese mayo, seaweed, and teriyaki sauce. I quite enjoyed this and it was nice to try one of the original flavours since I usually opt to try the newer creations.

Our next stop was finally to a location that was new to me: Bun Me. To be honest, I had walked past this place a couple of times but never checked out what they had because I’m pretty particular about my banh mi and I honestly did not know what to expect. The baguettes at Bun Me are baked fresh daily and made using a special recipe that its owners had developed.

Bun Me had a couple of offerings and the one we had that day was the lemongrass chicken banh mi. Although we had only a third of a baguette, it was quite a generous portion and seemed to be larger than most other banh mi I’ve tried around Vancouver. The lemongrass chicken was quite juicy and flavourful and if you like your baguette to be crispier and crunchier, then the one at Bun Me would be right up your alley. I was pretty impressed with the banh mi here and wouldn’t mind trying it again the next time I need to buy lunch.

By this point, I was starting to fill up but we still had two more stops to make. Our next cart was Kaboom Box, another cart that I had walked past several times but never tried any of their offerings.

We each got a generous portion of Kaboom Box’s poutine. I’m not sure if this is their regular size or if it was smaller for the tour, but I thought it was a pretty large portion nonetheless. Unlike traditional poutine, Kaboom Box’s version uses a vegetable gravy with miso and is topped with mushrooms and green onions. Having gone to Montreal quite recently, both Jenkins and I didn’t think this was very comparable. I would have liked for the fries to be crispier and although I appreciated Kaboom Box’s attempt to make the gravy more universally appealing, I felt that a regular beef stock has a stronger flavour that allows the gravy to hold up against the fries and cheese. Lastly, and I’m not sure if it was due to the hot day, I found the cheese curds a bit on the soft side and would have liked some more texture and bounciness to it. All that being said, I wouldn’t mind coming back another day to try out some of the sandwiches, especially the in-cart smoked salmon sandwich.

Our last stop was at Nu Greek Street. I was surprised to hear that this was the street cart offering from Nu Restaurant and even more surprised to hear that Nu had recently changed its offering from West Coast to Greek food. To be honest, I had not been all that impressed with Nu previously so I was hoping that their foray into Greek food would be more successful.

We each got mini versions of Nu Greek Street’s chicken souvlaki pita, which came with tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki sauce. The tzatziki sauce was actually made with owner Harry Kambolis’ grandma’s recipe and I liked how it was quite thick and tangy, which went quite well with the moist chicken. Although the pita was a bit bready for my liking, it did a good job of soaking up all the juices from the chicken, tomatoes, and tzaziki sauce.

Jenkins and I had a great time at the Food Cart Foodie Tour. It was nice to revisit some carts we had been to previously but what we really enjoyed was sampling the new ones. The carts that are visited on each tour vary depending on the day. Tours are held each Saturday starting at 10:45AM and end about 1:30PM. They cost $50 per person and tickets can be purchased via Foodis Tour’s website. Be prepared to be stuffed and even though you walk from cart to cart, you definitely don’t walk enough to shed the calories you consumed. Jenkins and I were so full afterwards that we didn’t eat dinner until quite late!

Details:
Time: Saturdays from 10:45AM to 1:30PM
Cost: $50/person
Tickets: http://foodietour.ca

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: $$$